Katy Perry sparks controversy with Taiwan flag and sunflower dress

[Otherside]

Katy Perry sparks controversy with Taiwan flag and sunflower dress

Staff Reporter
2015-04-30

Katy Perry's possible couture faux pas: sporting a sunflower dress and draped in the Taiwan flag. (Internet photo)

American singer-songwriter Katy Perry may have just sabotaged her opportunities in the lucrative Chinese market after making — probably unwittingly — two political statements on her debut performance in Taiwan.

During her concert at Taipei Arena on Tuesday night, the 30-year-old singer delivered a rendition of her song Unconditionally in a glittery dress covered in sunflowers, while also draping a Republic of China flag over her shoulders.

The sunflower motif was a recurring theme at the concert, which some have interpreted as a show of support for the Sunflower Movement last year, which saw student demonstrators storm Taiwan's legislature to protest the passing of a trade agreement with China by the ruling Kuomintang without proper review.

The flag is also a symbol of the island's separation from mainland China, which continues to regard Taiwan as a renegade province. The flag is such a sensitive issue for Beijing that Taiwan is not allowed to use it at the Olympics and is instead forced to display a special flag representing Chinese Taipei, the name by which it competes.

While some fans said online that they were moved by her apparent political support for Taiwan, it appears the sunflower dress was purely coincidental. As internet users have pointed out, Perry has performed with a "sunflower microphone" since at least last June and has had backup singers dressed as sunflowers for just as long. She also wore the sunflower dress when she toured China earlier this month, though given the furor over the latest incident it remains to be seen whether she will wear it again when she sings in Macau this coming weekend.

Photos of Perry draped in the ROC flag have already been deleted from Chinese search engine giant Baidu and social media outlets, with some fans lamenting the possibility that the singer could be blacklisted from performing in China in the future.

Tuesday's concert attracted 11,000 fans. A lighter moment occurred when Perry invited a fan on stage to teach her how to speak Mandarin, but the fan misheard Perry when she said she wanted to know how to say "selfie," and as a result the fans in attendance all ended up chanting "selfish" in Chinese along with the singer as she took a photo.

The artist has won five American Music Awards and six Billboard Music Awards, but has yet to take home a Grammy despite 13 nominations.