Bon Jovi's scheduled concerts in mainland China have been cancelled after the band has been found to be connected with the Dalai Lama. (Photo : Bon Jovi/Facebook)
Two concerts by rock band Bon Jovi scheduled next week in mainland China have been cancelled after officials discovered connections between the band and the exiled Dalai Lama.
The Communist Party's Ministry of Culture decided to cancel the concerts after finding out that Bon Jovi included a picture of the Tibetan spiritual leader in a backdrop video during a 2010 concert in Taiwan. This came after one of the band leaders tweeted about meeting him.
The two concerts were set to take place next week in Shanghai and Beijing. Ticket prices range from 480 to 3,880 yuan ($75-$600).
Concert organizers on Tuesday were still trying to convince Chinese officials to let Bon Jovi perform, but the outlook is not looking good for the rock band.
It remains unclear whether those who already bought tickets will receive a refund.
The cancellation of these two concerts adds Bon Jovi to a list of musicians that has fallen on the wrong side of the Chinese government, including Icelandic singer Bjork and American pop band Maroon 5. The latter's Shanghai concert was scheduled earlier this year.
The Chinese government sees the Dalai Lama as a Tibetan separatist, who advocates Tibetan independence from his base in India.
China has a reputation for banning musicians, artists, academics, celebrities and even political leaders for showing support for the Dalai Lama or the Tibetan separatist movement.
For more than a year, relations between China and Great Britain practically stopped after Prime Minister David Cameron met the Dalai Lama in 2012.
The Communist Party recently started celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region, established by the central government in the early 1950s. This makes the issue of Tibet especially sensitive, as Chinese officials have vowed to quell the Tibetan separatist movement.
In 2008, Bjork was banned from performing in the country for life after chanting "Tibet, Tibet" during her song "Declare Independence" in a 2008 Shanghai concert.
Other celebrities banned from entering the country for sympathizing with the Dalai Lama include Richard Gere, Brad Pitt and Sharon Stone.
