Taiwan sees demand soar for badges showing native bear punching Winnie the Pooh amid China drills

Badges depicting a Formosan black bear holding a Taiwanese flag punching Winnie-the-Pooh are on display at a shop in Taoyuan, Taiwan. China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, launched three days of war games on 8 April that involved simulating attacks on the democratic island in response to President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The iron-on patches being worn by some of Taiwan's air force pilots are a defiant message to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, often satirised for looking like Winnie the Pooh.

The iron-on patches, showing the Taiwanese Formosan bear holding a Taiwanese flag, have been popularised by Taiwan’s air force pilots.

Mr Xi is often compared to the fictional bear in satirical internet memes, which claim he resembles the character.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, launched three days of war games on 8 April that involved simulating attacks on the democratic island in response to President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The badges bear the slogan “Scramble!” – referring to what the island’s pilots have had to do in response to Chinese military action in recent months.

Beijing has claimed that contact with foreign officials encourages Taiwanese who want formal independence, a step the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) says would lead to war.

Chinese authorities have previously cracked down on use of the Winnie the Pooh character, in a bid to remove links between him and Mr Xi.

The link began when Mr Xi visited the US in 2013, and an image of Xi and then president Barack Obama walking together sparked comparisons to the portly Winnie walking with lanky Tigger. A year later, further comparisons were made during a meeting with Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who was said to resemble Winnie’s gloomy donkey friend, Eeyore.

In 2018, Chinese censors banned the release of Christopher Robin, a film adaptation of AA Milne’s story about Winnie the Pooh.