Winnie the Pooh banned by China

[Hamartia Antidote]

http://mothership.sg/2017/07/winnie-the-pooh-banned-by-china/

Winnie the Pooh banned by China
Apparently Pooh doesn't just look cute, he also looks politically powerful.

If you’re wondering what’s so wrong about Winnie the Pooh that’s driving China up the wall, we’ll just start off by revealing these pictures:

The uncanny resemblance between the adorable pantless bear and Chinese president Xi Jinping could be the reason Winnie the Pooh is getting scrubbed clean online in China.

Over the weekend, many Winnie the Pooh pictures, gifs, stickers, emojis, and even the reference words “Little Bear Winnie” (小熊维尼), which is the name most used by the Chinese of the cartoon character, were reportedly blocked and processed as illegal content on microblogging platform Weibo and social messaging app WeChat.

It is also believed that if a netizen posted any of these online, either a pop-up box with the words “this content is illegal” comes up, or nothing is displayed.

 

[third eye]

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-40627855

This meme showing Xi Jinping and former US President Barack Obama began circulating in 2013

The blocking of Winnie the Pooh might seem like a bizarre move by the Chinese authorities but it is part of a struggle to restrict clever bloggers from getting around their country's censorship.

When is a set of wrist watches not just a set of wrist watches? When is a river crab not just a river crab? Inside the Great Firewall of China of course.

Winnie the Pooh has joined a line of crazy, funny internet references to China's top leaders.

The Chinese name for and images of the plump, cute cartoon character are being blocked on social media sites here because bloggers have been comparing him to China's president.

When Xi Jinping and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe endured one of the more awkward handshakes in history netizens responded with Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore shaking hands.

Image copyrightWEIBO/AFP
And then there was the time President Xi popped his head out of the roof of his special Red Flag limousine to inspect the troops - a photo appeared online of a toy Winnie the Pooh popping out of his own little car.

Image copyrightEMPICS
It is not only that China's censors will not tolerate ridicule of the country's leader, they do not want this beloved children's character becoming a kind of online euphemism for the Communist Party's general secretary.

In other countries such comparisons might be thought of as harmless enough and some might even think that having Winnie as your mascot could even be quite endearing: not in China.

Here the president is Mr Grey. He doesn't do silly things; he has no quirky elements; he makes no mistakes and that is why he is above the population and unable to be questioned.

The previous Chinese Leader Hu Jintao had a catchphrase of "promoting a harmonious society" or, in Chinese, hexie 和谐.

Bloggers started to refer to being censored as having been "harmonised" - bei hexie le 被和谐了 - but, by changing the tones in Chinese or changing the characters, you can fudge the meaning. So another hexie is river crab 河蟹。In other words, when you see an image of a river crab on the internet in China, it is likely to be a reference to something having been censored.

Another Chinese leader Jiang Zemin came up with a political theory called Three Represents, san ge diabiao 三个代表。If you switch that around a bit it becomes dai san ge biao 带三个表, or wear three watches. So the wearing of three watches became a cheeky way of referring to his contribution to China's socialism "with Chinese characteristics".

 

[dray]

Now that's the height of craziness by a state!!! What an insecure lot..

 

[Turingsage]

10 Things China Has Banned
BY HANNAH KEYSER

JULY 1, 2014

GETTY IMAGES

They do not like Green Eggs and Ham.

1. Green Eggs and Ham
In 1965, the government of The People's Republic of China decided they like Green Eggs and Ham about as much as mystery-creature Sam does at the start of the book—which is to say, not at all. It was banned until Theodor Seuss Geisl died in 1991 on account of the "portrayal of early Marxism."

2. Alice in Wonderland

Wikimedia Commons

Lewis Carroll's famous tale of imaginative nonsense came under criticism in America for its assumed portrayal of drug use and possible subtle satire of politics and religion. But even before that, the book had been banned in the Hunan Province in Chinaon the grounds that “animals should not use human language, and that it was disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level.”

3. The Big Bang Theory

CBS

Over the last generation, American TV shows have found a receptive audience in China. But just recently, the government abruptly banned The Good Wife, NCIS, The Practice, and the popular hit on both sides of the Pacific, The Big Bang Theory. When Chinese fans demanded an explanation, the censorship agency offered only that they were either out of copyright or contained “content that violates China’s constitution, endangers the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, provokes troubles in society, promotes illegal religion and triggers ethnic hatred.”

4. Gambling

iStock

Except for two state-run lotteries, gambling is illegal in all of mainland China. This has led to a Las Vegas-like casino scene in Macao but the mainland laws are so stringent, even advertising for the nearby legal gambling is forbidden in China.

5. Gaming Consoles

iStock

This ban was recently lifted, but only after 14 years without Xbox or Wii or PlayStation in the People's Republic. The government cited the violent content of many games for the ban and certain titles will still be illegal.

