'Obamao' artwork tests limits of free speech in China

Anyone who has been following President Obama's visit to China this week has no doubt heard of "Obamao" -- the graphic superimposition of Obama's face on the body of Chairman Mao that has found its way onto T-shirts and other souvenir items around the country.

The phenomenon, which was first reported during the summer, has reached a cultural tipping point this week, as Obama makes his way through the country as part of his first tour of Asia as president. Everyone -- NBC as well as  Gawker -- has weighed in on "Obamao." On Friday, the Christian Science Monitor reported that the Chinese government had gone so far as to ban the image by threatening to shut down vendors selling the popular T-shirts. Apparently, the government fears the image will offend the visiting president.

Culture Monster finds it is somewhat ironic that the Chinese government is cracking down on an image of Obama just as Obama himself publicly urged the country to embrace the freedom of speech. As reported this weekend in The Times, Obama spoke recently in Shanghai about "free expression, worship, political participation and access to information," which the president termed "universal rights."

"They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether they are in the United States, China or any nation," he said.

Obama also stated that unrestricted access to the Internet "should be encouraged."

His words apparently have fallen on deaf ears -- at least within the thick walls of the Chinese Communist party. Various reports today confirm that a CNN reporter was detained by Chinese security guards for displaying the "Obamao" T-shirt on camera. Emily Chang, who is a Beijing-based reporter for CNN, said  she and her crew were held for two hours, eventually meeting with Chinese police before being released.

So much for free speech in China. And so much for consistency too: The offending "Obamao" image  already has been widely reported on in state-run media, including the English-language China Daily.

Unlike with the Obama-as-Joker poster in the U.S., the designer of "Obamao" is well-known. Liu Mingjie created the digital image during the summer and has sold T-shirts and other items bearing his creation at his store in Beijing.

Liu told China Daily in September that he's working on "Obamao" underwear for the holiday season. We'll see how far he gets.

-- David Ng

Photo: A vendor sells "Obamao" merchandise. Credit: Zhou Chao / EPA

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Comments

[William Wray]

“So much for free speech in China?” Who's saying there saying there is any form of freedom in China? The Commies don't have a sense of humor? Mixed Red messages? I'm SHOCKED. The writer should be indignant all right. Next thing you know the Chinese government will start harvesting convicts organs to sell to rich tourists in Dubai. Perhaps the powers that be can put out there own shirts for the cons:
"The Government harvested my kidneys an all I got was this lousy T- shirt." Is this a story?
What interests me more is republicans who won't be able too flummoxed decide where to wear the "Obamao" shirts or not.

[gerrrg]

I'm just curious: Is that a real Ikea chair, or a fake one? LOL!

[Tab Cocovillea]

Obamao... I think those shirts will sell better here in the US. Oh, and how about Adolph Bernanke shirts FTW?

[nancy Simpson]

I was always baffled by the attitude of capitalist, sometimes Christian (!?!) Chinese students of mine who revere Mao, hater of both capitalism and religion. They see no contradiction because, I was told, they don't dwell on unpleasant aspects of the past and Mao "united the country."

I suspect we have become to the Chinese what Cheney saw in France: a country with a laughable sense of self-importance whose days of glory are over.

The Chinese have given much to the world and have much to offer. Their great weakness is a huge population and not enough arable land to feed them.