Why did China cancel Bon Jovi's concert tour?
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Molly Jackson Staff
Last month, Grammy-winning singer Jon Bon Jovi released his 13th studio album, Burning Bridges 鈥� precisely what his band seems to have done in China.
Officials for Mr. Bon Jovi鈥檚 first concert tour in China at the last minute, leaving frustrated fans to puzzle over how the band might have offended the Culture Ministry, which previews all foreign performers鈥� sets to ensure songs don鈥檛 veer into politically taboo territory.聽
The likely culprit: images of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader in exile, used as a concert backdrop in 2010.聽
It may not seem like a serious offense, but this week marks the , and Beijing is determined to celebrate in Lhasa, the regional capital, with bells and whistles 鈥� and no protests.聽The Dalai Lama, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning monk whom Beijing calls a separatist "wolf in monk鈥檚 robes,"聽has been singled out for official condemnation amidst anniversary activities.
The Dalai Lama's decades-long advocacy聽for Tibetan autonomy has attracted a broad camp of celebrity admirers: Maroon 5 and Oasis were also forced to cancel concerts after expressing support. In 2008,聽Icelandic singer Bj枚rk closed a Beijing concert with the song "Declare Independence" and chants of 鈥淭ibet, Tibet!鈥�, prompting a crackdown on entertainers who "."听
Bon Jovi himself described his music as celebrating 鈥溾�� in a Chinese interview, which may have waved a red flag in front of the Culture Ministry.
Another musical icon of freedom, Bob Dylan, provoked fierce controversy with his 2011 performances.
US fans were outraged when their protest-anthem hero , such as 鈥淏lowin鈥� in the Wind,鈥� from his Beijing song set, despite singing them elsewhere on the same tour. 聽
With rumors of self-censorship swirling, the famously reclusive artist penned his strongly denying that he allowed censors any say over the performance. 鈥淲e played all the songs that we intended to play,鈥� he insisted.
It was not enough to , who bemoaned, "Like the corporate leaders that preceded him, Dylan appears to apply one standard when it comes to human dignity at home, and another while traveling abroad, especially when those who most routinely violate basic standards of human rights line his pockets."
