- Music
- 21 Jul 17
China appears to have blocked Justin Bieber from performing in the country, according to an official response to a question submitted on the website for Beijing's Municipal Bureau of Culture.
The user asked for details as to why Bieber hadn't been able to perform in China.
Officials cited a "series of bad behaviour" by the Canadian star abroad, which allegedly caused "public dissatisfaction."
“In order to...clean up the Chinese performance environment, it is not suitable to bring in badly behaved entertainers,” the statement read.
The statement did not give specific examples of what the singer has done, but Bieber has stirred up controversy in previous visits to the region.
In 2014 he caused outrage in China after posting a photo from the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo which honours Japan's war dead, including some who are considered war criminals. The monument has long been a source of friction between Japan and its neighbours.
Some media coverage of Bieber's 2013 Beijing performance as part of his Believe world tour showed him stripping to his bare torso. Photos also emerged of the singer's bodyguards carrying him up the steps of the Great Wall, and riding a segway shirtless through the streets.
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The singer has become somewhat notorious for his indiscretions abroad, which include grafitti-ing a hotel in Brazil, or signing the visitor's book in Amsterdam's Anne Frank House house saying he hoped she would have been a "Belieber."
"We hope Justin Bieber will continue to improve his behaviour as part of his growth, and become a singer truly loved by the public," the statement went on.
Bieber recently made a stop at Dublin's RDS on his world tour, and is scheduled for a number of shows in Asia come September, including Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Other western stars, including Lady Gaga, Maroon 5 and Bon Jovi, have also had trouble with China's government for expressing their support for the Dalai Lama.