Why Vietnam s "Lady Gaga" lives in fear

Despite sweeping reforms, Vietnam is still a repressive one-party state which spies on its people. Mai Khoi, one of the country s most celebrated singers, is fighting back. Read more here: https://econ.st/2LuOLk0 Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: https://econ.st/2xvTKdy 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. 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. Mai Khoi started to be monitored by the regime. 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. The meeting led to police raids of her concerts. Despite sweeping economic and social reforms in Vietnam the ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism. 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. 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 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. For more from Economist Films visit: http://films.economist.com/ Check out The Economist’s full video catalogue: http://econ.st/20IehQk Like The Economist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist/ Follow The Economist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theeconomist Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeconomist/ Follow us on Medium: https://medium.com/@the_economist