The times they are not a-changin'. Bob Dylan has canceled the Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean legs of his Asian tour after Beijing's culture ministry refused him permission to play in China.
Dylan's concerts in China were announced in January but then there was little follow-up on when and where they would take place. Many local fans were skeptical because controversial artists are generally not allowed to play in China, especially since Iceland's Bjork shouted Tibetan independence slogans at the end of a concert in Shanghai in 2008.
At the same time, Celine Dion, hardly the most controversial of warblers, was also refused permission to perform in 2008.
“China's Ministry of Culture did not give us permission to stage concerts in Beijing and Shanghai, so we had no alternative but to scrap plans for a Southeast Asian tour," Jeffrey Wu, of the Taiwan-based Brokers Brothers Herald, told the Sunday Morning Post in Hong Kong.
When permission for dates in Shanghai and Beijing was not granted by the Chinese government, the company pulled the other Asian dates.
Dylan's concerts in China were announced in January but then there was little follow-up on when and where they would take place. Many local fans were skeptical because controversial artists are generally not allowed to play in China, especially since Iceland's Bjork shouted Tibetan independence slogans at the end of a concert in Shanghai in 2008.
At the same time, Celine Dion, hardly the most controversial of warblers, was also refused permission to perform in 2008.
“China's Ministry of Culture did not give us permission to stage concerts in Beijing and Shanghai, so we had no alternative but to scrap plans for a Southeast Asian tour," Jeffrey Wu, of the Taiwan-based Brokers Brothers Herald, told the Sunday Morning Post in Hong Kong.
When permission for dates in Shanghai and Beijing was not granted by the Chinese government, the company pulled the other Asian dates.
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