The honey-loving dancing bear Winnie the Pooh has been blocked by the Chinese government after some memes comparing the internet cartoon sensation to President Xi Jinping went viral. Internet users in the country are not able to post or share images of the cute cartoon character anymore.
Several posts and photos featuring the images of Winnie the Pooh and President Xi were also taken down from the Chinese social media sites Weibo and WeChat. There has been no official information as to why the cartoon character's images were censored, but observers believe that the ban came into effect because of the old comparisons of Xi and the honey-loving dancing bear, Financial Times reported.
But this is not the first time the honey-loving dancing bear has been banned or faced censorship issues.
Take a look at other bizarre instances when the cartoon character was banned:
When a photo of Winnie the Pooh became most censored image in China in 2015
In 2015, a photo of a plastic toy of the cartoon character in a toy car was compared to a photo of Jinping in his car inspecting the troops. The photo went viral on Chinese social media platforms within minutes, but soon it was taken down. The comparative image soon became China's most censored image of 2015.
Winnie the Pooh was banned in central Poland
In 2014, the internet cartoon sensation was banned in a local playground in Poland over his "inappropriate" attire and "dubious sexuality." An official complained that "It doesn't wear underpants because it doesn't have a sex. It's a hermaphrodite."
"The problem with that bear is it doesn't have a complete wardrobe. It is half naked which is wholly inappropriate for children.[Poland's fictional bear] is dressed from head to toe, unlike Pooh, who is only dressed from the waist up," Coun. Ryszard Cichy said in 2014, according to the National Post.
Russia banned Winnie the Pooh
Russia's Justice Ministry in Moscow had banned a picture of Winnie the Pooh with a Swastika in 2009 because it came under "extremist material."
"Prosecutors came to us with the list and an expert's conclusion that these items are extremist. So, we decided that they are extremist," a representative of the Ufa court told The Wall Street Journal in 2009.
When talking animals were considered as an insult to God
Winnie the Pooh books were banned in the US, but this time it was not because of the Swastikas photos. According to reports, Winnie the Pooh and Charlotte's Web were banned in Kansas because the talking animal was being considered as an insult to God.
