Music | Madonna tour besieged by setbacks ahead of Macau dates

Madonna performs during one of her’s Rebel Heart tour shows

Madonna’s “Rebel Heart” tour suffered another setback last week as she became entangled in a cape during the performance of her hit “Material Girl” in Bangkok. The cape incident was reminiscent of a similar accident last year at the Brit Awards, where she appeared to fall off stage.
The incident is the latest setback in the pop queen’s world tour, the next leg of which will be in Macau this weekend. However it pales in comparison to other provocative episodes that have transpired in recent weeks.
Her performances in Taipei at the start of the month delivered a double-dose of controversy after pre-show promotions and on- stage antics offended residents in both Taiwan and mainland China.
Taiwanese fans turned on Madonna when, prior to her first-ever show in Taiwan, the singer posted a picture of herself at the center of the blue star design which was the old badge of the Kuomintang (KMT) political party.
For many Taiwanese, the symbol is associated with the “White Terror” – a turbulent period during the island’s history characterized by martial law, political persecutions and imprisonments, and executions.
She caused a second scandal during one of her two Taipei dates when she draped herself in a Taiwanese flag during her encore performance. The political act delighted many in Taiwan but prompted an array of criticism from Chinese across the strait.
“Madonna draped the flag, and you think you are going to be recognized by the UN? So funny,” wrote one Weibo user, while another posted: “Is Taiwan a country? I am laughing to death… you are just a region.”
“What a cheap way to get attention from the mainland. Your music isn’t very welcome or known in our country anyway,” wrote a third.

A Madonna fan poses for a photo outside her concert venue in Hong Kong

Meanwhile, a pro-independence twitter user wrote, “Hope someday we will never have to apologize for recognizing our identity.” This message referred to a recent incident when 16-year-old Taiwanese singer Chou Tzu-yu’s publicly apologized earlier this year after a storm of internet backlash from mainland residents.
The incidents raise some concern over whether Madonna will face resistance from fans over her two shows scheduled for Macau tomorrow and Sunday.
Last month, a Taiwanese woman was refused entry to Macau because her passport was adorned with “Republic of China” stickers advocating Taiwan’s independence.
According to Studio City representatives, among those set to attend one of her two shows in the MSAR are award-winning actor Tony Leung, actress and singer Miriam Yeung, Canadian actress Christy Chung, and celebrated couples Simon Yam and Qi Qi, and Leo Ku and Lorraine Chan.
Studio City also offered a promotion for the “two top spenders of the day” to win two tickets for one of Madonna’s shows in Macau. In order to be eligible for the reward, customers were required to spend a minimum of MOP80,000 in a single day across selected retail shops and dining outlets.
A 1986 visit by Madonna and her then-husband, Sean Penn, to the MSAR resulted in an infamous episode when Penn caught a paparazzo in his ninth-floor hotel room and held him off the room’s balcony. Penn was detained by the police but managed to escape to Hong Kong. The Portuguese Administration allegedly granted him amnesty. Staff reporter

the singer’s presidential entourage

Madonna arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday night to play two concerts. According to a South China Morning Post report, the pop star landed on a private jet accompanied by six private bodyguards, before being transported to a presidential suite at The Peninsula in Tsim Sha Tsui. Madonna reportedly traveled to and from her concerts at Asiaworld Expo via helicopter. “A lavish personal make-up room, private gym and a dining hall were being set up backstage for Madonna’s two concerts,” according to reports. Her entourage included her troupe of dancers, a personal trainer and chef,” SCMP noted. The concerts were held last night and the night before.