On the evening of 20/1, the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Writers' Association issued a decision following an afternoon meeting. An announcement on the association's website stated that author Lau Van Mua admitted his errors and requested to withdraw from the award, viewing it as a profound lesson for his literary journey.

The Vietnam Writers' Association announced its awards on 19/1. Lau Van Mua received one of the three young author awards for his poetry collection ''Nhat xac em chat chong bao tang''. Shortly after, several critics indicated the author's work showed signs of plagiarizing foreign poetry. Specifically, the poem "Khi nhung ky uc khoc" had content similar to a translation of "When Memories Cry.!" by Indian poet Jyoti Joseph, published on PoemHunter in 2009.

An excerpt from Lau Van Mua's poem reads: ''When memories cry/When memories fade and die/I will grow old/My passion/My fiery desire will grow cold/But my heart will always flow with a molten, lava love'', which closely matches the original: ''When memories cry/When memories fade and die/ I'm going to grow old/ My passion/ My fiery passion/ My flaming lust is going to grow cold/ But my heart will always flow with a molten, love lava''.

Critics identified the poem "Qua khu" as plagiarizing Ananya Sarkar's work "The Past". For instance, an excerpt from Mua's poem states: ''Sitting by the window, alone/It gently sways with the breeze/Rustling the leaves of memories/And treading on forgotten paths/It has shaped the person I am today/And the person I will become/Like the hands of a potter/Molding my life/Undoubtedly'', matching the original poem: ''Sitting by the window lonesome/ It flutters through the breeze/ Rustling the leaves of memories/ And treading on forgotten paths/ It has defined who I am and will too who I will be/ Shaping my life like a potter’s hands/ Indubitably''.

Cover of ''Nhat xac em chat chong bao tang'' by Lau Van Mua. He is 34 years old, a Hmong ethnic minority from Pu Nhi commune, Thanh Hoa.

Established in 1999, the Vietnam Writers' Association Award is an annual event. Each year, it recognizes winning works across various genres: prose, poetry, literary theory and criticism, children's literature, and translated literature. This year, the association announced three young author awards, including Cao Viet Quynh for his novel series Luc dia rong and Nguyen Thi Kim Nhung for her two poetry collections Dan sang.

Phuong Linh