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As I see it | Beijing’s fragile feelings over satirical pop duet won’t help its bid to be ‘lovable’
- ‘Fragile’, by Malaysian artist Namewee and Australian singer Kimberly Chen, pokes fun at jingoistic digital warriors known in China as ‘Little Pink’
- It was wiped from the Chinese internet soon after its release, but banning the song only makes Beijing seem prickly and heavy-handed, writes Maria Siow
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China’s recent ban on a satirical pop duet that pokes fun at jingoistic internet trolls has done little to help it in its quest to project a positive image abroad.
In the video for Fragile, or bo li xin (heart of glass), by Malaysian artist Namewee and Australian singer Kimberly Chen, the pair repeatedly apologise to a dancing panda in an allusion to China and its army of young digital warriors filled with patriotic zeal known as “Little Pink” or xiaofenhong in Chinese.
“I am so sorry to have angered you”, the pair sing, before adding “I’m not sure how I have offended you”. Chen and Namewee then take the panda to task for “never wanting to listen”, “always launching counter-attacks”, and “thinking that the world is your enemy”.
The video features baskets of cotton, in reference to allegations of forced labour in China’s Xinjiang province, and teddy bears resembling Winnie the Pooh – a nod to the cartoon character that has long drawn comparisons to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Within days of the video’s release, the singers’ accounts on Chinese social media were blocked and their songs removed from the country’s online streaming platforms.
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