And now, direct from Tiananmen Square, a new star. by Jane H. Lii By five o'clock Saturday afternoon, the line outside the Palladium at Union Square already stretched around the block. In T-shirts emblazoned with his name, tapes of his music tucked under their arms. a sold-out audience of 2,000 fans, mostly Chinese students and young professionals, had come from as far away as Hong Kong and Toronto to hear Cui Jian in his first New York concert. "I never thought I'd ever see him perform, much less in America," said Steven Zhang, a marketing consultant who grew up in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution and fought in the student uprising in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Mr. Zhang, now working in Hong Kong, timed his vacation for this event. "This is a historical moment for us. His songs gave us the will to fight in Tiananmen, and they continue to speak our mind. He is the voice of our generation." From Tiananmen Square to Union Square, Cui Jian (pronounced Tswee Jen) embodies China's counterculture. His Dylanesque blend of social and political messages and his Springsteen-like gusto -- the aural backdrop to the Tiananmen riots -- inspired thousands. Mr. Cui, China's premier rock star, seems to delight in irritating Chinese officials: he once performed in a red blindfold, and he renders traditional Communist revolutionary songs in rock rhythms. In answer, the electricity goes off during shows, public safety officers intimidate concertgoers, and his albums are pulled off the shelves. But his popularity has only been enhanced by Beijing's attempts to muffle the messages in his music. After years of struggling to perform in America, Mr. Cui performed in New York on Saturday night as part of a much-heralded four-city tour, his first in the West, including stops in San Francisco, Kalamazoo, Mich. (the home of his girlfriend's parents), and Boston. Chinese officials seem to have adopted a laissez-faire attitude toward his tour. Although none were spotted at the many welcoming receptions greeting Mr. Cui, the Chinese diplomatic corps reportedly snapped up a number of concert tickets. Most of the fans who flocked to his concerts were recent Chinese immigrants who said they had been inspired by Mr. Cui's songs in college and in Tiananmen Square. Carrying a backpack filled with Cui Jian tapes and a book on Chinese popular music, Shelly Kraicer, a musicologist, said he flew in from Toronto for the concert. "He does not kowtow to Chinese political orthodoxy," Mr. Kraicer said. "His words shimmer with double meanings. You can take it socially or politically." While the tour was designed to promote Mr. Cui's new album, "Eggs Under the Red Flag," and billed as nonpolitical, a convoy of Chinese reporters has followed him almost everywhere, peppering him with questions on the political front[ ...] Unequivocally, Mr. Cui responds that he refuses to accept the political rebel status bestowed on him. He yearns for creative freedom, he says, and not to overthrow the Government [...] And the air in America doesn't irritate his eyes so much, thank you for asking.
Shelly Kraicer
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