Katy Perry has sparked international political controversy revolving around her her choice of sunflower dress at a recent concert in Taiwan, which many have interpreted to be a sign of support for the nation in it's ideological battle against China (from Rolling Stone).
Perry took the stage wearing two articles of clothing that was interpreted as propaganda by the Chinese government: One was a Taiwanese flag and the other was a green dress decorated with sunflowers. The sunflower was adopted a symbol during a 2014 protest where Taiwanese students occupied the nation's parliament building to demonstrate against the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, which they interpreted as giving an unfair boost to China.
The tension between the two nations goes way back. Both believe ideologically that they control the whole of China while refusing to recognize the sovereignty of each other: The People's Republic of China is currently recognized as the legitimate Chinese government, but there's a reason why Taiwan's official title is the Republic of China.
Being that China doesn't recognize Taiwan as being its own nation, the fact that Perry incorporated the state's flag into her performance is itself a politically-charged action. Although the vocalist didn't release any statements confirming or denying the intentions behind her apparel, there's a possibility that she didn't mean anything by it: Perry played mainland China during April and indeed wore the sunflower dress at her Shanghai show.
If the Chinese government interprets it the wrong way, It could result in backlash for Perry. Leadership, very hands on with its internet accessibility, has already removed all images of the dress from Baidu, the nation's largest search engine. The government has also been known to ban performers that "threaten national sovereignty," which could remove Perry's albums from shelves in a nation of 1.36 billion.
Either way, she'll know to look into these things the next time she hits the road in China.
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