• Did China Just Do Dylan a Favor? wonders The Guardian Staff: "Don't the Chinese know that these days the 68-year-old former protest singer is a respectable golfer who released a Christmas album last year and has even allowed Blowin' in the Wind to be used as the soundtrack of a TV commercial? But maybe the Chinese ban will do him some good. Could it help to restore his credibility as the prophet from Desolation Row?"

• It's Bjork's Fault, writes Daniel Kreps at Rolling Stone:

The Ministry of Culture was likely... influenced by Björk’s controversial actions during a performance in Shanghai in 2008, where she chanted 'Tibet! Tibet!” during “Declare Independence.” Since the Björk concert, the Ministry of Culture has become more cautious when considering Western acts, ruling in the aftermath, “Those who used to take part in activities that harm our nation’s sovereignty are firmly not allowed to perform in China.” “What Björk did definitely made life very difficult for other performers. They are very wary of what will be said by performers on stage now,” promoter Jeffrey Wu, whose company set up Dylan’s China dates, told the South China Morning Post.

• What a Bizarre Decision, writes PopEater: "It seems China has mistaken today's essentially harmless Bob Dylan with the counterculture hero of the 1960s." Chris at America Blog sighs, "Do they realize how silly they appear to the rest of the world when they make decisions like this?"

I have it on good authority that the Chinese government did not deny Bob Dylan permission to play in China. It was the Taiwanese promoter's outlandish financial requests that made the tour unrealistic.