Chinese rocker Cui Jian
Chinese rocker Cui Jian, who inspired the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement, will not perform on state television's annual new year gala, his manager said Saturday, following a surprise invitation to appear.
"Cui Jian will not
perform at the Spring Festival Gala," You You told AFP.
"It didn't work out," she added, referring queries to the show's organising committee for any further explanation.
Asked by the Beijing News daily, however, You said the singer had refused to "change the words" of his songs, without specifying who had demanded the changes for the Lunar New Year show.
The announcement in early January that Cui had been invited to perform on CCTV's annual Spring Festival Gala was greeted with surprise due to the singer's links to the pro-democracy protests.
Cui, dubbed the "father of rock" in China, began recording in the 1980s and his song "Nothing to My Name" became an unofficial anthem for the student protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
The demonstrations were brutally crushed by authorities, killing hundreds or even thousands, and Cui, who had appeared alongside the protesters, was banned from performing large-scale concerts in the mainland.
But in more recent years he has played to sizeable audiences at music festivals in the country.
He maintains a low-key public persona but recently criticised young people in China for what he described as their indifference to politics.
"Most of the young people forget about politics," he told the South China Morning Post newspaper in December.
"Personally, I want to see rights, freedom of speech, but it's a boring subject, because everybody thinks it's dangerous," he added.
The glitzy new year gala is generally known for a mix of patriotic songs, comedy sketches, and elaborate dance routines, and has displayed images glorifying top politicians and Communist Party slogans.
Peng Liyuan, the wife of President Xi Jinping, was a regular performer on previous shows and state-run media said the 2012 gala had a global audience of one billion people.
Source: AFP
GMT 06:01 2018 Saturday ,20 January
How to take a bullet, by 'Den of Thieves' star 50 CentGMT 08:40 2018 Thursday ,18 January
Brigitte Bardot slams #MeToo 'publicity-seeking' actressesGMT 09:52 2018 Tuesday ,16 January
The Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies aged 46GMT 06:46 2018 Friday ,12 January
Elvis fans all shook up on Australia party trainGMT 10:19 2018 Wednesday ,10 January
And maybe Oprah, US celebrity politicians aboundGMT 09:45 2018 Monday ,08 January
As Globes mark cinema's successes, audiences shy awayGMT 10:39 2018 Sunday ,07 January
Golden Globes celebrate the year of the genre movieGMT 10:15 2018 Friday ,05 January
Men in black mocked for flimsy #MeToo supportMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor