ⓒ JoongAng Ilbo / JoongAng Ilbo Japanese version2023.02.06 08:24
As controversy over the incident in which China’s “reconnaissance balloon” entered US airspace heats up, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is also a candidate for the US Republican presidential election, posted on Twitter that he was holding a balloon and falling down. Winnie the Pooh” is a hot topic by posting a picture.
A post posted by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the 4th was retweeted nearly 6,000 times with 2.86 million views as of the followingnoon of the 5th. Winnie the Pooh is often used to satirize President Xi Jinping because of his resemblance to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Chinese reconnaissance balloon, which invaded US airspace on the 28th of last month, was regarding the size of two or three buses, and was shot down by a US fighter jet on the 4th following drifting regarding 18 kilometers.
In a separate tweet earlier that day, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “China’s ‘reconnaissance balloon, which it claims is harmless,’ flew over sensitive military installations that are directly linked to our national security. No one should believe anything that doesn’t speak to China,” he said. Immediately following the incident, he raised his voice, saying that the balloon should be shot down immediately, and criticized the Biden administration’s response along with former President Trump and other Republican presidential candidates.
In July 2020, when he was still in office, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sparked controversy by posting a photo on Twitter that satirized China with “Winnie the Pooh.” He posted on Twitter a photo of his dog, Mercer, playing with a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal, writing, “Mercer’s favorite toy.” The British BBC reported at the time, “There are speculations among Internet users that this is a message sent by Mr. Pompeo to China.” Some American netizens commented, “It means that the United States is toying with China.”
Xi has been compared to Winnie the Pooh since 2013. When a photo of Xi Jinping walking side by side with then US President Barack Obama was released, netizens drew Winnie the Pooh and his friend Tigger. Since then, Chinese social media has deleted content related to Winnie the Pooh en masse, and even blocked searches ahead of the 2017 party convention. Prior to this, “Pooh and I grew up”, which was released in South Korea in October 2018, was not allowed to be screened in China.
