The pop singer Dua Lipa has praised her fans’ bravery after some audience members at her concert in Shanghai were forcefully removed for dancing in their seats and apparently waving flags in support of gay rights.

Videos posted on social media after the show in China on Wednesday evening showed security staff pulling people from their seats and crowd members apparently being attacked by security guards outside the National Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The British singer tweeted that she was horrified by the incident. “I will stand by you all for your love and beliefs and I am proud and grateful that you felt safe enough to show your pride at my show. What you did takes a lot of bravery. I always want my music to bring strength, hope and unity. I was horrified by what happened and I send love to all my fans involved.”

Lipa, 23, has been vocal in her support of the LGBT community, and appeared to be upset on stage during her performance. She told the audience: “I want to create a really safe environment for us all to have fun … I want us all to dance. I want us all to sing. I want us all to just have a really good time.”

Ｎｅｏ (@imneo_) I just CANT believe it. This is the show of Dua Lipa in Shanghai. All the fans are forbidden to stand out and could only sit on to see the show?!? If you don’t, the guard would use violence to kick u out. It’s unbelievable... #dualipa pic.twitter.com/quITZNLVxU

Lipa pledged to return to Shanghai “when the time is right and hopefully see a room full of rainbows”.

The Shanghai date was the second and final date of Lipa’s first tour of China, after she performed in Guangzhou on 11 September.

Dua Lipa: ‘Pop has to be fun. You can’t get upset about every little thing’ Read more

Although homosexuality is not illegal in China – the country decriminalised it in 1997 and LGBT visibility has increased – there has been creeping cultural censorship since Xi Jinping came to power in November 2012.

In November 2017, Human Rights Watch interviewed 17 Chinese LGBT people who said they had been pressured into undergoing conversion therapy because of family and social pressures.

In April this year Weibo, the Chinese social media site, reversed its plan to “clean up” LGBT content on the platform after an online protest. In May a video showing security guards punching two Chinese women who attended an LGBT event in Beijing prompted outrage.

Some fans who attended the Dua Lipa concert said people were removed for dancing, while others said some were ejected for waving pro-gay rights flags.

Wham! were the first western act to perform in China, in 1985. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley held two concerts, in Beijing and Ghangzhou, after their manager, Simon Napier-Bell, convinced Chinese officials that allowing the duo to perform would show the world that the Communist party welcomed foreigners and foreign investment. Concertgoers received a cassette tape containing Wham!’s original songs and Chinese covers by Cheng Fangyuan.

China has become an important territory for western acts since record sales began to decline: according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, in 2017 China became one of 10 biggest recorded-music markets for the first time. Recorded-music revenues grew by 35.3% to $292.3m (£223.2m) and streaming revenues grew by 26.5% to $204.5m (£156.1m), according to Music Ally reports.

The market, once dominated by piracy, has slowly legitimised: in 2010, 97.5% of online music traffic in China went to unlicensed and pirated sites. By 2017, 70% of traffic was to licensed audio and video sites.

Some artists have tailored their approach to profit from this lucrative market. In April the British singer Jessie J won the Chinese television talent show Singer. The Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne found success in China by touring regional cities that did not often appear on western acts’ Chinese itineraries, leading to endorsement deals with soft drinks and gaming companies.

Others, however, have fallen foul of the Chinese authorities. In July last year Justin Bieber was banned from touring the country by Beijing’s Municipal Bureau of Culture owing to “public dissatisfaction” over his previous concerts in China. Other artists including Björk, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5 and Bon Jovi have reportedly been banned from performing in the country after showing their support for Tibet and the Dalai Lama.