US-China: Pompeo dog photo has netizens asking if US is toying with China
Source: BBC
US-China: Pompeo dog photo has netizens asking if US is toying with China
By Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring
15 July 2020
A tweet by the US secretary of state has led to speculation over whether he is trying to send a message to the Chinese government.
Mike Pompeo posted a picture on his personal account of his dog Mercer, surrounded by "all of her favourite toys". The toy that sits centre stage is a stuffed Winnie the Pooh.
The tweet has ignited significant attention given that Winnie the Pooh is a common derogatory nickname for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese netizens don't have a lot of love for Mike Pompeo, and regard him as "evil" and "the king of lies".
However, he may be aware that they will struggle to talk about this tweet because nicknames referencing the Chinese leader are heavily censored.
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Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53420322
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DU thread from 2018:
The gloriously stupid reason China is censoring Winnie the Pooh.
Innocent pet photograph, or a coded insult aimed at China's leader? (Twitter/Mike Pompeo)
Memes comparing Xi to Pooh Bear have angered the Chinese authorities (Empics)