A punch in the face for Xi caricature: Taiwan air force badge goes viral

People in Taiwan are rushing to buy patches worn by their air force pilots that show a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh, who stands for China’s President Xi Jinping, as a defiant sign of the island’s resistance to Chinese war games.

China started three days of military drills around Taiwan on Saturday, a day after the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, returned from a short trip to the U.S., where she met Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, even though Beijing had warned her not to.

Chinese censors have long gone after images of A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh because of internet memes that compare the fictional bear to China’s president.

The patch was made by Alec Hsu, and he has been selling it in his shop since last year. However, he got a lot more orders after Taiwan’s military news agency published a picture of a pilot wearing the patch while looking at a fighter jet on Saturday.

The owner of Wings Fan Goods Shop, Hsu, said, “I made this patch to boost the morale of our troops.”

Hsu said he has ordered more patches to meet the growing demand. Both military officers and civilians have been customers.

‘SCRAMBLE!’
The patch shows an angry Formosan black bear holding Taiwan’s flag and punching Winnie the Pooh. The slogan “Scramble!” refers to what Taiwan’s pilots have had to do more often over the past three years as China has sent more planes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.

People in Taiwan see the endangered Formosan black bear as a sign of who they are. Taiwan used to be better known around the world as Formosa.

“Where can we get one of those patches! They are sure to sell well!” In a tweet on Monday, Taiwan’s “de facto” embassy in the United States said.

Taiwan’s air force told Reuters that while it does not “especially encourage” its members to wear the patch, which is not part of their uniform, it “will keep an open mind” to anything that boosts morale.

China says that Taiwan, which is run by a democratic government, is part of its own land, and it has not ruled out taking the island by force. Tsai’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

While the Winnie the Pooh patch cannot be found on Chinese social media, Beijing has also been promoting videos and commentary about its drills around Taiwan.

The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command, the Chinese unit that would be at the frontline of any military action against Taiwan, released a video on Monday showing scenes from the drill, set against upbeat music.

The video targeted a Taiwanese audience by using traditional Chinese characters, which are still used in Taiwan but no longer in mainland China.