Patches, worn by Taiwanese air force pilots, depicting a Formosan black bear holding Taiwan’s flag and punching Winnie the Pooh. Photograph: Carlos García Rawlins/Reuters

Taiwan

Taiwan: jump in sales for air force badges showing bear punching Winnie-the-Pooh

China’s president, Xi Jinping, is often the subject of internet memes that compare him to the children’s character

ReutersTue 11 Apr 2023 05.12 BST

Taiwanese are rushing to buy patches, popularised by air force pilots, that depict a Formosan black bear punching Winnie-the-Pooh – representing China’s president Xi Jinping – as a defiant symbol of the island’s resistance to Chinese war games.China began three days of military drills around Taiwan on Saturday, a day after the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, returned from a brief visit to the United States, where she met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy despite Beijing’s warnings.Chinese censors have long targeted representations of Winnie-the-Pooh due to internet memes that compare the fictional bear to China’s president.Screenings of Winnie the Pooh horror film cancelled in Hong KongRead moreAlec Hsu, who designed the patch, has been selling it at his shop since last year, but he saw a spike in orders after Taiwan’s military news agency on Saturday published a photo of the patch on the arm of a pilot inspecting a fighter jet.“I wanted to boost the morale of our troops through designing this patch,” said Hsu, who owns Wings Fan Goods Shop.Hsu said he has ordered more patches to meet the increased demand. Customers have included military officers and civilians.The patch shows an angry Formosan black bear holding Taiwan’s flag and punching Winnie-the-Pooh, with the slogan “Scramble!” – referring to what the island’s pilots have had to do with increased frequency over the past three years as China sends more aircraft into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.