Bon Jovi’s China Gigs Cancelled Due to “Unforeseen Reasons”

But concert promoter AEG Live Asia released a statement apologizing to fans for the sudden cancellation.

No official explanation was offered, but the Financial Times newspaper reported that the shows had been cancelled after the Culture Ministry discovered the band had once included a picture of the Dalai Lama in a video backdrop during a concert in Taiwan in 2010.

Bon Jovi is not the first band to run into trouble with the Chinese Communist Party.

By Andy MaltBon Jovi have had two concerts in China cancelled by officials in the country, over suspicions that they may support the Dalai Lama.

And Chinese fans expressed their disappointment and anger on social media, with some complaining that they had booked airline tickets and time off work to see the concerts. AEG says ticket holders will be issued refunds.

While the reason remains unclear, it’s speculated that the 2009 video for “We Weren’t Born To Follow”, featuring imagery from the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, may have sparked problems with China’s Ministry of Culture, a source in the Chinese music industry told the Washington Post.

Bon Jovi has had concerts in Beijing and Shanghai canceled by Chinese authorities. Maroon 5 cancelled its China concert in July after authorities refused permission because a band member had met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

So far there’s been no word from Bon Jovi on the show cancellations.

Damai.cn did not immediately return requests for comment. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, which refers to the unrest between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples as “colonial oppression”, is calling for a boycott of the Bon Jovi October 3 show in Tel Aviv.

“Burning Bridges” is the name of the band’s latest album, its first without guitarist and co-writer of numerous act’s hits, Richie Sambora.