9:19am UK, Friday March 07, 2008

China has threatened to impose tougher curbs on foreign artists after pop star Bjork sang in support of Tibetan independence in Shanghai - warning that similar actions could lead to them being blacklisted.

Bjork: Sparked controversy

Its Ministry of Culture has said it will act "to prevent similar cases from happening in the future."

It warned: "We shall never tolerate any attempt to separate Tibet from China and will no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this."

A video on YouTube shows the Icelandic singer ending her concert in the city with the song "Declare Independence", during which she yelled "Tibet" several times.

Communist China has ruled Buddhist Tibet since 1951.

The ministry said she had turned "a commercial show into a political performance".

It added this "...not only broke Chinese law, but also hurt Chinese audiences' feelings."

Bjork's support of the cause of Tibetan independence is not new - she performed at a Free Tibet concert in San Francisco in 1996.

The song "Declare Independence" was originally written for Greenland and the Faroe Islands, both of which belong to Denmark.

Bjork is one of many prominent Western celebrities, including actor Richard Gere, to have lent their support to Tibetans campaigning for independence for their homeland, or at least an end to what they say is severe repression there.