Obama quizzed on rap, good looks
Kerry launches Vietnam’s 1st private university
HO CHI MINH CITY, May 25, (Agencies): Barack Obama fielded questions Wednesday on everything from rap and weed smoking to his good looks at a lively meeting with young Vietnamese, who see the US leader as a far cry from their staid Communist rulers.
The US President, on the final leg of a three-day trip to Vietnam before flying to Japan, held one of his trademark town hall gatherings with hundreds of youngsters in the country’s buzzing commercial and creative capital Ho Chi Minh City.
The president received a huge cheer as he took to the stage in a one-party authoritarian state where politics is opaque and young people’s voices are rarely heard.
Suboi, one of the country’s best known female rap artists, serenaded Obama with Vietnamese lyrics about whether people are really happy if they have lots of money.
Seemingly delighted with the exchange, Obama praised the journey of hip-hop “which started out as an expression of poor African Americans” and became a “global phenomenon”.
He then appeared to take a thinly veiled swipe at Vietnam’s authoritarian leaders, who regularly suppress critical artists.
Offensive
“Imagine if at the time when rap was starting off our government had said ‘No’ because some of the things you say are offensive, or some of the lyrics are rude, or you’re cursing too much?” he said.
“If you try to suppress the arts then you are suppressing the deepest dreams and aspirations of a people,” he added.
Earlier another young man began his question with: “Mr President, you’re so handsome.”
To which Obama quickly quipped “Oh. You can just stop there if you want.”
Another asked whether Internet posts about Obama’s alleged marijuana smoking as a youth were true.
“I don’t know if that’s true,” Obama quickly remarked, further dousing the issue with a warning: “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.”
But that particular exchange also prompted some soul-searching from Obama about leadership and growing out of a rebellious teenage phase prompted by the absence of a father.
“As I got older I realised that instead of worrying about the father who wasn’t there, I should start worrying more about what can I do to take more responsibility for my own life,” he added.
The environment was a subject that repeatedly came up. Vietnam is acutely vulnerable to climate change and environmental causes have been the focus of numerous protests against the authorities, especially among young people.
Obama said he recognised the freedom western industrialised countries have had to pollute the earth for far longer than developing ones, but urged all countries to work together to prevent disaster.
Obama’s parting shot before leaving communist Vietnam: let people express themselves.
He may have been referring to rap but the subtle message was aimed at his hosts who have been criticized for muzzling dissent.
During his three-day visit, Obama had spoken out strongly for human rights and free speech. On Wednesday, he brought it up again during a light moment after providing a supporting beat to a female rapper who asked him a question at a town hall meeting with hundreds of young Vietnamese.
“Before I answer your question, why don’t you give me a little rap, let’s see what you got,” Obama — his sky-blue shirt sleeves rolled up — told the rapper known as Suboi. “Come on. Do you need like a little beat?” And he went on to show off his oral beat-producing skills on the microphone.
“Vietnamese or English?” asked Suboi, Vietnam’s queen of hip-hop. “In Vietnamese, of course,” the president responded. “I won’t know what it means, but ... just a short version, because I’ve got to get going. Go ahead.”
After a few seconds of Suboi’s catchy hip-hop, in which the rest of the crowd joined by providing an applause beat, Obama told her: “That was good. See there? That was pretty good” He requested the meaning of the verse and got a lesson in materialism from the 26-year-old woman.
“I was just talking about some people having a lot of money, having big houses. But actually, are they really happy?” she said. Then she went on to talk about stereotypes: how people make assumptions when they see women rappers (cute girls).
Also:
HO CHI MINH CITY: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday launched Vietnam’s first privately funded university in what he said marked the next stage of an evolving relationship between the United States and Vietnam.
The Harvard-affiliated Fulbright University in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s commercial center, will be the first independent, non-profit university in Vietnam, the White House said in a statement.
The launch comes at the end of a three-day visit to Vietnam by US President Barack Obama, part of his administration’s “pivot” to Asia that emphasizes the importance of the fastgrowing region to the United States.
“The war is an indelible but increasingly distant memory, and for most it is not a memory at all,” said Kerry, who served as a young US naval offer in the Vietnam War, which killed hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and 58,000 US troops.