As China ushers in the Year of the Tiger, a mythical new creature has been born, taking over from the Grass Mud Horse as the latest internet buzzword. And it's all thanks to the China Central Television's Spring Festival Gala show.
The animal, the Yake Lizard, or Yake Xi in Chinese, was created by internet satirists who thought a song and dance performance in the gala expressed excessive praise for Communist Party policies towards the Uygurs of Xinjiang .
The item in the world's most-watched show caught many people's attention, but not for the reasons expected by the directors.
A group of Uygur-looking performers sang the praises of the Communist Party in a song entitled Party Policies are Yakexi. Yakexi, a well known Uygur phrase for 'good', has since then became a nationwide catchphrase. Xi in Chinese can mean lizard.
The protagonist of the performance, a farmer who goes by the name Maimaiti, waxes lyrical about the Communist Party scrapping agricultural taxes, paying for his children's education and providing health care assistance. He repeatedly sings 'what is yakexi, what is yakexi, the party's policies are yakexi'.
The performance was reportedly the first item to be approved by CCTV for the gala show, a staple of festival entertainment for mainland Chinese since the 1980s. But soon after reports about the performance emerged, internet users lashed out at its excessive flattery, saying it did not match reality.
A deadly riot broke out in Xinjiang's capital city, Urumqi , last year partly due to Uygur discontent at what they considered to be unfair government policies.
