People in Taiwan and mainland China are speculating about the possible political intent behind one of the singer’s costumes.
Perry, the jolliest of all Jolly Ranchers, was performing in Taipei, Taiwan, on Tuesday, and during one segment of the show, she wore a dress emblazoned with sunflowers while surrounded by fake sunflowers and backup dancers wearing sunflower skirts.
Well, for most of the world, that wouldn’t be a big deal. It would mostly be a shoulder shrug and a “Yeah, well, Katy Perry likes doing that kind of thing for whatever reason.” But as E! Online informs us, in Taiwan the whole sunflower motif brought to mind last year’s Sunflower Student Movement, a protest against a trade agreement that many Taiwanese people believed gave Beijing too much leeway to meddle in Taiwanese affairs. The students made sunflowers the symbol of the movement, which came to represent the broader, ongoing tensions between Taiwan (the Republic of China) and mainland China (the People’s Republic of China).
So, as you can imagine, Katy Perry appearing in a whole sunflower thing at a concert in Taipei, only a few weeks after the anniversary of a big series of protests called the Sunflower Student Movement, caused a bit of a stir! Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that, apparently, at one point during the show, Perry “donned the official flag of Taiwan (a.k.a. the Republic of China) as a cape while singing ‘Unconditionally.’” Hm! What is Katy Perry trying to tell us about her feelings on Taiwanese independence?
Regardless, people in mainland China are upset! You may recall that Perry’s nickname in China is "Fruit Sister," and Chinese fans are not happy with their beloved Fruit Sister. According to E!, one post on a Chinese message board began, “I'm speechless over Fruit Sister.” You know what? I’m speechless over Fruit Sister too. Fruit Sister. I’m speechless! Oh, Fruit Sister. The fan continued, “I suppose she has no chance to come to the mainland anymore, though she might not care. These performers who intervene in other countries' politics are the most annoying.”
mess. She wore that dress from the start
