Bon Jovi adds Taiwan show after China tour cancellation
Rocker adds second Taiwan concert, new gig in Bangkok
Bon Jovi has added a second concert in Taiwan this month and a new concert in Bangkok, after the rock group's concerts in China were abruptly cancelled.
The event promoter Live Nation Taiwan announced Thursday night on Facebook the second performance in Taiwan would be on Sept. 29, the day after the previously scheduled concert.
A posting Thursday on the band's website announced a new concert in Bangkok next Tuesday — a time when the band likely would have been in China.
AEG Live Asia has declined to say why performances Sept. 14 in Shanghai and Sept. 17 in Beijing were cancelled.
The Financial Times reported that China's Culture Ministry had discovered that the band once included a picture of the Dalai Lama in a video backdrop during a concert in Taiwan in 2010, citing people familiar with the matter
The ruling Communist Party has denounced the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist, and Beijing is sensitive to any perceived support from foreign governments and celebrities for the Dalai Lama.
Increased scrutiny
Authorities tightened scrutiny over foreign musicians performing in China after Icelandic singer Bjork shouted "Tibet, Tibet" following a song called Declare Independence at a Shanghai performance in 2008. A concert by U.S. pop group Maroon 5 planned for Saturday in Shanghai was canceled in July following a reported tweet by a band member about meeting the Dalai Lama.
A recently released video shows the band's lead singer Jon Bon Jovi singing The Moon Represents My Heart, a classic Chinese love ballad from the 1970s in Mandarin and made popular by legendary Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng.