Bob Dylan has canceled several legs of an Asian tour after Beijing refused to give him permission to perform in China, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Dylan originally planned to play in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, following his multi-city tour of Japan last month, the Sunday Morning Post said.
The tour’s organizers, Taiwan-based Brokers Brothers Herald, announced in January that Dylan would be performing in Hong Kong on April 8, but there was little subsequent promotion, the report said.
PHOTO: AFP
When permission for dates in Shanghai and Beijing was not granted by the Chinese government, the company pulled the other Asian dates.
“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, the promoter’s chief of operations, was quoted as saying. “The chance to play in China was the main attraction for him. When that fell through everything else was called off.”
Telephone calls to the ministry by reporters went unanswered yesterday.
Wu said the ministry had tightened control over foreign singers performing in China since Icelandic star Bjork’s pro-Tibet outburst at a Shanghai concert two years ago.
The ministry said Bjork “hurt the feelings of Chinese people” after she chanted “Tibet! Tibet!” when singing her song Declare Independence.
China has ruled Tibet since sending in troops in 1951 to “liberate” the region. It has grown increasingly wary of pro-Tibetan independence campaigns after protests staged two years ago in the Tibetan capital Lhasa to mark the anniversary of the March 10, 1959, uprising erupted in deadly violence.
Dylan is best known for the politically charged songs of his early career, including The Times They Are A-Changin’, which is hailed by some critics as the archetypal protest song. His anti-war anthem Blowin’ in the Wind is still regularly played at peace demonstrations.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS