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Mai Khoi was a darling of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party in 2010.
That same year, her song-writing was celebrated nationally with an award from the state-run broadcaster, Vietnam Television.
Today, she is an enemy of the state in a country clamping down on freedom of speech.
“I was resisting social norms about what it means to be a Vietnamese woman,” Khoi said. “I wrote a song about women’s freedom. I caused a 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 started to spend time with dissident artists. That’s the way I am now.”
The shift not just changed her sound from pop to a stripped back folk style, but drew the attention of the regime. Concerned by freedom of expression and human rights, she met with US President Barack Obama during his visit in 2016.
The meeting drew more attention from the ruling Communist party.
“My shows were shut down, I was evicted from my house, I was under surveillance 24/7,” she added.
“The censorship system in Vietnam censors everything because they want to control people’s thoughts.
“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.”
Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party maintains tight media censorship and last year ranked in the bottom six of 180 countries for press freedom. Arrests of dissidents in the country also increased in 2018, motivating Khoi to continue her call for freedom of expression.
“I have a mission, I need to sing out what I’ve seen,” she said.
“As an artist, we have a mission to speak for the unspeakable voice.”
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