A satirical depiction of Chinese President Xi Jinping in a recent episode of animated adult cartoon South Park has drawn a number of strong reactions online, reports Global Voices.
The episode, ‘Tweek x Craig‘, aired on October 28 and featured the animated Chinese president saying that Japan decides “who is gay or not” in Asia.
“They are dogs who refuse not apologise to the Chinese Republic,” the characterisation also says of the Japanese. At the end of the episode, he also kisses his Korean-speaking secretary in his office.
Explaining the satirical reference behind the animated kiss, some commenters suggested the Korean secretary in the episode might actually be a representation of Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s president, who has close ties to China.
Japan, China and South Korea have long had bad relations, and their territorial disputes have been a contentious source of debate for decades. While neither of the three countries get on well, both China and South Korea share animosity towards Japan due in part to their historical military aggression.
这么看起来近平在南方公园里亲的是这位大姐 https://t.co/RFDTKV23zJ
— ((走马困))😈🇳🇱 (@SlowZhu) November 1, 2015
The politically sensitive scene caused Chinese fans on Weibo to worry that the country’s propaganda authorities would ban the show from online circulation as the implied extramarital affair would be regarded as corrupt within the context of the country’s anti-graft campaign.
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Kissing with secretary in the end, this is like adding fuel to the fire.
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最后还来个和小秘接吻，简直是火上浇油。
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Their worries were justified, as pirated copies of the original episode were quickly removed from the domestic internet and a new censored version is now circulating with the scene removed.
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Shit, I thought this is the end… Sohu TV has already taken down everything after season 12… I have to look for other online resources to download…
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尼玛我以为最后一季了….反正搜狐视频已经下掉了12季以后的…都是找资源下载看了…
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Other fans of the show defended it on Weibo, pointing out the difference between humor and maliciousness.
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This episode is mainly to mock the invasion of yaoi culture. Xi only appeared for a dozen seconds as a satire of the diplomatic war of words over Japan’s apology for the Second World War. The kissing scene at the end reflects China and South Korea’s ambiguous relations. The animation is for adult consumption, Chairman Mao made an appearance in the past as well. This is far from a malicious attack.
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这一集其实讽刺的是日本那种卖腐文化的文化入侵，xi的出现只是几十秒，讽刺下中日关于二战道歉这争议天天打口水仗，最后亲了韩国女估计是意思中韩关系暧昧。本就是部无节操的成人向的讽刺动画，太祖都出现过，这也真的不算啥了。
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Known for smashing taboos, the creators of the show, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are far from strangers to controversy. In 2010, a radical Muslim organisation posted a warning on their website that Parker and Stone risked being murdered for their depiction of Muhammad in the series.
It is also not the first time they have satirised China. In the episode, ‘The China Probrem,’ one of the main characters, Cartman, tries to avert a suspected Chinese invasion of America after watching the Beijing 2008 Olympics on television.
The series also occasionally features the character Tuong Lu Kim, also known as the City Wok Guy, who displays anti-Mongolian and anti-Japanese sentiments, and who is depicted as an expert at building walls.