# Xi Jinping Xi Jinping is the President of the People's Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party, who became an unlikely meme subject after online jokesters started comparing him to Winnie the Pooh. The comparison angered Chinese censors so much that both the bear and criticism of Xi were banned from Chinese social media, which only made the meme spread further internationally. ## Origin Xi Jinping was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in 2012, which made him the paramount leader of the one-party state and the first top leader born after the founding of the People's Republic[4]. The Winnie the Pooh comparison began spreading on Chinese social media around 2013, with users posting matched pictures of Xi next to Barack Obama or Shinzo Abe alongside corresponding Pooh and Tigger or Eeyore illustrations. By the summer of 2017, Chinese censors began actively blocking Pooh imagery across platforms like Weibo and WeChat, which turned a mild visual joke into a documented symbol of resistance against the ruling Communist Party[1]. The crackdown kept escalating from there. - **Platform:** Chinese social media (Weibo) / Western platforms (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2013 ## Overview The Xi Jinping meme centers on side-by-side image comparisons between the Chinese leader and Winnie the Pooh, usually pairing a photo of Xi walking or standing next to another world leader with a matching cartoon of Pooh in the same pose[1]. The joke is simple visual pattern-matching, but it turned into one of the most heavily censored online gags of the 2010s because Chinese authorities took it as an insult directed at Xi personally[3]. Beyond the Pooh comparisons, Xi is a divisive figure online. Supporters, particularly younger self-identified communists in the West, treat him as a serious ideological icon tied to Xi Jinping Thought, the 14-point doctrine enshrined in the Chinese constitution[2]. Critics focus on the extent of censorship under his government, which has blocked everything from the letter 'N' to the eye-roll clip of reporter Liang Xiangyi, to books by George Orwell[3]. ## How It Spread The meme broke into mainstream Western attention in June 2018 when HBO's 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver' aired a segment mocking Xi's sensitivity about the Pooh comparisons. Chinese authorities responded by blocking HBO's website inside China entirely[1]. In August 2018, the fallout hit Hollywood directly when Chinese film authorities refused to grant 'Christopher Robin,' Disney's live-action Pooh film starring Ewan McGregor, a release in the Chinese market. The Hollywood Reporter tied the denial to the ongoing Pooh crackdown, though insiders also pointed to the foreign film quota[1]. Later that year, after term limits for the Chinese presidency were scrapped, political scientist Steve Tsang of SOAS described Xi as 'unquestionably a Leninist strongman'[3]. The meme kept circulating on Twitter, Reddit and YouTube among critics of the Chinese government, with the Pooh association becoming shorthand for Xi himself in Western political cartoons and protest signs in Hong Kong[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Xi Jinping? Xi Jinping is the incumbent President of the People's Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party, who also became the subject of a long-running internet meme comparing him to Winnie the Pooh[1]. ### Where did Xi Jinping come from? Xi took power as General Secretary in 2012, and the Pooh comparison meme began spreading on Chinese social media around 2013 before escalating into a global censorship story[4]. ### What does Xi Jinping mean? As a meme, Xi Jinping references the running joke of pairing the Chinese leader with Winnie the Pooh, a comparison treated as a politically subversive insult by Chinese authorities[1]. ### How do you use Xi Jinping? The format typically pairs a photo of Xi beside another world leader with a matching cartoon of Pooh and a second Hundred Acre Wood character in the same pose[3]. ### Is Xi Jinping still popular? The Pooh association is still widely recognized in Western political commentary and was referenced during Hong Kong protests, while discussion is still banned inside China[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/christopher-robin-refused-china-release-winnie-pooh-crackdown-1131907]() 2. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping_Thought]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/xi-jinping]() 4. [https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/xi-jinping-5633.php]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McP4XEsypSo]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/xi-jinping Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library