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Chinese government deny blocking Dylan gigs
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 8 April 2010
The Chinese government has denied refusing permission for Bob Dylan to play two gigs in the country. As previously reported, the promoter of a Bob Dylan tour around South East Asia this week said plans for the singer songwriter to perform in Beijing and Shanghai had been blocked by Chinese officials and, because it was those dates that most interested Dylan, the whole tour – which also included dates in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan – was being canned.
While it is not unknown for Chinese authorities to block Western singers from performing in the country, especially those with a history of political commentary, some music industry types in China speculated the tour’s Taiwan-based promoter had actually axed the tour because of financial problems rather than political setbacks.
Now China’s Ministry Of Culture has issued a statement saying they never received an application from the Dylan tour promoters to stage concerts in the country. Some Chinese industry commentators add that it’s not the first time promoters in the region have used alleged government intervention as an excuse for cancelling tours that turn out not to be commercially viable.
