Fighting authoritarianism through music: Vietnamese singers promote freedom

Vietnam has been under communist rule for half a century. The Vietnamese government controls online public opinion and force people to live in a monitored environment. However, just like Vietnam today, Taiwan faced a similar situation during the Japanese occupation and martial law, when art and music that didn’t conform to the authorities’ policies faced a similar fate.

Despite this, Vietnamese singers Mai Khôi (杜阮玫瑰) and Ngoc Dai (厄戴) continue to perform overseas and release albums in the hope of getting closer to the public through performing a variety of musical genres combined with satirical lyrics. Even in the face of oppression by the Vietnamese government, these Vietnamese singers are still convinced that their music can bring about change in society. At the same time, they hope that through various events and activities, Taiwanese people will look back to examine their own history of democracy and cherish the democracy and freedom that they enjoy today.

以下為中文對照

以音樂抗威權 越南歌者宣揚自由理念

越南在共產政權的統治下已有半個世紀，越南政府掌控了網路輿論，讓人民時時活在被監視的環境中，然而不只越南，在日治時期及戒嚴時期的台灣，若是不符合當局政策的創作，往往也會遭遇同樣的命運。

然而，越南歌者杜阮玫瑰和厄戴仍持續在海外演出及發行專輯，透過多元的曲風結合諷刺的歌詞，希望能更接近大眾。即使面對越南政府的壓迫，越南歌者仍深信自己的音樂可以為社會帶來改變，同時也希望藉著活動，呼籲台灣人們回頭檢視民主的歷程，並珍惜現在所享有的民主與自由。