The Chinese government has upped its stranglehold on foreign performers taking their shows to the world’s most populous country.
According to AP, the Ministry of Culture posted a notice on its website saying, “The content of the performance should not violate the country's law, including situations that harm the sovereignty of the country.”All foreign performers, including those from Hong Kong and Taiwan will now have to get approval to play in the country from the Ministry of Culture.
This comes after the Ministry said in March that foreign performers will not be subject to restrictions because of Bjork’s “Tibet!” comment during a performance from the Icelandic singer in Shanghai earlier this year.
At the time, the word from the Government was that in standing up for Tibet, which was invaded by China in 1951, Bjork “broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings.”
The cultural crackdown isn’t limited to foreign artists working in China, it also relates to local musicians with Associated Press reporting that Beijing musicians are all out of luck too with clubs suddenly being told they need a live performance license and a music festival being cancelled.
I hope I don’t break Chinese law or hurt any Chinese people’s feelings when I say it’s a shame that one of the world’s superpowers see fit to have such mistrust and malevolence for its own people.
Do they really see their own people as not being smart enough to make up their own minds about an artist’s body of work' Surely this arrogant government would do better to promote the wonderful cultural heritage of China, rather than treat their population like idiots and protect them from artists'
At least China is proving to the world that good art is powerful stuff, powerful enough to instil fear in the leaders of the world’s most populous country.
