Justin Bieber banned from Beijing for ‘bad behavior’

Beijing’s culture bureau said it hoped that Justin Bieber improve his conduct to once again find “public favor.” (Reuters)

DUBAI: Canadian pop artist Justin Bieber has been banned from performing in Beijing for “bad behavior,” the Chinese capital’s culture bureau said in a statement posted in its website.
“Justin Bieber is a gifted singer, but he is also a controversial young foreign singer,” said the bureau. “As far as we are concerned, he has engaged in a series of bad behaviors, both in his social life and during a previous performance in China, which caused discontent among the public.”
The 23-year-old singer performed in China in 2013 as part of his Believe tour, and caused an incident when he was captured on camera being carried up the Great Wall of China by his bodyguards.
“To regulate the domestic entertainment market and purify its environment, we find it inappropriate to bring in performers with bad behaviors,” culture bureau said in a statement dated July 18.
Bieber has been on a Purpose World Tour since March 2016 to promote his latest album, with Asian dates in Japan, India, Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia. He has a scheduled September 27 concert in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China.
The Canadian has had a repeated run-in with the law, from drunken driving to urinating in a janitor’s bucket, which may have earned him the ire of Beijing’s culture bureau.
“We hope Justin Bieber is able to improve his conduct as he grows up and will once again find public favor,” the bureau said.
Beiber joins a notable list of foreign artists unable to penetrate China’s potentially huge music industry, although most have been included because of political reasons than behavioral issue.
American rock band Bon Jovi was forced to cancel shows in China in 2015 after an image of the Dalai Lama as a backdrop at a concert in Taiwan in 2010. In the same year, Maroon 5 was forced to scrap shows in mainland China after the group’s keyboard player sent birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama.
In 2009, Oasis was barred from performing after guitarist Noel Gallagher performed at a Free Tibet concert in New York. Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Linkin Park and Bjork were also not allowed to perform in China.