Dai was born in 1969 to an intellectual family in the northern province of Hung Yen. In 1991 Dai entered the Hanoi College of Law. After college, he worked as a legal consultant at many law firms and offices in Hanoi. In 2003, he decided to establish and run the Thien An Law Office at No 10, Doan Tran Nghiep Street, Hanoi, and began activities to cause social disorder. Since 2004, under the cover of his office, Dai had spread misleading information and colluded with domestic and overseas political opportunists and reactionaries to gather opposition forces in an attempt to undermine the Vietnamese State and deny the Party’s leadership. He joined many different political opposition organizations as the figurehead. 

Under the label of the so-called “the democratic movement of Vietnam”, Dai, who claimed himself to be a theorist, wrote a series of articles on the right to found political parties, the civil society and democracy in Vietnam which were published on the BBC Website. His aim was to create public support and prepare for the establishment of political opposition organizations in Vietnam. 

Dai himself compiled the Rules of the organization “The Democratic Party 21” in the hope of wresting power in Vietnam. Accordingly, if the Democratic Party 21 gained victory in the general election, the Party’s president would either lead the government or become the only candidate for the post of the State President. Dai hoped that he would benefit from this scheme.

In addition, he planned to fly to Thailand as the representative of the Democratic Party 21 to attend seminars with the participation of democratic parties of several Southeast Asian countries in order to gain their support.

On September 20, 2006, Dai sent Tran Van Hoa from the northeastern border province of Quang Ninh to China to meet Tran Ngoc Thanh and discuss the establishment of the Independent Trade Union of Vietnam in the country. Dai promised to pay Hoa US$1,000 per month if he joined this organization.

At the police station, Hoa confessed that the establishment of an independent trade union was contrary to the law and that his trip to China incidentally lent a helping hand to outlawed activities.

Dai also planned to send Le Thi Cong Nhan, another lawyer, to Poland to publicize the Independent Trade Union of Vietnam and make contact with Thanh in the hope of lobbying world trade unions for the establishment of a committee in support of the union.

In the meantime, under the instructions of several elements living in exile such as Vu Quoc Dung, Pham Nam Dinh and Doan Viet Hoat or overseas organizations such as the Vietnam Human Rights Network, Dai established the so-called the Vietnam Human Rights Committee led by himself and joined by Pham Van Troi, Bach Ngoc Duong and Luong Duy Phuong. His and his aids’ tasks were to gather information accusing Vietnam of suppressing democracy and human rights, publish them on the Internet under the so-called Free News Agency and send reports to overseas Vietnamese reactionaries living in exile.

Dai several times sent Thien An Law Office staff to north-western, Central Highlands and southern provinces to meet extremist Protestant clerics and gather evidence allegedly accusing Vietnam of suppressing Protestantism. They then sent reports to Ngo Thi Hien, head of the Vietnam Committee on Religious Freedom – a reactionary organisation established in the US to sabotage the Vietnamese State.

Dai, in collaboration with reactionary organisations overseas such as the Viet Tan Party and the People’s Democratic Party, opened courses on human rights at the Thien An Law Office, but in fact disseminated reactionary information and material against the Vietnamese State. In addition, Dai compiled dozens of materials and reports distorting religious freedom and democracy in Vietnam. He called on Vietnamese nationals abroad to boycott Vietnamese goods and the US to obstruct Vietnam’s entry into the World Trade Organisation and not to approve permanent normal trade relations with the country.

Why did Dai behave and act against the Vietnamese State in such a brazen and open manner? Who aided and abetted him to do so? VOVNews will release more details in the next edition.