Taiwan air force insignia goes viral

() — Taiwanese are going to buy patches worn by Air Force pilots depicting a Taiwanese black bear beating Winnie the Pooh—representing Chinese leader Xi Jinping—as a defiant symbol of the island’s resistance to the exercises. Chinese military.

China began three days of military exercises around Taiwan on Saturday, a day after the island’s President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United States, where she met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy despite warnings from Beijing. .

Chinese censors have long focused on depictions of Winnie the Pooh — created by British author AA Milne — which have become internet memes comparing the bear to China’s leader.

Alec Hsu, who designed the patch, has been selling it in his shop since last year, but saw a surge in orders after Taiwan’s military news agency published a photo of the patch on a pilot’s arm on Saturday. inspecting a fighter

“I wanted to increase the morale of our troops by designing this patch,” said Hsu, owner of Wings Fan Goods Shop.

Hsu said he ordered more patches to meet the increased demand. Clients include military officers and civilians.

The patch features an angry Formosan black bear (also known as Taiwan black bear) holding the Taiwan flag and punching Winnie the Pooh, with the slogan “Scramble!”, referring to what the island’s pilots have had to do more frequently over the past three years as China sends more planes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, a self-declared buffer that extends beyond the island’s airspace.

The endangered Formosan black bear is considered a symbol of Taiwanese identity. Previously, Taiwan was better known internationally as Formosa.

“Where can we get a patch like that? They will be best sellers guaranteed!” Taiwan’s de facto embassy to the United States wrote in a tweet on Monday.

The Taiwan Air Force told Reuters that while it does not “particularly encourage” its members to wear the patch, which is not part of their uniform, it will “keep an open mind” to anything that will boost morale.

The Communist Party of China claims that democratically governed Taiwan is its own territory even though it has never controlled it and does not rule out taking the island by force. The Tsai government rejects China’s claims to sovereignty, saying only the people of Taiwan can decide their future.

While the Winnie the Pooh patch cannot be found on Chinese social media, Beijing has also been promoting videos and comments about its drills around Taiwan.

The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command, the Chinese unit that would be on the front lines of any military action against Taiwan, released a video on Monday showing scenes from the drill, set to upbeat music.

The video was aimed at a Taiwanese audience through the use of traditional Chinese characters, which are still used in Taiwan, but no longer in mainland China.

Chinese military drills in Taiwan

China’s military drills focused on practicing “sea blockades” and “targeted ambush attacks against enemy mooring vessels” in the Taiwan Strait, as well as in northwest, southwest and eastern Taiwan waters, Chinese state media reported. .

Over the weekend, various services of the People’s Liberation Army had carried out “simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on the island of Taiwan” and in the surrounding waters, state media reported.

Analyst Carl Schuster, former Director of Operations for the US Pacific Command Joint Intelligence Center, said the People’s Liberation Army was “practicing and probably refining the air coordination and joint operations required to initiate a blockade of the Taiwan ports and air routes.

A Chinese blockade of Taiwan could choke supplies coming into the island, including any military aid or other shipments from the United States or its partners.

The US, through the Taiwan Relations Act, is legally required to provide Taiwan with defensive weaponry, but remains deliberately vague about whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of an attempted Chinese attack.

Beijing had repeatedly warned against Tsai’s meeting with McCarthy and threatened to take “strong and resolute action” if it took place.

After the drills began, Beijing described them as “a serious warning against the collusion of Taiwan separatist forces with external forces, and a necessary move to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Taiwan Defense Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said the People’s Liberation Army exercises had “destabilized” the region.

“Chairperson Tsai’s visit became her excuse to hold exercises and her actions have seriously jeopardized the security of the surrounding region,” he said, adding that the island’s air defense units were on “high alert.” .

Beijing carried out similar large-scale military exercises around Taiwan last August after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island.

— ‘s Brad Lendon contributed to this story