Sentence Correction Chapter 9 #12

[maqiuming.q]

What's wrong with this?
The flag of the new republic seems as if it represents the old empire.

I figure out several possible wrong points....
(1) the ambiguity of "it": whether it refers to "republic" or "flag"
(2) the wrong usage of "seem as if" structure since the structure is often used when subjunctive mood is applied.Namely, the correct sentence should be "The flag of the new republic seems as if it represented the old empire".

Which explanation is correct or better? Can somebody help me?
Thanks!

[Jazmet]

It sounds okay to me.

I would either use 'as' or 'if' but not both together.

The pronoun 'it' clearly refers to the flag, since it is subject of the previous clause.

Instructors - Please correct me if I am wrong.

[jnelson0612]

It's not correct, as pointed out in the strategy guide.

There are many idiomatically correct ways to represent this idea, as shown, but this form "seems as if it (does)" is not idiomatically correct.

I don't think that the "it" is great but the "it" is not necessarily wrong because the "it" does seem to refer to the flag. I don't think that the GMAT would justify a wrong answer based on the "it" alone. The bigger problem here is the idiom.