District 1 Police, Ho Chi Minh City have just issued a decision to punish two young men, one 24 years old, French nationality; The other person is 28 years old, New Zealand nationality, 25 million VND. At the same time, deportation from Vietnam due to violating the regulation "Foreigners entering Vietnam to engage in other activities in Vietnam without permission from competent authorities according to Decree 144/2021".
"Other activities" in this case are for spray painting and drawing graffiti on the rolling door of a household in the center of Ho Chi Minh City in the style of graffiti (street art) for entertainment, then posting it on social networking sites. individual.
This is not the first time foreigners have been fined for graffiti in Vietnam. However, this is the first time that authorities, in addition to fines, also apply expulsion measures.
Expulsion is a necessary and strict solution in the context of foreign tourists and Vietnamese people writing graffiti in the name of graffiti art, which has been showing signs of being widespread and out of control in Ho Chi Minh City and many other major cities in the world. country.
Graffiti - a visual expression commonly seen today developed in the 1960s and 1970s in New York, USA, and from there spread worldwide.
Graffiti is considered one of the elements of hip hop culture, for personal expression and expression. But graffiti, unlike other forms of hip hop, is easily misunderstood and frowned upon because it is often done illegally.
Not only that, graffiti style "works of art" as seen throughout Vietnam have very little "artistic" element. The rest is literally graffiti, smearing, causing visual pollution.
Not to mention, spray painting , graffiti in public spaces or buildings, walls... owned by others is also an act of property infringement, upsetting the aesthetic values of a community that has been established. create and preserve. So this is also a violation of visa terms and a violation of Vietnamese culture - if you are a foreigner.
Back to the story of two French and New Zealand citizens being deported. Ho Chi Minh City District 1 Police provided a notable detail: The Instagram account of one of these two people has up to 2,000 followers, posting many images related to graffiti in many different countries such as Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam...
District 1 Police commented that "this behavior causes a spread effect, negatively affecting the number of foreigners coming to Vietnam to spray paint and draw graffiti in public places, affecting public opinion." They are like the beauty of Ho Chi Minh City."
Vietnam always welcomes tourists from all over the world. But Vietnam is not a destination for people who like graffiti!
