As the BBC notes, Peppa Pig is a British cartoon character who is very popular in China, providing for a vast array of memes, videos, and jokes.
One problem: China’s communist rulers have now decided that the cartoon pig is a threat to national security. They have ordered “Peppa Pig” references to be removed from social media platforms. In communist China, some jokes are more equal than others.
Why does Beijing perceive a fake British pig to be such a profound threat? According to the western-focused Chinese state newspaper, Global Times, it’s because Peppa might “hamper positive societal morale” by encouraging individuality against the conformed center. In an inadvertently humorous (albeit intellectually ignominious) attack, the Times declared that “Peppa Pig” fans are “usually poorly educated with no stable job. They are unruly slackers roaming around and the antithesis of the young generation the party tries to cultivate.”
Glory to the groupthink.
This speaks to two realities about contemporary China. First, that China’s claim of enlightened communism is actually only that which communism always ends up being: the subjugation of the individual to the authority. Second, that Beijing’s leaders don’t feel nearly as politically secure as they pretend to be.
Long live Peppa Pig!
