bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Taiwanese singer Deserts Chang says she never intended to make a political statement by holding up the island's flag at a concert in Britain this month. But the indie artist's action stirred strong feelings on both sides of the Taiwan strait, triggering a debate that at its heart is about "Taiwan consciousness".
At a show in Manchester, England, a fan passed her the flag which she held up, saying: "I am always happy to introduce where I'm from and what I am."
She was later forced to cancel a concert scheduled for the end of next month in Beijing.
In a statement she posted on Facebook, Chang said she had no intention of promoting anything with the flag.
"If it had been something else - something like pineapple cake, mountain tea or traditional greeting cards - I don't think there would be a problem," she said, referring to the popular Taiwanese products mainland visitors buy while visiting the island.
"To me, the flag is the same as those things … while I am in a foreign country, they all mean … something representing my hometown."
She said her fans often gave her items, once even a book of Mao Zedong's quotations, and she didn't speculate about why.
Chang said she had no intention "of trying to make any political statement or [express] views about the flag, and I just wanted to explain where was it from, and that's all".
She is unlikely to be heading to the mainland any time soon, possibly for several years.
The incident recalls a similar one involving the island's top diva, Chang Hui-mei, who is better known as A-mei.
A-mei saw her fledging musical career on the mainland almost crash in 2000 when she was asked by then president Chen Shui-bian to sing Taiwan's national anthem during his presidential inauguration.
She lost a deal as Sprite's spokeswoman on the mainland as a result, and was forced to cancel several concerts there. It was not until after 2004 that she was able to appear on the mainland, after admitting she "should have been more discreet".
But that incident came at a time when Taipei and Beijing were strongly at odds.
Cross-strait relations have become far more friendly with Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou's engagement policy with Beijing.
For its part, Beijing has become far more tolerant of Taiwan and its people, hoping that attitude paves the way for future unification of the two sides.
But Beijing could do more to change the mainland public's thinking away from a gut reaction of condemning any incident they feel hints at the island's nationalism.
For them, the Taiwan flag or anthem is equal to "Taiwan independence".
Mainland authorities have already shown a relaxation of their position by allowing visits by members of the island's pro-independence camp.
This sentiment should be conveyed to the public, especially the younger generation, so they learn that tolerance should be shown towards their counterparts across the strait. This will be needed if there is any chance of winning hearts on the island.
Most Taiwanese carry a strong sense of cultural identity, or "Taiwan consciousness", and this is a far cry from the political pursuit of independence.
lawrence.chung@scmp.com


Singer's flag incident shows lack of tolerance

Deserts Chang says she never intended to make a political statement by holding up Taiwan's flag at a concert in Britain. Photo: SMP

News

China

Young star Deserts Chang says she did not mean to make a political statement when handed a Taiwan flag during a concert


Taiwanese singer Deserts Chang says she never intended to make a political statement by holding up the island's flag at a concert in Britain this month. But the indie artist's action stirred strong feelings on both sides of the Taiwan strait, triggering a debate that at its heart is about "Taiwan consciousness".


Singer's flag incident shows lack of tolerance

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Young star Deserts Chang says she did not mean to make a political statement when handed a Taiwan flag during a concert

Young star Deserts Chang says she did not mean to make a political statement when handed a Taiwan flag during a concert