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Singer cancels
Beijing gig after ROC flag furor
CREATIVE: Speculation was rife that Deserts
Chang¡¦s concert would be canceled after she displayed the flag at a concert in
Manchester
Staff writer, with CNA
Taiwanese singer Deserts Chang
performs at an open-air concert in New Taipei City on Aug. 10.
Photo: CNA
Taiwanese singer and songwriter Deserts
Chang (±iÄa) has announced the cancelation of a Beijing concert originally
scheduled for Dec. 30, following a row over her display of a Republic of China
(ROC) flag at a concert earlier this month in Manchester, England.
¡§We have decided to suspend the long-planned concert in consideration of
performance quality, and the rights and safety of concertgoers,¡¨ Chang¡¦s agent,
Tsai Yu-ching (½²¥É«C), wrote on the singer¡¦s Facebook page.
Tsai said that ¡§an unexpected episode¡¨ ¡X an apparent reference to the flag
incident ¡X has led to implications that have distorted the singer¡¦s simple
desire to embrace creativity and an exchange of ideas.
Stressing that Chang and her team highly value feedback from all walks of life,
Tsai wrote that they would be happy to exchange views in the hopes of bringing
about a breakthrough in exchanges and engagement.
The announcement follows speculation that the concert would be called off
following the Nov. 2 display of the ROC flag.
Chang waved the flag on stage at a concert at the University of Manchester and
introduced it as her country¡¦s flag after it was given to her by a Taiwanese
member of the audience.
The episode descended into sometimes vicious exchanges between Internet users on
both sides of the Taiwan Strait, while major Chinese and Hong Kong entertainment
media outlets have given the matter extensive coverage.
The post on Chang¡¦s Facebook page had collected more than 12,000 ¡§likes¡¨ and
more than 700 comments within three hours of it being posted.
Most of the comments were by Taiwanese fans supportive of the artist, as
Facebook is blocked in China.
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