6. Online Dating for Army Personnel

iStock

In 2010, the Communist Party’s Central Military Affairs Commission issued a series of internet restrictions for members of the armed services. “Seeking marriage partners, jobs or making friends through the public media is not permitted. Going online in local Internet cafes is not permitted,” the regulation states. “Opening websites, home pages, blogs and message forums on the Internet is not permitted.” The ban was imposed to prevent personnel from leaking military secrets during their online chats.

7. Remembering the Tianamen Square Massacre

Getty Images

Not only is the incident banned from mention in textbooks and Chinese-controlled websites, over 100 terms are blocked from internet search results around the June 4th anniversary. This year, all of Google search was inactive leading up to the 25th anniversary.

8. Jasmine Flowers

iStock

Afraid that the so-called "Jasmine Revolution" in Tunisia would inspire similar insurgence in China, the Chinese Communist Party cracked down on the dainty white flower in 2011. The word was blocked in text messages, video of the president singing a song about jasmine was wiped from the internet, and a vague ban was placed on selling the flower at markets.

9. Brad Pitt, Richard Gere, and Many Other Celebrities

Getty Images

The Chinese government has proved to have an extremely low tolerance when it comes to supporters of the Tibetan Independence Movement. Actors Harrison Ford and Richard Gere, a devout Buddhist, have been banned from entering the country after publicly expressing their support for Tibet. Martin Scorsese was banned in response to his 1997 film Kundun, which chronicles the life and exile of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. And Brad Pitt is forbidden from entering the country simply for starring in Seven Years in Tibet.

10. Avatar (in 2D)

20th Century Fox

After enjoying two weeks in 2010 as a hit in China, Avatar 2Dwas banned. Authorities claimed the move was an economic one, favoring the 3D version, but critics of the decision pointed out that with only 550 such screens nationwide the ban essentially kept the film out of the public sphere. Additionally, China's Central Publicity Department issued an order to the media "prohibiting it from hyping up Avatar." Taken together, the effective ban was seen as an attempt to give domestic films an edge at the box office and censor the content, which could be seen as an allegory for China's policy of forced evictions.

 

[Chhatrapati]

Don't blame the west. It's your own people who are trolling your presidents.
They banned Toad too.

Chinese reports about a giant inflatable toad have been deleted from the Internet after social media users compared the puffed-up animal to a former Communist Party chief.

The installation of a giant inflatable duck in Hong Kong's harbour last year sparked a national craze for oversized blow-up wildlife, with several Chinese cities launching their own imitations.

The latest, a 22-metre-high (72-feet) toad, appeared in a Beijing park last weekend, but met with mockery from social media users who compared its appearance to that of former President Jiang Zemin.

The website of China's official Xinhua news agency and popular web portal Sina had deleted their reports on the animal — seen as a symbol of good fortune in traditional Chinese culture — by Wednesday. — AFP
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/91643/China-censors-squash-giant-inflatable-toad-reports

For years, he was the subject of online ridicule. People poked fun at his large rectangular glasses and his high-waisted trousers. They mocked his clumsy language and sometimes uncouth behavior at official functions. They even gave him a nickname based on his purportedly amphibious features: hama (蛤蟆), or “toad.”

But in recent months, the social media tide has turned in favor of Jiang Zemin, 89, China’s former president and secretary general of the Communist Party. After years of mockery, he has emerged as something of a cult figure, the idol at the center of a tongue-in-cheek subculture known as moha wenhua (膜蛤文化) — “toad worship culture.”

References to zhangzhe (长者) or “elder,” as Mr. Jiang is called by his acolytes, are popping up on WeChat, the popular messaging app; Weibo, the microblog platform; and Zhihu, a question-and-answer site similar to Quora. Hasi (蛤丝), or “fans of the toad,” who once ridiculed Mr. Jiang’s crotchety ways and sartorial choices avidly discuss what they now see as endearing idiosyncrasies.

As with many online jokes in China, look for the wordplay. Post a joke online and instead of writing haha (哈哈) to express laughter, a hasi may respond with different characters with the same sound: haha (蛤蛤), for “toad.”

Like most political memes in China, “toad worship culture” is rich with irony.

“ ‘Toad worship culture’ is not just a kind of worship, it’s also satire,” said Magasa, a Chinese film critic and a self-described hasi. “But the feelings behind it are complex. It’s half-real and half-fake. It’s sarcasm, but it’s also a reflection of people’s nostalgia for the past and dissatisfaction with the current situation.”

