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Björk's Utterances Spark Chinese Outcry

07th March 2008 | by Mark Thomson

There's no stopping Björk. Just when you thought she'd want to lie low, out pops another political statement, thus prompting a backlash from <insert oppressive government here>.

Following her previously reported dedication of the song "Declare Independence" to Tibet during a performance in Shanghai, the China's culture ministry retaliated by saying that Björk's remarks “broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings”. Of course, in China, they just call them people.

“We will further tighten controls on foreign artists performing in China in order to prevent similar cases from happening in the future. We shall never tolerate any attempt to separate Tibet from China and will no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this.” he added.

As a result, it could see Björk banned from performing in the country. She has since remarked, “I feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions”.

Tibet's independence has long been considered a taboo by the Chinese government, who treat it with the same reverence and protectiveness as the United Kingdom does with it's member nations.