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Japan’s Disney store is selling merchandise that shows Winnie the Pooh holding up a piece of white paper while appearing to scrutinise it. 

Assorted Winnie the Pooh merchandise

The collection is based on a viral 2013 meme of Winnie the Pooh squinting at a blank piece of paper in the 2011 animated film. 

The Winnie the Pooh merchandise depicting this symbolic act includes T-shirts, mugs, tote bags, hoodies and phone cases. A cup is priced at around 2,530 yen (S$25.20), while a T-shirt is priced at around 2,750 yen (S$27.40)  

The products are created through Disney’s MADE program which allows people to customise their own Disney merchandise.

When a Chinese national living in China tried to ask a daigou, or professional shopper that helps to buy goods from overseas, about the merchandise, the daigou said there have been "many enquiries" being made lately about the products, as seen in a screenshot of a chat log sent to Mothership.

Politically loaded image

The image is rather politically loaded, given the spate of protests that erupted across the nation in recent days.

Chinese protesters have held up blank pieces of paper as an act of defiance against the state's censorship.

A series of protests broke out in China after a deadly building fire killed 10 people and injured several others in Urumqi, Xinjiang, on Nov. 25. While many gatherings started out as public mourning for the victims, they later escalated to demonstrations against the country's strict lockdown policies, with some even calling for Chinese President Xi Jinping to step down.

‘We want freedom!’ pic.twitter.com/yoTeYaFJAx

— Eva Rammeloo (@eefjerammeloo) November 26, 2022

Videos appear to show fire trucks being impeded by Covid barriers, as well as residents seemingly trapped in the building. A widely-circulated video appears to capture the screams of a woman in the building who was shouting for the door to be opened.

保存的新疆火灾呼救声，感觉听了会崩溃的不要点开 pic.twitter.com/t5rl9n7d9R

— 国产女孩 (@smile1688xx) November 25, 2022

Lockdown restrictions have kept Urumqi residents in their homes for more than three months.

According to The Japan Times, hundreds of people in Japan have also gathered in solidarity with China's anti-lockdown protests.

Xi compared to Winnie the Pooh

Xi has previously been likened to the adorable honey-guzzling cartoon character known for its portly stature. 

A photo showing Xi walking with former U.S. president Barack Obama in June 2013 was juxtaposed with an image of Pooh walking with his friend Tigger. 

Xi Jinping and Barack Obama as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. China not amused http://t.co/WpOFcl56gO pic.twitter.com/kQzPBFLs8V

— Jeremy Barker (@PoppedCulture) June 17, 2013

The following year, a photo of Xi shaking hands with then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was compared to an image of Pooh shaking hands with his donkey friend Eeyore. Both images spread like wildfire on the internet. 

Parallels：#Xi_Jinping & #Abe to Winnie-the-Pooh & Eeyore
『習近平&安倍』と『プーさん&イーヨー』の類似点

中国で炎上した投稿
via @joshchin（WSJの臨時記者） pic.twitter.com/1gh4iinYNe

— KAKAPO➤Endangered (@178kakapo) April 30, 2015

In 2015, a photo of Xi standing through a car roof was compared to a Pooh toy car. The image became the "most censored image" of the year, according to Global Risk Insights. 

Chinese authorities banned a live adaptation of the Winnie the Pooh series in 2018 and content mentioning the cartoon character. 

It is important to note, however, that searches for the beloved character still turn up on Chinese search engines and social media, as the character is only censored in China when used in political contexts, such as comparisons to Xi.

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Top image adapted via Shop Disney and Sergei Bobylyov/AFP/Getty Images