The Return of the “Special Zones”: A Silent Revival in Vietnam’s New Political Era

Bảo Khánh wrote this article in Vietnamese, published in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 12, 2025. 

June 2018 will go down in history as the moment one of the largest spontaneous protests since 1975 erupted in Việt Nam. Tens of thousands of people across the country, and in Vietnamese communities abroad, simultaneously took to the streets to oppose the draft Law on Special Administrative–Economic Units, or "special zones."

At the time, the term "special zone" stirred deep anxieties over national sovereignty, particularly as the proposed locations—Vân Đồn, Bắc Vân Phong, and Phú Quốc—were all seen as having strategic military significance. The plan to offer 99-year land leases to foreign investors, especially those from China, triggered a widespread national backlash.

Under this unprecedented public pressure, the National Assembly voted to postpone the law. The proposal then vanished from public debate and legislative agendas for years—until the dawn of a "new era" under General Secretary Tô Lâm.

On Feb. 15, 2025, during the 9th session of the National Assembly, delegate Nguyễn Văn Thân proposed restarting the three special economic zones. By March 26, the term "special zone" had reappeared in an article on the Government Portal. In the weeks that followed, a series of official documents laid the groundwork for turning these zones into a new form of commune-level administrative unit:

• April 12: The Central Party Committee issued Resolution No. 60-NQ/TW, approving the organization of local governments into two levels, with "special zones" designated as a new type of commune-level unit.
• April 14: The Prime Minister issued Decision No. 759/QĐ-TTg, endorsing a national plan to build this new two-tier local government model.
• April 15–16: State media began reporting the likely formation of 13 special zones derived from existing island districts.

Unlike in 2018, this major policy shift has been met with little public resistance. There have been no protests, no surging online debates—only a handful of lightly circulated articles on niche forums. In April, public attention was overwhelmingly focused on the grand military parade commemorating the 50th anniversary of national reunification.

The orchestrated celebrations and charged patriotic atmosphere effectively drowned out the special zone issue and other weighty matters like constitutional reform and administrative restructuring.

Are These the Same "Special Zones" We Knew?

The public backlash in 2018 was aimed at the draft Law on Special Administrative–Economic Units, which became known as the "Special Zone Law." In that context, "special zones" were considered areas with sweeping economic privileges and legal exceptions designed to attract foreign investment.

However, recent legislation's "special zones" re-emerging are a completely different concept. Under the new framework, these are expected to become a third commune-level administrative unit, alongside traditional communes and wards. Their primary purpose is not to attract investment but to simplify the state apparatus by replacing island districts within the new two-tier administrative system.

Article 1 of the amended Law on Local Government Organization, currently under review, makes this distinction explicit. It defines commune-level units (which include the new "special zones on islands") separately from "special administrative–economic units," which would still require a separate act of the National Assembly to be established. The draft law also outlines different powers and responsibilities for these two distinct types of zones.

In other words, these special zones are part of a broader plan to streamline local governance by eliminating district-level administration. Their primary goal is not to attract investment, but to simplify the state apparatus.

So far, there is no official documentation granting these 13 new administrative special zones any of the economic privileges from the 2018 draft law. The only recent mention of the economic special zones was in Delegate Nguyễn Văn Thân’s February 15 proposal. The original draft remains off the legislative calendar; back in 2019, former National Assembly Secretary General Nguyễn Hạnh Phúc vaguely explained that the government would only resubmit it once the timing was "ripe."

Old Zones Hidden in New Names?

While the 13 new special zones are being presented as a novel administrative concept, the list of proposed locations includes familiar names from the 2018 draft law. Vân Đồn in Quảng Ninh Province is slated to become the Special Zone Vân Đồn. Phú Quốc City in Kiên Giang Province is expected to be divided into two special zones, Phú Quốc and Thổ Châu. Only Bắc Vân Phong in Khánh Hòa Province, which is not an island district, is absent from the new list.

Is this merely an administrative coincidence, or is it a calculated, low-profile revival of a once-explosive concept?

Suspicions were fueled when, shortly after the topic resurfaced, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Chí Dũng paid a visit to Shenzhen, China, specifically to discuss cooperation on special economic zone development.

These new administrative zones appear to lack the controversial economic incentives once proposed in 2018. However, this does not mean the issue is settled. Without transparency and public oversight, the door could easily be reopened so that those exact mechanisms can be quietly introduced in the future.