Are Maroon 5 the latest band to have their China tour canceled
because of supposed links to Tibet's exiled spiritual leader? Their fans think
so.
On Thursday,
tour organizer Live Nation abruptly canceled a September concert in Shanghai by
the popular American rock band, without giving an explanation.
It didn't take
long for their many disappointed fans to come up with a reason why, though.
Jesse
Carmichael, one of the band members, attended a star-studded event on July 4 --
Independence Day in the United States -- near Los Angeles to celebrate the 80th
birthday of theDalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.
In a Twitter
post from that evening, the musician sounded excited: "Happy Birthday
America (and The Dalai Lama too) sang happy birthday to his holiness today with
a..." followed by a link to Instagram, the photo-sharing site.
Both the tweet and the photo have been deleted, but acached version of his post is still available online.
The show was
scrapped "for a reason," said Live Nation in a vaguely worded
statement, before apologizing to the public and promising ticket buyers a quick
refund.
Forced into
exile after a failed uprising against Beijing's rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama --
a Nobel peace laureate -- is despised by the ruling Communist leadership as a
separatist who is trying to split Tibet from China.
The Chinese
foreign ministry reacted angrily recently when Valerie Jarrett, a senior
adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, joined the Dalai Lama's birthday
celebrations in New York on July 10 despite objections from Beijing.
"We urge
the U.S. side to stop providing any convenience and support to the 'Tibet
independence' forces lest China-U.S. relations be disrupted and
jeopardized," said spokesperson Hua Chunying in a statement.
CNN's repeated
phone calls to Shanghai's culture bureau, which approves concerts, went
unanswered Thursday.
Performers
banned
If its member's connection to the Dalai
Lama cost Maroon 5 its China tour, the band would have plenty of company.
Linkin Park,
another popular American rock band, was barred from China in 2011 after they were
photographed embracing and shaking hands with the Dalai Lama at a youth
conference in Los Angeles.
Linkin Park will finally make a return after a six-year hiatus,
holding concerts in Shanghai and Beijing next week.
Bans on other
musicians are more permanent.
Bjork, the
Icelandic singer, chanted "Tibet! Tibet!" at the end of her song
"Declare Independence" during a 2008 show in Shanghai. She has not
been allowed back.
And British rock
band Oasis had their 2008 China tour dates canceled because of an earlier appearance at a
Free Tibet concert.
Clearly upset
about the news of the cancellation, some Chinese fans of Maroon 5 blew off
steam Thursday by posting a picture on social media.
It simply showed
the title of one of the band's latest hits: "This Summer's Gonna Hurt like
a Motherf----r."
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