Singer Katy Perry's sunflower-covered dress she wore during a concert in Taipei has sparked controversy because sunflowers were the symbol of Taiwan's anti-China protests in 2014.
Some people in the concert crowd were "moved to tears" when the chart-topping pop singer appeared in the dress, but it wasn't known if she was actually trying to make a political statement,
according to Quartz.com.
Billboard.com reported that Perry also offended some by wearing the Taiwanese flag as a cape during Tuesday's concert.
Perry had worn the sunflower dress before, with back-up dancers dressed in sunflower colors, including at concert last June in North Carolina,
reported Grammy.com.
"It is entirely possible that, like musician Kenny G at the Hong Kong protests, Perry just stumbled into a situation that could infuriate the Chinese government and affect her net income for the rest of her life," wrote Quartz.com. "China is a huge market for concerts and album sales, and the government has banned artists in the past who 'threaten national sovereignty.'"
Some Taiwanese expressed their surprise about Perry wearing the dress online.
"That's super fierce, wearing sunflowers and the Taiwanese flag," wrote one person with the screen name "lostguy" on PTT, a popular Taiwan online forum,
according to The Epoch Times. "No wonder mainland artists say Taiwan has too much freedom of expression."
Talk online, though, also turned to whether Perry would be banned from China or whether the entertainer's photos in the sunflower dress would be the removed from online by Chinese news sites, noted The Epoch Times. Others on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo felt that Perry displayed a "lack of political sensitivity" for wearing the dress.