 

[turbofan7a]

 

[Vergennes]

3. The Big Bang Theory

CBS

Over the last generation, American TV shows have found a receptive audience in China. But just recently, the government abruptly banned The Good Wife, NCIS, The Practice, and the popular hit on both sides of the Pacific, The Big Bang Theory. When Chinese fans demanded an explanation, the censorship agency offered only that they were either out of copyright or contained “content that violates China’s constitution, endangers the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, provokes troubles in society, promotes illegal religion and triggers ethnic hatred.”

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. @Blue Marlin @Hamartia Antidote

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

10 Things China Has Banned
BY HANNAH KEYSER
...

3. The Big Bang Theory

CBS

Over the last generation, American TV shows have found a receptive audience in China. But just recently, the government abruptly banned The Good Wife, NCIS, The Practice, and the popular hit on both sides of the Pacific, The Big Bang Theory. When Chinese fans demanded an explanation, the censorship agency offered only that they were either out of copyright or contained “content that violates China’s constitution, endangers the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, provokes troubles in society, promotes illegal religion and triggers ethnic hatred.”
...

Perhaps Xi Jinping's wife demanded an update of a prenup, based on the "Roommate Agreement"...

 

[neem456]

lol what a insecure lot

 

[FULL_METAL]

10 Things China Has Banned
BY HANNAH KEYSER

JULY 1, 2014

GETTY IMAGES

They do not like Green Eggs and Ham.

1. Green Eggs and Ham
In 1965, the government of The People's Republic of China decided they like Green Eggs and Ham about as much as mystery-creature Sam does at the start of the book—which is to say, not at all. It was banned until Theodor Seuss Geisl died in 1991 on account of the "portrayal of early Marxism."

2. Alice in Wonderland

Wikimedia Commons

Lewis Carroll's famous tale of imaginative nonsense came under criticism in America for its assumed portrayal of drug use and possible subtle satire of politics and religion. But even before that, the book had been banned in the Hunan Province in Chinaon the grounds that “animals should not use human language, and that it was disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level.”

3. The Big Bang Theory

CBS

Over the last generation, American TV shows have found a receptive audience in China. But just recently, the government abruptly banned The Good Wife, NCIS, The Practice, and the popular hit on both sides of the Pacific, The Big Bang Theory. When Chinese fans demanded an explanation, the censorship agency offered only that they were either out of copyright or contained “content that violates China’s constitution, endangers the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, provokes troubles in society, promotes illegal religion and triggers ethnic hatred.”

4. Gambling

iStock

Except for two state-run lotteries, gambling is illegal in all of mainland China. This has led to a Las Vegas-like casino scene in Macao but the mainland laws are so stringent, even advertising for the nearby legal gambling is forbidden in China.

5. Gaming Consoles

iStock

This ban was recently lifted, but only after 14 years without Xbox or Wii or PlayStation in the People's Republic. The government cited the violent content of many games for the ban and certain titles will still be illegal.

6. Online Dating for Army Personnel

iStock

In 2010, the Communist Party’s Central Military Affairs Commission issued a series of internet restrictions for members of the armed services. “Seeking marriage partners, jobs or making friends through the public media is not permitted. Going online in local Internet cafes is not permitted,” the regulation states. “Opening websites, home pages, blogs and message forums on the Internet is not permitted.” The ban was imposed to prevent personnel from leaking military secrets during their online chats.

7. Remembering the Tianamen Square Massacre

Getty Images

Not only is the incident banned from mention in textbooks and Chinese-controlled websites, over 100 terms are blocked from internet search results around the June 4th anniversary. This year, all of Google search was inactive leading up to the 25th anniversary.

8. Jasmine Flowers

iStock

Afraid that the so-called "Jasmine Revolution" in Tunisia would inspire similar insurgence in China, the Chinese Communist Party cracked down on the dainty white flower in 2011. The word was blocked in text messages, video of the president singing a song about jasmine was wiped from the internet, and a vague ban was placed on selling the flower at markets.

9. Brad Pitt, Richard Gere, and Many Other Celebrities

Getty Images

The Chinese government has proved to have an extremely low tolerance when it comes to supporters of the Tibetan Independence Movement. Actors Harrison Ford and Richard Gere, a devout Buddhist, have been banned from entering the country after publicly expressing their support for Tibet. Martin Scorsese was banned in response to his 1997 film Kundun, which chronicles the life and exile of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. And Brad Pitt is forbidden from entering the country simply for starring in Seven Years in Tibet.

10. Avatar (in 2D)

20th Century Fox

After enjoying two weeks in 2010 as a hit in China, Avatar 2Dwas banned. Authorities claimed the move was an economic one, favoring the 3D version, but critics of the decision pointed out that with only 550 such screens nationwide the ban essentially kept the film out of the public sphere. Additionally, China's Central Publicity Department issued an order to the media "prohibiting it from hyping up Avatar." Taken together, the effective ban was seen as an attempt to give domestic films an edge at the box office and censor the content, which could be seen as an allegory for China's policy of forced evictions.

