It’s hrd to tell who’s the dense one here: the Chinese police or Joshua Keating. Beijing vendors have been told to take T-shirts that show Barack Obama as a Red Guard off the shelves. Are they afraid that a fad will be kindled? Who knows. Chinese bureaucrats stay fresh by throwing their weight around. Mr Keating, in contrast, reads into the ban a tender concern for the feelings of our president.

Also, while I understand that the authorities are anxious not to offend Obama on his high-profile visit, I have a feeling that the president’s seen way more ridiculous images of himself if he’s ever looked out the window of his limo on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Surely the Chinese authorities know that, were Mr Obama to see kids wearing the shirt, he’d grin and perhaps even say, xing nan! (FP; via  The Morning News)

Drop me a line at rjk@dailyblague.com
This entry was posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 11:59 pm. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.