Bon Jovi Adds Taiwan Show Following China Tour Cancellation

Bon Jovi has added a second concert in Taiwan this month, after the rock group’s concerts in China were abruptly canceled.

The event promoter Live Nation Taiwan announced Thursday night on Facebook the second performance would be on Sept. 29, the day after the previously scheduled concert.

Photo: John Carucci/AP

Performing in New York as part an acoustic music series, Common Thread.

AEG Live Asia has declined to say why performances Sept. 14 in Shanghai and Sept. 17 in Beijing were canceled.

The Financial Times reported that China’s Culture Ministry had discovered that the band once included a picture of the Dalai Lama in a video backdrop during a concert in Taiwan in 2010, citing people familiar with the matter

The ruling Communist Party has denounced the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist, and Beijing is sensitive to any perceived support from foreign governments and celebrities for the Dalai Lama.

Authorities tightened scrutiny over foreign musicians performing in China after Icelandic singer Bjork shouted “Tibet, Tibet” following a song called “Declare Independence” at a Shanghai performance in 2008. A concert by U.S. pop group Maroon 5 planned for Saturday in Shanghai was canceled in July following a reported tweet by a band member about meeting the Dalai Lama.

A recently released video shows the band’s lead singer Jon Bon Jovi singing “The Moon Represents My Heart,” a classic Chinese love ballad from the 1970s in Mandarin and made popular by legendary Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng.