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You know what? I used to be a pop star.
I had a lot of fans, shows, and money.
I even won song of the year award for the patriotic song that I wrote about my country.
Life was so easy and comfortable, but it wasn't enough for me.
I'm gonna tell you how I got from there to where I am now.
How I get involved in activism, and what I've learned from my experience.
Back in 2010, I was already resisting ideas about what it means to be a Vietnamese woman.
What it means to make music in Vietnam. I wrote song about woman's freedom.
I create a national debate for saying, "I don't want to have children", and for not wearing a bra.
When I won song of the year award, I was so happy. I shave VN, for Vietnam, the name of my song, in my hair.
I was just expressing myself in a different way.
It earns me a lot of fans and just as many critics.
By 2016, I was just got bored with Vietnamese pop industry.
Under the censorship system, I couldn't feel free to create art and music.
I got bored with singers, artists, musicians who censored themself.
And I start to spend time with dissident artist who were doing something very interesting thing.
Writers who are banned from writing, publisher who cannot publish.
Poets who are poems are removed from official records.
One day, a friend came with an idea, Mai Khoi, why don't you nominate
yourself for the National Assembly election as an independent candidate?
I didn't know it was possible at that time.
Normally, the candidate are Communist Party members.
Vietnam is a one-party state that doesn't allow any political opposition.
Activism are criminalized.The peaceful protest are brutally crushed.
The press are censor, so people don't know about their right.
But it turn out the law that allow people to nominate themself as an independent candidate.
I took few days to think about this.
I thought, this is a good way to promote human right and democracy.
This is a good chance for people who want to change their society.
If people can get into the parliament, they can write the new laws. They can
change the public policy on issues like environment, violence against women, education, food safety.
But first people need the way to get into the ballot. So I nominated.
My nomination sparked a huge debate in Vietnam.
At the beginning, the government officials say thing like
if you just only can sing, it's hard to get into the parliament.
Or how can we allow a woman who doesn't wear a bra get into the parliament?
But the more I was criticized in media
the more people start to question why the officials trying so hard to discredit me.
People start to pay their attention on the electoral process and they could see how I was treated unfairly.
Three weeks after my nomination, my shows was raid by the police.
And they publish the article on the police newspaper
to let people know that I am effectively banned from singing in public.
Of course, I was rejected from the ballot unfairly, but I wasn't about to give up.
Knowing that President Obama was coming to visit Vietnam, I made a video to invite him to meet with me.
I thought the meeting would help legitimize my election campaign and encourage young people.
President Obama, I want to meet you when you come to Vietnam in May.
The United States support Vietnam to promote the rule of law, transparency, and civil society.
I want to talk about how the United States can better help Vietnam to reform its legal system.
As an independent candidate for the National Assembly
I want to talk about how we can improve our law on elections.
People think that I was dreaming, how can Mai Khoi possibly meet with President Obama?
But the video went viral.
At that time, a friend of mine who have related work in the government
she called me and told me Mai Khoi, you're under surveillance 24/7.
The police will try to prevent you from the meeting.
So I went into hiding.
I could see many activists was detained. It make me nervous.
But in the end, I made it.
A very popular artist here who is speaking out on behalf
of freedom of speech and expression and artists throughout Vietnam.
You know what I've learned from this experience?
First, no one can change the world on their own.
If you want to change your society, you have to work with other people.
It means put the difference aside and build a support.
The second, human right and democracy are very powerful concept
but with Vietnamese who don't know about their basic rights, they obstruct the ideas.
So I try to communicate with people in the way that relevant to their lives.
In this, music and art can play an important role.
Another thing that I've learned is how important our freedom of expression is.
I was trying so hard to raise awareness for people about what freedom of expression
but it's so difficult to engage people.
I realized that I should stop saying about freedom of expression
and showing people what it looks like.
So, I publicly protested the politician and ideas that I don't agree with.
But sometime people don't like what I did.
But I get people thinking and talking about what human rights and freedom means. And this is a good start.
Why you smile?
But just as I thought things was starting to get better
freedom of expression is under the threat now in Vietnam.
To explain for someone who don't know about Vietnam
Before internet, we have nowhere to go and express ourself freely.
The government control everything.
The advance of internet and social media changed it.
It provides us a space where we can speak our mind, where we can debate about policies.
We can write about corruption. We can organize the peaceful protest.
And me, internet allow me to release the album without thinking about censorship system.
But at the same time, I've seen a space as Facebook is being abused. Dissent is being silenced.
The critical post have been deleted.
Many accounts of top independent journalist and activist have been locked.
Many people have been jailed for live-streaming the peaceful protest on their Facebook
or because they post their opinion about politics on their Facebook.
But Facebook is ignoring and right now I am campaigning
to keep Facebook free in Vietnam; the only space that we can speak freely.
Facebook is not the only Vietnam have this problem.
Another dissent issues is happening in Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Arabic, Turkey. Yes, everywhere.
After the advocating, I had some progress.
Three weeks ago, I had a meeting with Facebook in their head office in San Francisco.
And I showed them how their platform is being abused to silence dissent.
And I told them they have to take the responsibility on this.
I asked them to write a statement refusing to comply the local laws that silence dissent.
They are discussing about this and they promised to respond to me.
But if we don't put more pressure on this, nothing gonna change.
So today I am urgently call on everyone here, support me. Help me to raise awareness on this issues.
As the lesson that I've learned, no one can change the world on their own. We need to do it together.
Artist, politicians, lawyer, journalist, students
who have something to say, who have some ideas, please come to talk to me.
Or contact with Oslo Freedom Forum to keep in touch.
I need the idea to solve this problem.
Thank you very much.
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