KING Felipe VI's annual Christmas Eve speech once again included a covert appeal to secessionist politicians, as well as raising concerns about young adults' struggle to afford housing and violence against women.
Winnie-the-Pooh banned from Madrid during Xi Jinping's visit
28/11/2018
WINNIE-the-Pooh has been temporarily banned from Madrid's Puerta del Sol square so as not to offend Chinese president Xi Jinping, who is on an official visit to Spain's capital.
A man who dresses up as the loveable, philosophical A. A. Milne character in the central plaza – famous for its giant hotel clock where thousands of Spaniards traditionally gather to see in the New Year – has had to take the day off, as Madrid's mayoress Manuela Carmena was due to present the VIP visitor with the 'Golden Key to the City'.
Other professional entertainers who spend their day dressed up as animated heroes were able to carry on with their work in the Puerta del Sol square, but Winnie-the-Pooh has become a viral internet meme to mock Jinping, leading to the new Disney film Christopher Robin being banned in the huge Asian country.
The film features Ewan McGregor as a 47-year-old Christopher Robin going through a mid-life crisis and confiding in his childhood best friend: “I'm not a hero, Pooh. I'm lost.”
It has been panned by critics, especially as it is supposedly set in 1950s' Britain but the characters have US accents.
The ban in China is because of internet users – especially Communist opposers - poking fun at what they consider to be a resemblance between Xi Jinping and Winnie-the-Pooh, partly in protest over the leader's intention of lifting time limits on how long a president can stay in office or a party in power.
“He had to take his costume off and go home,” said colleagues of the Puerta del Sol 'Pooh man'.
Photograph: Allstar/Disney
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WINNIE-the-Pooh has been temporarily banned from Madrid's Puerta del Sol square so as not to offend Chinese president Xi Jinping, who is on an official visit to Spain's capital.
A man who dresses up as the loveable, philosophical A. A. Milne character in the central plaza – famous for its giant hotel clock where thousands of Spaniards traditionally gather to see in the New Year – has had to take the day off, as Madrid's mayoress Manuela Carmena was due to present the VIP visitor with the 'Golden Key to the City'.
Other professional entertainers who spend their day dressed up as animated heroes were able to carry on with their work in the Puerta del Sol square, but Winnie-the-Pooh has become a viral internet meme to mock Jinping, leading to the new Disney film Christopher Robin being banned in the huge Asian country.
The film features Ewan McGregor as a 47-year-old Christopher Robin going through a mid-life crisis and confiding in his childhood best friend: “I'm not a hero, Pooh. I'm lost.”
It has been panned by critics, especially as it is supposedly set in 1950s' Britain but the characters have US accents.
The ban in China is because of internet users – especially Communist opposers - poking fun at what they consider to be a resemblance between Xi Jinping and Winnie-the-Pooh, partly in protest over the leader's intention of lifting time limits on how long a president can stay in office or a party in power.
“He had to take his costume off and go home,” said colleagues of the Puerta del Sol 'Pooh man'.
Photograph: Allstar/Disney
Related Topics
You may also be interested in ...
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