Mai Khoi is one of Vietnam’s best-known musicians
A former darling of the country’s ruling Communist Party...
...her songwriting was nationally celebrated...
...and she was the poster girl for Vietnam
Today she is an enemy of the state...
...and lives in constant fear for her life
My shows were shut down
I was evicted from my house
I was under surveillance 24/7
In 2010...
...I won the highest award of musicians in Vietnam
If you get that award...
...everyone will know you and...
...the government used my song...
...to promote for the country’s image
Music has always been closely monitored...
...by Vietnam’s communist regime
During the Vietnam war...
...music that did not promote communist ideals was banned
Today, the few songwriters...
...who dare to directly challenge the authority of the regime...
...face serious consequences
I was resisting social norms about...
...what it means to be a Vietnamese woman
I wrote a song about woman’s freedom...
...I caused the national scandal...
...for saying I don’t want to have children...
...and not wearing a bra
I couldn’t feel free to create art...
...and making music
And I start to spend time with dissident artists
That’s the way I am now
Mai Khoi started to be monitored by the regime
President Obama...
...I want to meet you when you come to Vietnam in May
Before the visit of the then US president, Barack Obama...
...in 2016...
...Mai Khoi sent a plea to him...
...to discuss the state of human rights in the country
We have a very popular artist here who is...
...speaking out on behalf of freedom of speech and expression and...
...artists throughout Vietnam
The meeting led to police raids of her concerts
If they don’t like the lyrics of the song...
...they will ask you to repeal the song from the album
The censorship system in Vietnam...
...censors everything because they want to control people’s thoughts
Despite sweeping economic and social reforms in Vietnam...
...the ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship...
...and does not tolerate criticism
Our government does not accept people...
...together in crowds
And do not accept [demonstrations] today
Last year Vietnam ranked in the bottom six...
...of 180 countries for press freedom
Arrests of democracy campaigners...
...bloggers and activists...
...have escalated in the past year
Vietnam is a one-party state...
...that doesn’t allow any political opposition
We don’t have freedom of speech
We don’t have freedom of expression
We don’t have freedom of assembly
A controversial cyber-security law was introduced this year...
...forcing internet companies to remove content...
...the authorities deem to be against the Vietnamese state
Tech giants such as Facebook and Google...
...have to hand over user data if asked by the Vietnamese government
When we have social media...
...we have the only small space...
...to feel free, to speak
But now, under the cyber-security laws...
...we cannot do that anymore
Despite constant surveillance and threats of imprisonment...
...Mai Khoi still lives in Vietnam...
...and she continues to use her voice to advocate...
...for a fairer society
I have a mission...
...I need to sing out what I’ve seen
As an artist we have the mission to speak for unspeakable voice