Following the violent clash between the Indian and Chinese troops across the LAC, which killed 20 Indian Army men at Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh, netizens decided to wage war on Twitter against Chinese President Xi Jinping by comparing him to the fictional character, Winnie the Pooh.
While some netizens churned tweet after tweet along with the hashtag #Xithepooh, some remained confused as to what does author AA Milne's adorable book character have to do with the Chinese president?
Chinese govt bans the fictional character
Psst! The Chinese government is not very fond of Winnie the Pooh character so much that they also banned the fictional character in China! Turns out the comparison between the Chinese President and Winnie the Pooh goes back in time.
In China, Winnie the Pooh character became a lighthearted way for people to mock their president, Xi Jinping, but it seems the government did not find the joke hilarious. Let's find out why!
In 2013, back when Xi Jinping met then US President Obama during his official visit to the USA, a picture of the two taking a stroll went viral as many bloggers realised that the scene reminded them of the cartoon Winnie the Pooh which featured Winnie walking alongside his friend Tigger.
Again in 2014, the Winnie the pooh comparison struck again when Japan Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe met Jinping.
All hell broke loose when a picture of Xi Jinping during a military parade was compared to Winnie the Pooh cartoon scene which became the most censored picture of 2015 as the government viewed the meme as "a serious effort to undermine the dignity of the presidential office and Xi himself", as reported by the Guardian.
After various bloggers used this as a comparison, it did not go down well with Xi Jinping and the office of the President took it as an offence imposing a complete ban on the cartoon on all media channels including social media.
Jinping's office saw this an insult while it was all about some harmless fun for people and decided that the bear will no more represent the leader. From toys to movies, TV series to memes, Winnie the Pooh's existence was wiped out of China due to censorship.
Not just that, Christopher Robin's 2018 movie based on Pooh was also banned for the same reason, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Ever since, every time the Chinese leader is in the news or makes a political move you will see Winnie the Pooh trending on Twitter, globally.
Xi the Pooh: Here are some social media reactions
A twitter user said, "Xi Jing Ping, China's president doesn't like to be compared with Winnie the pooh so let us annoy him by trending #XithePooh.
While some mentioned that it was racist to compare the Chinese president to Winnie the Pooh, others disagreed saying depicting Xi as Winnie the Pooh is common in Hong Kong among ethnic Chinese. It's about insulting Xi, not Chinese people in general."
