Vietnamese authorities arrested four land rights activists after finishing their investigation on the Đồng Tâm police raid in January 2020.
Before I did any work for Will’s story, I got the impression that his involvement in these protests were merely coincidental. That he was just some Vietnamese American who just so happened to stumble his way into the protests. I wanted to know what his motivations were.
Human rights activist Nguyễn Văn Oai is on trial again, after having previously served four years in prison on charges of attempting to overthrow the government. Oai became a father while in prison awaiting trial. His wife Hồ Thị Linh Châu posted a letter to him on her Facebook page, just before he was originally due to appear in court.
[VIDEO] Travel back to the annual Ðiện Hòn Chén Festival in Huế, Việt Nam -- this time, to witness the practice and rituals of ancestor worshipping.
Reporter Kathy Triệu is back with another modern refugee story -- one that chronicles the journey of two strong-willed Vietnamese mothers, Trần Thị Lụa and Trần Thị Thanh Loan. They recount fhow several attempts to flee Việt Nam for Australia led them instead to a detention center in Indonesia.
Imagine a rap battle, between two competing, freestyling artists. But instead of rappers, you've got Vietnamese villagers. And instead of rhyming lyrics, you’ve got folk music infused with poetry and lullabies. Now set it all in 13th-century northern Việt Nam. That’s what you get with quan họ, traditional call and response folk music. Loa’s Jenny Lý gives us a sample of this singing style.
Rock n’ roll came alive in Việt Nam in the midst of war. Vietnamese musicians took inspiration from the beats and guitar riffs of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and made it their own. The music that was created during this time is arguably some of the best rock music available, a unique sound that could only have existed in the contexts of which it was born. Loa's Stella Trần walks us through a collection of this groundbreaking music.
Music has the power to transcend time, connecting different generations and giving voice to enduring ideals even as the world around us changes. In our "Solitary Envoi" segment, we embark to a faraway jungle, near the Thai-Laotian border. A song written from a small resistance base, by the light of the moon, speaks to the sacrifices made by those who have committed themselves to their country.
There’s a part of Vietnamese performance art that is distinctly emotional -- melodramatic, you might even call it. Actually, we call it cải lương. It’s folk opera that amplifies human drama with plaintive notes and a haunting pitch. This week, Lilly Nguyễn goes back in time to her first musical memory of cải lương to discover the story behind this traditional musical theater.
