March 13, 2008 12:53

Chinese deny Bjork Tibet remark will lead to more censorship

The Culture Ministry say her protest was 'an individual case'

Bjork’s comments in support of Tibet at a recent gig in Shanghai will not lead to tighter restrictions on Western artists performing in China.

After performing ‘Declare Independence’, the Icelandic singer shouted ‘Tibet, Tibet’, which the Chinese Culture Ministry said “broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people’s feelings”.

However, the Vice Minister of Culture, Zhou Heping, has now dismissed the tighter controls originally implied, saying: “It was just an individual case. I don’t think it will affect an invitation of artists from all over the world to come to China and perform, particularly during the Olympic Games.”

Tibet and China have long been embroiled in a dispute over Tibet’s sovereignty, with China refusing to give the state independence despite countless protests, including recent mass demonstrations by Tibetan monks.

As previously reported, Bjork will no longer play Serbia’s EXIT festival, after making similar onstage comments about the newly-independent, but disputed, state of Kosovo at a gig in the country.