Beijing bureau’s not a ‘Belieber’
Print Edition
POP star Justin Bieber is not welcome on the Chinese mainland because of his “bad behavior,” city authorities have said, after he caused controversy in 2014 by visiting a Japanese war shrine.
Beijing’s culture bureau confirmed it was not a “Belieber” when it said the 23-year-old Canadian, who last played on the mainland in 2013, had a lot of growing up to do if he wanted to return.
Its statement came after fans posted comments on the agency’s website demanding to know when their heart-throb would be allowed to perform again.
It is “inappropriate to introduce bad behavior into the performing arts” it said, calling the performer out for his antics and urging him to turn over a new leaf.
“We hope Justin Bieber can improve his words and deeds in the process of growing up and become a singer people really like.”
The Beijing bureau made no specific mention of Bieber’s 2014 visit to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, which honors mostly Japanese war dead, including convicted war criminals. The shrine is seen across Asia as a symbol of Japan’s perceived lack of penitence for its past imperialist aggression, under which China suffered heavily.
Shortly after his trip, the singer issued an apology saying he was “misled to think the shrines were only a place of prayer.”
But some have never forgiven him. “Anyone who knows and then visits the Yasukuni Shrine is annoying,” Qiao Ating wrote on Weibo. Another post agreed: “It’s good he’s not coming. He is a bad boy.”
Fan Jiayi, a jewelry designer in Shanghai, said: “I do not think the government would reject him unless there was a big problem.”
Bieber is due to perform in Hong Kong in September as part of his “Purpose Tour.”
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