MCLC: Elton John dedicates concert to Ai Weiwei

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Jacqueline Winter (dujuan99 at gmail.com)
Subject: Elton John dedicates concert to Ai Weiwei
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Source: South China Morning Post (11/26/12):
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1091040/elton-john-dedicates-beijing
-concert-ai-weiwei
 

Elton John dedicates Beijing concert to Ai Weiwei

A recent shout-out by pop legend Elton John to dissident artist Ai Weiwei
at the singer's first concert in Beijing could have easily made it his
last there.

In front of a sold-out concert at the MasterCard Centre on Sunday, the
British singer dedicated his ³whole show² to Ai, who for many years has
been mainland officials¹ public enemy No 1.

³I really like him, although we only spent 10 minutes together. Sincere,
generous,² Ai tweeted, referring to Sir Elton, who also performed in
Shanghai last week. His tour will take him
<http://www.eltonjohn.com/tour/> to Seoul and Kuala Lumpur before he comes
to Hong Kong on December 4.

Chinese netizens were quick to draw parallels with a similar incident
involving a foreign pop star and a touchy political issue.
Icelandic pop sensation Bjork was slammed by China's Foreign Ministry in
2008 after she innocuously dedicated the song Declare Independence to the
Tibetan independence movement at a Shanghai concert.

China¹s Culture Ministry accused the singer of ³hurting Chinese people¹s
feelings² and vowed to keep closer tabs on foreign artists performing in
the country.

Sir Elton¹s high-profile shout-out would probably have irked the Culture
Ministry but he is unlikely to receive the same amount heat as Bjork did
in 2008, who made her comment during the politically-charged period ahead
of the Beijing Olympics.

³Now, if he had donned black shades and shouted, 'Chen
Guang-f*****n¹-cheng, amirite?' we might have a problem,² wrote one
blogger 
<http://beijingcream.com/2012/11/elton-john-dedicated-his-show-in-beijing-t
onight-to-ai-weiwei/>, referring to blind legal activist Chen Guang-cheng.

===============================================

 
Source: SCMP (11/28/12):
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1092925/china-media-slams-elton-john
-ai-weiwei-dedication

China media slams Elton John for Ai Weiwei dedication
By Agence France-Presse in Beijing

A top Chinese daily on Wednesday condemned pop star Elton John for
dedicating his Beijing show to dissident artist Ai Weiwei, saying it was
disrespectful and could lead to bans on other Western performers.

The Sunday night dedication was reminiscent of Icelandic singer Bjork
chanting "Tibet, Tibet" at a 2008 concert in Shanghai, which resulted in
China¹s cultural minders refusing performance permits for some Western
acts.

"John¹s unexpected action was disrespectful to the audience and the
contract that he signed with the Chinese side," the Global Times said in
an editorial.

"He forcibly added political content to the concert, which should have
been nothing more than an entertaining performance."
Ai, 55, is a world-renowned conceptual artist and outspoken critic of
China¹s communist government.

He disappeared into police custody for 81 days last year, drawing
worldwide headlines and casting a spotlight on the government¹s growing
concern over social unrest, especially as "Arab spring" street protests
rocked the Middle East.

After being released he was convicted of tax evasion, fined US$2.4 million
by the Beijing tax bureau and barred from leaving the country for one year.

"John¹s action will also make the relevant agencies further hesitate in
the future when they invite foreign artists," said the Global Times, a
paper run by the ruling Communist Party¹s People¹s Daily.

"John himself is a senior entertainment figure, but has raised
difficulties for future arts exchanges between China and other countries."

The iconic Grammy Award-winning artist is scheduled to return to China
next week to play at a concert in the southern city of Guangzhou,
following shows in South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong. John performs in
Hong Kong on December 4.

Tickets for the performance remained on sale on Wednesday and the promoter
said cultural authorities had not informed them of any cancellation.

But the Global Times suggested "that Chinese audiences need not hesitate
to protest the provocateur and boo him off the stage".
Ai said he welcomed the editorial because it was a rare instance of
state-run media mentioning his name and reporting on controversial issues
that are routinely censored.

"I¹m quite happy they did this, at least they are starting to talk about
the things that a lot of people think about," Ai said.
"They [the paper] realise that they need to have their own voice and that
they can¹t remain silent all the time" on controversial issues censored by
the authorities.