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Last update : December 7 , 2019
Here ’s whyWinnie the Poohis banned in China . The now - renowned bear was create by author A.A. Milne almost 100 years ago . The dear - loving bear debuted in 1926’sWinnie - the - Poohcollection of stories and soon was feature in more literary works by Milne . The popularity of Pooh eventually begin to span the total globe , as these books were translated into multiple languages for kids around the world to enjoy .
Pooh became even more widely do it and approachable over the last 50 years under the control of Disney . The studio apartment produce several invigorate movies , shorts , and telly show asterisk Pooh and his champion from the Hundred Acre Wood . Most recently , Disney used the characters as part of the unrecorded - actionChristopher Robinmovie from 2018.Christopher Robinreceived positive reviewsbut made less than $ 200 million worldwide . This vent did not include a Chinese rollout though , and that ’s because the country ban all Winnie the Pooh content as the result of memes ( really ) .
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It all started in 2013 when China ’s President Xi Jinping began to be compared to Winnie the Pooh . While visiting the United States , he was photographed walking with Barack Obama . Some begin to aim to the law of similarity with that photo and one of Pooh and Tigger walking side - by - side ( as learn below ) . The comparing bear on for the next several age , resulting in China ’s censor take activity in 2018 . They ’ve since scrubbed Weibo , a popular social media land site in China , of any Winnie the Pooh material . This is think to be one of the big reasons whyChristopher Robinwas denied a sacking in the Middle Kingdom .
While it may seem odd to compare the president of China to a cartoon bear , it ’s crucial to understand that the disputable physical similarity between the two are n’t really the point . Xi Jingping was ( at least by Chinese governmental standards ) fairly put in power , but has since take dance step to ensure that he ’ll essentially be in charge of the land for the rest of his life sentence . Thus , those who oppose his seizure of control are enwrapped on making his life worse in any way they can , even if it ’s something as small as an unflattering comparison to Winnie the Pooh . As cockamamie as it may go to ban Winnie the Pooh in China , the iconic character has grown beyond his apolitical source . He has instead become a symbol of resistance against Xi Jinping ’s regime . As Jingping is not proud of with these comparisons , those who criticise his ruler have been happy to continue to use the bear ’s image whenever possible .
At this metre , there is no destruction in ken for the Winnie the Pooh ban to be lifted in China either . Jinping was re - elected as President of China in 2018 and abolished the 6 - yr terminal figure limit in the outgrowth . In other word of honor , he ’s not going anywhere anytime soon . Considering how prominent of a symbolic representation against him Winnie the Pooh has become , it would be surprising to see the ban lifted with him still in accusation . It may very well abide in place until someone else lead the Middle Kingdom , but that may be quite some prison term . Until that or a sudden variety come about though , Winnie the Pooh will remain exiled from China , all because of some meme .
Winnie the Pooh ’s banned status in China assuredly vexes Disney though , as the Chinese grocery has become increasingly more crucial to Hollywood ’s bottom line . In fact , some films have gotten sequel almost whole ground on their performance in the country . It ’s dubious that Disney has any program to retireWinnie the Poohfrom movie , and one wonders if his continued mien will eventually cause a rift between Hollywood ’s bragging thespian and the Chinese government .
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