BJORK - CHINA WON'T IMPOSE TIGHTER RESTRICTIONS ON OTHER ARTISTS

LATEST: China has decided not to punish other western pop stars performing in the country as a result of BJORK's recent outburst in support of Tibetan independence. The Icelandic singer was chastised by the communist country's culture ministry after she yelled "Tibet" several times during her song Declare Independence at a concert in Shanghai on 2 March (08). The Chinese government, which has ruled Tibet since 1951, then announced they were to "further tighten controls on foreign artists performing in China in order to prevent similar cases from happening in the future". The statement goes on, "We shall never tolerate any attempt to separate Tibet from China and will no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this." However, the government has now chosen not to impose stricter rules on other acts. Vice minister of culture Zhou Heping says, "It was just an individual case. "I don't think it will affect our invitation of artists from all over the world to come to China and perform, particularly during the Olympic Games."