He doesn't look the part, but musician and writer Nguyen Tuan Khanh is as rock 'n' roll as they come. And the Vietnamese government's doesn't like this at all. "The authorities treat me as a spy from America or a rebel and don't accept the way I think," he says. "They banned my songs (without officially saying so) and even came to the studio to announce the ban while the singer and the band were recording. But the people understand and sing my songs. My songs are sung everywhere." In 1995, amidst government campaigns censuring social evils and foreign influences, the state-controlled media effectively banned Nguyen in newspapers and magazines stopped publishing his articles and announcing his performances. Denied his usual musical and journalistic outlets for expressing his unshakeable belief in individual freedom, Nguyen went about putting together rock festivals instead. Besides logistical headaches, he also had to maneuver around Vietnam's pernicious bureaucracy. To get the concerts approved, he had to alternate traditional Vietnamese balladeers with bands screaming Nirvana covers in the lineup. Although the unofficial ban on Nguyen has since eased, he has given up performing because he and any club where he performs come under serious pressure from the government; clearly, they want him out of the limelight. Still, no one can stop him from writing his songs which are famous for combining expressions of love for his country with urgent pleas for freedom. "Living under the thought control of Communist society, almost all Vietnamese youths grow up to fear real-life," he says. "If you want to live in freedom tomorrow, you need a spirit of freedom now."

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