One of the recurring themes of TOÁN TRẦN’s YouTube channel is his constant use of the phrase “I’m telling the truth”. The more we dig, the more we find. Take for example the following video clip:
Toán Trần and His Attacks of Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh
Mr. Trần’s constant attacks of Quỳnh (also known as Mother Mushroom), have intensified in recent days. Most of his verbal attacks are preceded by the words “I’m telling the truth”. This is like a government official saying “trust me”. What is confusing to this writer, is that Mr. Trần seems to be defending the Vietnamese government. Quỳnh’s fight was with the Vietnamese government is (was) for human rights abuses. The same government that sentenced Quỳnh to 10 years in prison for defending poor patients in a vietnamese hospital. Mr. Trần seems to forget that Vietnam is a socialist country, and that it’s hospitals fall under the jurisdiction of the party. Therefore, when Quỳnh shed light on the injustice of the health care system for the poor, her comments were directly against the party. Like the CCP of China, when someone speaks against the party, government officials step in to silence the perpetrator. The steps taken against a dissenter, can include but not limited to harrasment, fines, prison, or simply making someone disappear.
In the United States, we don’t have such draconian laws. Specifically, all citizens of the U.S. enjoy our “Bill of Rights”, including:
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of Religion
- Freedom of the Press
- The Right To Assemble
These rights are not part of the vietnamese government’s constitution, and therefore do not extend to its citizens. Quỳnh’s YouTube channel is one of the few outlets that vietnamese ex-pats can listen to, and become involved with to get the human rights violation’s of Vietnam out to the world.
Toán Trần and His Attacks of Lê Thanh Minh Tú
Mr. Trần’s attacks don’t stop with Quỳnh. He has also taken aim at Minh Tú. In one of his most recent and most vile attacks, he speculated that Tú had H.I.V. In the U.S., this statement is definitely defamatory, and would carry legal ramifications. However, because Mr. Trần resides in Vietnam, he is outside of U.S. jurisdiction for civil procedures against him. However, verbal attacks against Minh Tú from citizens residing in the U.S. is playing out far differently.
The Legal Showdown of Minh Tú
Although Minh Tú is a citizen of Vietnam, it does not mean he does not have legal recourse in the U.S. In the U.S. ANYONE can be sued by anyone else. These cases typically end up as a civil case and not a criminal case. However, plaintiffs in civil cases can still receive monetary compensation and punitive damages. Friends of Minh Tú, have filed a civil lawsuit against several individuals residing in the U.S. on behalf of Minh Tú for defamation of character and libel. Minh Tú has given power of attorney privileges to a select group of individuals to represent him in a U.S. court in the state of Texas.
Mr. Trần, has raised questions about Quỳnh, her followers, and the money received and has actively encouraged followers to request their money back. $50,000.00 was raised on behalf of Tú to open the case. $50,000.00 was placed into a trust, setup by law firm of Meade Neese & Barr so that the lawyers could begin working on the case.
Mr. Trần is obviously not a lawyer, and does not realize how things work legally in the U.S. when you retain counsel (hire a lawyer). Meade Neese & Barr is one of the premiere law firms in the U.S. that specialize in defamation cases. When you retain the best, the best costs money. Also, it’s not just one attorney working on Tú’s case. It is being processed by several attorney’s within the firm. This costs money (and a lot of it). The $50,000.00 of the initial fund has already been billed by the law firm.
So individuals who have turned against Tú, and who are now wanting their money back, are bascially out of luck. It would be like hiring a painter. He takes 1/2 the money up front and buys paint, brushes, rollers and coverings to paint your house. After paying him the initial fee, you decide you don’t want him, and you ask for your money back. See the problem? The painter has already spent the money, and you won’t be getting it back.
Does Toán Trần's YouTube Channel have a purpose?
After losing many hours of my life watching Toán Trần’s videos, all I can say is that it was the biggest waste of time that I will never get back. From what I could determine, his channel only exists to harass and defame Minh Tú and Quỳnh. If you strip out all the times he says “poisonous mushroom” and “I’m telling the truth” from his videos, they would decrease from 2 hours of length down to about 30 seconds. He doesn’t really say anything except “Look how great, good and righteous I am!” He is the classic definition of a narcissist. His daily attacks of Minh Tú and Quỳnh are truly sad. He claims he wants to cleanup the YouTube community which is laughable considering that 90% of his videos are toxic, and do not contain anything positive. Does Toán Trần’s channel have a purpose? From what I can tell, not really. It’s really just a gossip farm.
In Support of Minh Tú
From Inside Asia received the following anonymous letter from a supporter of Minh Tú and we wanted to pass it on.
