Vietnam’s cultural watchdog, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is seeking to introduce swinging fines for art performances it believes sully the national character.
Artists with provocative outfits to face massive fines despite there being no clear guidelines on clothing produced by the ministry
Despite claiming it will ask the public for their opinions on a draft decree that will in most cases double the level of fines, the ministry has already indicated it’s toughened stance on seemingly innocuous activities.
Massive fines
According to the draft decree, any organiser will be fined VND10-20 million (USD476.1-952.3) for changing the content of licensed art programmes or fashion shows.
The same fine will be applied for organising art programmes or work which has not been vetted.
Organisers of events that invite foreign artists to perform without being licensed will face a VND20-30 million fine.
Additionally any Vietnamese person, whether professional or amateur who performs abroad without having sought explicit permission to perform from the ministry will face fines of from VND20 to VND30 million. The ministry does not clarify why this should be necessary.
Performers of or people who organise violent or pornographic works will be subjected to the fine of VND30-40 million compared to the current VND20-30 million.
The same financial penalty will be applied to organisers bringing models to compete in foreign beauty contests or fashion shows without having sought for permission.
Additionally, the fine for performing or organising banned art works or art programmes with are accused of misrepresenting national history or the country’s achievements will be set at VND40-50 million. A performer taking part in such an event could face a six month to two year ban.
Another weird inclusion is a VND5-10 million fine for performers who lip-sync in performances, despite this being an extremely common gimmick used in high-energy concerts or shows. The fine would be exacted if the recorded sounds of real musical instruments are used, putting into doubt whether performances are being played by a live musician or not.
Harsher fines needed to be used to deal with violations
Deputy Minister claims harsher fines necessary
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Vuong Duy Bien said the current fines were not strict enough to deal with the violations, therefore, harsher levels needed to be used. He added that a lifetime bans could be imposed for serious infringements, but didn't make clear what criteria would be used to judge the nature of a violation.