Philippine Twitter and Facebook feeds were flooded Tuesday with Winnie the Pooh memes in a winking expression of anti-China sentiment stirred by President Xi Jinping's state visit to Manila.

The self-described "bear of very little brain" has been used in the past on social media to poke fun at portly Xi, a joke that has drawn crackdowns from Beijing's censors.

In one clip posted Tuesday, Pooh bows before a mirror while "Hail Satan" flashes across the screen, in another he floats near an artificial island built by Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.

"Because Winnie the Pooh is banned in China because he's the spitting image of Xi Jinping, let's protest his presence by posting memes and photos of him with his (lookalike)," Facebook user Wilfredo Garrido wrote.

Many Filipinos resent Beijing's claim over most of the South China Sea, which an international tribunal ruled in 2016 was without basis.

The dispute led to a freeze in Beijing-Manila ties, but all that changed when Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency shortly before the judgement was handed down.

He has opted to set the key ruling aside in order to pursue billions in trade and investment from China, which many Filipinos see as a frittering away of territory that is rightfully theirs.

Comparisons between Xi and Pooh first emerged in 2013, after Chinese social media users began circulating a pair of pictures that placed an image of Pooh and his slender tiger friend "Tigger" beside a photograph of Xi walking with then-US President Barack Obama.

In 2014, a photographed handshake between Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was matched with an image of Pooh gripping the hoof of his gloomy donkey friend Eeyore.

And in 2015, the political analysis portal Global Risk Insights called a picture of Xi standing up through the roof of a parade car paired with an image of a Winnie the Pooh toy car "China's most censored photo" of the year.

cgm/jm/ecl

Facebook

Twitter

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Top Chinese university warns students to avoid activism
Beijing (AFP) Nov 15, 2018
One of China's top universities has warned students they face arrest if they associate with a labour-rights organisation that has drawn support in a recent surge of Chinese campus activism. Peking University sent a message to all students on Wednesday accusing Jasic Workers Solidarity of "criminal activity", according to a student involved with the labour group. "After today's message, if there are still students that want to defy the law, they must take responsibility," said the note seen by AF ... read more