Hanoi - Vietnamese authorities have temporarily barred two pop singers from performing after they sang politically sensitive songs while on tour in the US without government approval, a senior official confirmed Thursday. The two singers from Ho Chi Minh City, Bao Yen and Kim Tieu Long, have been suspended from performing in Vietnam for violating the regulations of cultural authorities, said Deputy Minister of Culture Le Tien Tho.
In early 2008 Yen and Long traveled to Orange County, California to take part in two pop concerts staged for a Vietnamese-American audience. The songs performed at the concerts included some dealing with the lives of Vietnamese refugees who fled the country after it was unified under Communist rule in 1975, long a taboo subject inside Vietnam.
Yen was suspended for 6 months and Bao for 3 months. Each must pay a fine of nearly 2,000 dollars.
Local newspapers reported that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Information had initially proposed suspensions twice as long.
"They did not ask permission from local authorities before leaving Vietnam to perform in foreign performances," said Le Ngoc Cuong, director of the Department for Artistic Performances. "They have infringed Vietnamese rules relating to cultural activities by popularizing songs that are not allowed."
Radio and television stations are forbidden to invite the two singers to perform, or to record or broadcast programmes with the singers while the suspensions last.
Tran Minh Phuong of Ho Chi Minh City's Artistic Performance Department said the singers have 10 days to appeal the decision.
Vietnamese had various reactions to the suspension.
"They just performed in the US to please the audience there, why did the government punish them?" said Nguyen Thi Duc Hanh, a university student in Hanoi. "Vietnam is integrating into the world. Many obsolete regulations must be changed to help Vietnam catch up."
"The songs they performed are very popular among Vietnamese," said Nguyen Thu Nga, manager of a company in Hanoi. "The government doesn't like them, but we do."
Local media reported that Vietnamese authorities are also considering punishing seven other singers for offences similar to those of Yen and Bao.
According to Vietnamese regulations, all Vietnamese singers who want to travel overseas to perform must ask permission from local authorities and have all songs to be performed approved in advance.
Violators may have their permission to perform suspended and be fined up to 2,000 dollars.
