Photo: Splash
Katy Perry has, most likely accidentally, sparked controversy in China by wearing a Taiwanese flag and a sunflower dress at a Taiwan gig - both of which were viewed as political statements on Taiwan's sovereignty over China.
Taiwan's official name is the Republic of China, and it has long maintained, to the chagrin of mainland China, to represent all of China. China meanwhile, whose official name is the People's Republic of China, is recognised by the UN and most other contries as the legitimate government of China since 1971, and tensions between the two countries continues to exist.
In 2014, a group of students occupied Taiwan's parliament for 23 days protesting against a trade agreement that they believed would give mainland China too much power. The symbol of the protest was sunflowers.
With that in mind, it was inevitably seen as something of a political statement when Perry performed with a Taiwanese flag - whose presence and legitimacy the PRC refuses to acknowledge - at a recent gig, and then changed into a sunflower dress.
As to whether this was a deliberate statement or just a coincidence, Perry is yet to publicly comment.