WTF!! I guess this is due to their eating habits, I mean how can you be normal if this is your food

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. @Blue Marlin @Hamartia Antidote

Yet you guys get away with Minions...if we did that it would be an international incident.

 

[Spring Onion]

Now that's the height of craziness by a state!!! What an insecure lot..

Just few days back an Indian was booked for this

 

[Sameer25]

ive never laughed so hard

 

[jetray]

lol what a insecure lot

they want to be seen as perfect, just as good as westerners.

Young Olympics singing star didn't really sing
Official ruled true singer, 7, wasn't cute enough, so rival lip-synched instead

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Imaginechina, AFP
Lin Miaoke, left, is shown during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on Friday. An official ordered her to lip-synch 'Ode to the Motherland' because seven-year-old singer Yang Peiyi, right, wasn't deemed cute enough.

updated 8/12/2008 8:26:24 AM ET

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BEIJING — One little girl had the looks. The other had the voice.

So in a last-minute move demanded by one of China’s highest officials, the two were put together for the Olympic opening ceremony, with one lip-synching “Ode to the Motherland” over the other’s singing.

The real singer, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, with her chubby face and crooked baby teeth, wasn’t good looking enough for the ceremony, its chief music director told state-owned Beijing Radio.

So the pigtailed Lin Miaoke, a veteran of television ads, mouthed the words with a pixie smile for a stadium of 91,000 and a worldwide TV audience. “I felt so beautiful in my red dress,” the tiny 9-year-old told the China Daily newspaper.

Peiyi later told China Central Television that just having her voice used was an honor.

It was the latest example of the lengths the image-obsessed China is taking to create a perfect Summer Games.

'Come out with the truth'
In a brief phone interview with AP Television News on Tuesday night, the music director, Chen Qigang, said he spoke about the switch with Beijing Radio “to come out with the truth.”

“The little girl is a magnificent singer,” Chen said. “She doesn’t deserve to be hidden.” He said the ceremony’s director, film director Zhang Yimou, knew of the change. He declined to speak further about it.

China has been eager to present a flawless Olympics face to the world, shooing thousands of migrant workers from the city and shutting down any sign of protest.

The country’s quest for perfection apparently includes its children.

A member of China’s Politburo asked for the last-minute change during a live rehearsal shortly before the ceremony, Chen said in the Beijing Radio interview, posted online Sunday night. He didn’t name the official.

During the live rehearsal, the Politburo member said Miaoke’s voice “must change,” Chen said.

“We had to make that choice. It was fair both for Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi,” Chen told Beijing Radio. “We combined the perfect voice and the perfect performance.”

“The audience will understand that it’s in the national interest,” Chen added.

He said he felt a responsibility to explain to the country what happened but on Tuesday the link to the video on the Beijing Radio Web site no longer worked.

'Instant star'
Miaoke’s performance Friday night, like the ceremony itself, was an immediate hit. “Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke becomes instant star with patriotic song,” the China Daily newspaper headline said.

Zhang, China’s most famous film director, was asked at a post-ceremony news conference about the little girl who swung on wires high above the Bird’s Nest National Stadium during the performance.

“She is a lovely girl and she sings well,” Zhang said, according to a transcript posted on the Beijing organizing committee’s web site.

The switch became a hot topic among Chinese and raced across the country’s blogosphere.

“The organizers really messed up on this one,” Luo Shaoyang, 34, a retail worker in Beijing, said Tuesday. “This is like a voiceover for a cartoon character. Why couldn’t they pick a kid who is both cute and a good singer? This damages the reputation of both kids for their future, especially the one lip-synching. Now everyone knows she’s a fraud, who cares if she’s cute?”

Others disagreed.

“They want the best-looking people to represent the face of China. I don’t blame the organizers for picking a prettier-looking kid over the not-so-pretty one,” said Xia Xiaotao, 30, an engineer.

“It’s the unfortunate reality that these sort of things turn political,” said marketing worker Zhang Xinyi, 22.

It was not the first time an Olympics opening ceremony involved lip-synching.

At the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Luciano Pavarotti’s performance was prerecorded. The maestro who conducted the aria, Leone Magiera, said this year that the bitter cold made a live performance impossible for Pavarotti, who was in severe pain months before his cancer diagnosis. Pavarotti died in 2007 at age 71.

Misleading: China also faked part of the fireworks display during the opening ceremony by using pre-recorded video of the 'footprints' across Beijing

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-banned-girl-crooked-teeth.html#ixzz4nD2FNBLk


http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26153578/...oung-olympics-singing-star-didnt-really-sing/

 

[Śakra]

No such things as freedom of speech and expression under commie rule.