The Times, 8 March

Shanghai expected the Icelandic singer, Bjork to surprise audiences, and there was no disappointed. Her first concert is set to be her last. The Chinese Ministry of Culture has said that it will impose stricter rules on foreign artists wanting to come to China after Bjork ended her performance last week with a cry for Tibetan independence. She concluded a passionate rendition of ‘Declare Independence’ with a shout of “Tibet, Tibet” – an outburst intended to draw local attention to Chinese rule of the Buddhist Himalayan region.

The Culture Ministry said that her behaviour hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and would be handled according to the law. ‘We will further tighten controls on foreign artists performing in China to prevent similar cases from happening in the future. We shall never attempt to tolerate any attempt to separate Tibet from China and will no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this’, it maintains.

The singer issued a statement defending her action and said that she was not a politician but a musician whose duty was to express human emotions.