China: Oasis Not Our Fault

Since the Feb. 28 cancellation of Oasis’ first scheduled concerts in China, controversy has risen over the reason, with Chinese authorities saying they had no part in it.

According to the band, it was told the shows were shelved because Chinese authorities discovered that the group’s songwriter-guitarist, Noel Gallagher, performed at a Tibet Freedom concert in 1997 in New York.

However, China’s Xinhua news service says it contacted the Ministry of Culture and was told that the authorities had nothing to do with the cancellation.

“We have learned that the promoters of their concerts in China came across some financial problems,” said Sun Qiuxia, an official with the entertainment department of the ministry. “But we haven’t received any formal document from the companies about canceling the concerts.”

Sun “stressed” that the ministry had approved the Oasis concerts and had not revoked their performance licenses.

At a March 3 news conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang reiterated that the concerts were canceled “because of economic reasons,” and that the authorities would ask the promoter for “further details.”

A spokesman for the Beijing All Culture Communication Company, which claimed to be involved with the show, also told Chinese media the cancellation was due to the current economic crisis.

A spokesman for Oasis told NME.com that the band has never heard of the Beijing All Culture Communication Company and that its performance license had been revoked.

The band still believed that the concerts were cancelled for political reasons.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan revolt against Chinese rule.

Oasis’ Chinese shows were to take place in Shanghai and Beijing at the beginning of April.