Internet star Xu Dabao has come under fire for wearing a Chinese national flag dress at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Xu, a wanghong (web celeb) with over 310,000 followers on the microblogging platform Weibo, says she wore the dress to "showcase Chinese elements" and "support the Belt and Road Initiative."
Posting photos of the dress on Weibo, Xu wrote: "I come from China. I love China."
But her efforts may have backfired, with some claiming the stunt was a gaffe — and a potentially illegal one at that.
Some netizens alleged that Xu's dress broke Chinese law (translations via People's Daily):
“The only reason you wore that ugly dress is because you wanted to become famous. According to the law, the national flag and its design cannot be used as a trademark or for advertising purposes, and cannot be used in private funeral activities. Your behavior broke the law, as you just wanted to advertise yourself."
Others claimed Xu's attempts at promoting Chinese elements were laughable. Wrote one:
“As a great nation with 5,000 years of history, there are so many cultural elements that our country can offer to the world. I see no point in wearing a national flag dress at an international event; instead of impressing foreigners, they may feel that our country is stupid and superficial."
The 29-year-old Xu appears to have been relatively Z-list (AKA unheard of) until the Cannes incident. Having starred in a few recent internet dramas, she was apparently at the festival to promote her livestreaming platform.
Addressing the backlash, Xu again took to Weibo:
“In Western countries, if you wear outfits bearing the national flag, you are treated as a patriot. By wearing this dress, I wanted to show the world that I am Chinese and proud of my nationality! I don’t understand why my compatriots would humiliate and misunderstand me.”
Xu's Weibo post also alluded to the backlash China's "tomato and egg" uniforms received during 2016 Rio Olympics.
In a separate post, she said that she was proud to be Chinese.
Some of Xu's fans also rushed to her defense, arguing that the dress was worn with the best intentions. One commented:
“If you watch American music videos, you can see that it’s common practice for people abroad to wear outfits with their national flag. Everyone has their own way of showing love for their country."
They've got a point...
[Images via Weibo, People's Daily, Billboard, Daily Mail]
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