Mao concerts hit wrong note for Australians – and Chinese soft power

The abrupt cancellation of a series of concerts in Australia commemorating the life of Mao Zedong has not only left in its trail a divided community but also exposed the limitations of Beijing’s soft power push.

When the concerts were called off at the last minute in Sydney and Melbourne last week, the decision left more fissures in the community than the original announcement of the controversial programmes had.

While ethnic Chinese who have migrated to Australia or were born overseas heaved a sigh of relief at the canning of what they see as the dangerous promotion of a worrying ideology, white middle-class Australians were aghast at the suppression of an artistic idea in a democratic society.

Australia's two biggest cities cancel Mao Zedong concerts, citing safety concerns

“Artists have a right to express themselves,” said university student Kristian Bjarnason, “especially in regard to an issue concerning the contemporary world. I think many people would not only enjoy but benefit much from seeing such a programme.”

The sentiment was echoed by a Twitter user, Patricia Thornton, who said the cancellation of the shows “in fact narrows political expression in the public sphere. How “dangerous” is a Mao commemorative songfest to citizens of Sydney?”

The shows were to consist of a mix of song and dance performances by members of Chinese communities, particularly the International Cultural Exchange Association’s (Australia) Art group. Tickets sold reasonably well and the whole thing attracted little notice until the Sydney Morning Herald ran a series of articles about Australian Chinese migrants’ concerns over the show’s offensive content and petitions for it to be pulled.

Flag flub could have been avoided, if Mao had been given his way at country’s birth