China said it planned stricter controls of foreign performers after Icelandic pop singer Bjork backed independence for Tibet during a concert in Shanghai.
"From now on we will tighten controls on foreign artists performing in China to prevent similar incidents from happening again," the Ministry of Culture said.
In her concert earlier this month, Bjork cried, "Tibet, Tibet!" followed by "Raise your flag!" toward the end of her final song, Declare Independence.
PHOTO: AP
Her protest apparently went unnoticed by the majority of an estimated 3,000 people at the Shanghai International Gymnastics Centre.
But in a statement posted on its Web site, the ministry said that Bjork's call "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings."
The statement said Bjork had "deliberately turned a commercial show into a political performance" and that China would "no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this."
At a similar concert in Tokyo last week, Bjork dedicated her performance of Declare Independence to supporting Kosovo's declaration of independence.
That statement led organizers of a Serbian music festival planned for July to drop her from the lineup.
Her Shanghai protest came as several Tibetan independence groups are running campaigns to promote their cause ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.
Most Tibetans support calls by the exiled Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest leader, for greater autonomy for Tibet within China, and many still favor independence.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after an unsuccessful uprising against the occupation of Tibet by Chinese troops since 1951. He remains as popular as ever among ordinary Tibetans. (DPA)
在冰島流行歌手碧玉在上海的演唱中公開表示支持西藏獨立後，中國官方表示，未來他們對外國藝人的演出將更嚴格把關。
中國文化部說：「從今以後，我們將嚴格控管外國藝人在中國的演出，以防範類似事件再度發生。」
在本月初的演唱會中，碧玉最後一曲選唱《宣示獨立》；曲末，她在「高舉你的旗幟！」這句歌詞後，接著大喊「西藏！西藏！」。
當天在上海國際體操中心聽演唱會的觀眾約有三千名左右，但他們當時似乎並未注意到碧玉的抗議。
文化部網站上的聲明中表示，碧玉的言論已「違反中國的法律，也傷害了中國人民的感情」。
聲明中提到，碧玉「蓄意政治化這場商業演出」，中國「不歡迎其他藝人效法」。
碧玉上週在東京一場類似的演唱會中，將《宣示獨立》這首歌獻給宣布獨立的科索沃表達支持。
她支持科索沃的立場，讓她遭到塞爾維亞一場音樂季的主辦單位除名，該音樂季預計在七月舉辦。
她在上海抗議之際，若干西藏獨立團體也趕在八月北京奧運之前，發起活動宣揚理念。
大多數西藏人都支持流亡的藏傳佛教最高精神領袖達賴喇嘛的主張，認為西藏應在中國統治下擁有更大的自治權，但其中仍有許多人傾向爭取獨立。
一九五一年，中國以武力「解放」西藏；一九五九年，西藏的抗暴活動失敗後，達賴喇嘛流亡至印度，但西藏人民對他的愛戴仍一如往昔。（德通社／翻譯：袁星塵）
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