Indianapolis:
American singer and actor Lady Gaga has angered her legions of Chinese fans
after meeting with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader.
Thousands
of Chinese Internet users flooded Lady Gaga’s Instagram account with angry
comments after she posted photos of the meeting. Others voiced their outrage on
Chinese social media.
The
pop star and the Dalai Lama appeared together at a conference in the U.S. on
Sunday to talk about the benefits of compassion. China’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs spokesman Hong Lei declined to comment on reports that Beijing had
placed a ban on her music, which is hugely popular in China.
But
he noted the strong public reaction to the news online and said the international
community is “well aware of what kind of person the Dalai Lama truly is.”
Forced
into exile after a failed uprising against Beijing’s rule in 1959, the Dalai
Lama — a Nobel peace laureate — is despised by China’s Communist leadership as
a separatist who is trying to split Tibet from China.
A
long list of Western celebrities have been banned by China thanks to their
supposed connection to the Dalai Lama — from Hollywood actor Richard Gere to
musicians Bjork, Bon Jovi and Maroon 5.
As
China fast becomes a big market for Western artists, more and more of them are
learning they may have to toe the Communist Party line to maintain their
presence and popularity here.
For
Lady Gaga and throngs of her Chinese fans, tricky international politics means
they are suddenly caught in a Bad Romance.
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