作者：卢超

2026年9月23日，习近平飞抵华盛顿。白宫门前铺着红地毯，特朗普用军乐队和国宴接待他，桌上聊的是关税、AI和高科技竞争那些大牌局。而在白宫外的街头，我和民主党朋友从洛杉矶飞了三千英里赶过来，套着黄色的毛绒维尼熊服装，站在抗议人群的最前排。

有人可能会问：人家在大搞元首外交，你们套个卡通服折腾这一趟，能有什么用？

答案很简单，就是为了用荒诞反击荒诞。在中国，因为网民把维尼熊和习近平放在一起对比，这只原本再正常不过的卡通熊，硬生生成了互联网上最敏感的禁忌词。一个手握核按钮、掌管十四亿人的政权，居然会害怕一只没武器、不戴皇冠的黄毛熊，把它删得干净彻底。这种极度的敏感和脆弱，在维尼熊这面镜子面前显露无遗。

这几天华盛顿天气不错，白宫附近的道路封得死死的。政客们在里面握手合影、喝茶晚宴，我们就在外面的街上晃悠。

走在街头，很多美国人好奇地围上来问我：“你们为啥要穿成维尼熊的样子？”

每一次，我都会跟她们解释：“因为维尼熊在中国代表习近平，而这只可爱的卡通熊在当下的中国是完全被封禁的敏感词。”

听完我的解释，路人们的表情瞬间从看热闹变成了不可思议。当她们知道墙内的普通人仅仅因为发一张维尼图、或者说错一句话就可能被封号甚至被警察找上门时，这套搞笑的衣服就成了一堂最直观的课——它用最轻松的方式，让西方普通人一眼看清了那个体制对言论控制到了多么可笑的地步。不少美国人当场对我们竖起大拇指，喊着让我们加油。

9月24日下午，我们加入了一支近三千人的藏人抗议队伍，一路游行到了白宫门口。那场面极其壮观，震耳欲聋的抗议声响彻了白宫附近的整条街区。我们穿着维尼熊服站在人群中，跟着大家一起呐喊。那一刻我心里无比坚定：坐在白宫高墙里的习近平，绝对能清清楚楚地听到我们的声音！

不少路过的海外华人也走过来跟我们合影、握手。一位同在加州生活的朋友跟我说：“在墙内，大家连提到那个名字都要用拼音缩写；但今天在华盛顿，我们终于能把这个‘禁忌’穿在身上，光明正大站在阳光下了。”

说实话，穿着这么厚重的毛绒服在华盛顿的大太阳下站几个小时，衣服早被汗水湿透了。但想想墙内无数连声都发不出来、甚至因言获罪的同胞，这点辛苦根本不算什么。特朗普和习近平可以在谈判桌上达成各种商业妥协，但外交礼仪再隆重，也盖不住民间对自由和尊严的追求。

从洛杉矶到华盛顿，我们用这场看起来有点滑稽的“行为艺术”，做了一次正经的发声。独裁者最怕的未必是义正辞严的批判，而是其权威在幽默和嘲讽面前荡然无存。当荒诞成为反抗的武器，小熊维尼刺痛的不只是他的敏感神经，也是在告诉全世界：权力可以封锁网络，但永远封不住追求自由的人。

编辑：李晶 校对：孔祥庆 翻译：戈冰

When absurdity becomes a weapon, Winnie the Pooh touches a raw nerve with dictators.

Author: Lu Chao

On September 23, 2026, Xi Jinping flew into Washington. Red carpet was rolled out in front of the White House; Trump received him with a military band and a state banquet, and the discussions at the table revolved around the high-stakes games of tariffs, AI, and high-tech competition. Meanwhile, on the streets outside the White House, my Democratic friends and I—having flown three thousand miles from Los Angeles—donned yellow plush Winnie the Pooh costumes and stood in the front row of the protest crowd.

Some might ask: While they are engaging in grand summit diplomacy, what good does it do for you to go through all this trouble dressed in cartoon costumes?

The answer is simple: to use absurdity to fight back against absurdity. In China, simply because netized users compared Winnie the Pooh side-by-side with Xi Jinping, this perfectly normal cartoon bear was forcibly transformed into the most sensitive taboo word on the internet. A regime possessing nuclear buttons and governing 1.4 billion people is actually terrified of a yellow-furred bear with no weapons and no crown, erasing it completely and thoroughly. This extreme sensitivity and fragility are exposed without reservation before the mirror of Winnie the Pooh.

The weather in Washington these past few days has been quite nice, with the roads near the White House completely sealed off. Inside, politicians were shaking hands, taking photos, drinking tea, and attending banquets, while we wandered the streets outside.

Walking along the streets, many Americans came up out of curiosity and asked me: “Why are you dressed up as Winnie the Pooh?”

Every time, I would explain to them: “Because Winnie the Pooh represents Xi Jinping in China, and this cute cartoon bear is a completely banned, sensitive term in China today.”

Upon hearing my explanation, the expressions of the onlookers instantly turned from mere amusement to disbelief. When they learned that ordinary people inside the Great Firewall could have their accounts banned or even have the police show up at their door just for posting a picture of Pooh or saying a wrong word, this silly costume became the most intuitive lesson—it allowed ordinary Westerners to see at a glance, in the lightest possible way, the laughable extent to which that regime controls speech. Quite a few Americans gave us thumbs-up on the spot, shouting encouragement to us.

On the afternoon of September 24, we joined a Tibetan protest group of nearly three thousand people and marched all the way to the gates of the White House. The scene was magnificent, with deafening shouts of protest echoing throughout the entire neighborhood near the White House. Dressed in our Winnie the Pooh suits, we stood among the crowd, shouting along with everyone else. At that moment, I felt completely certain in my heart: Xi Jinping, sitting inside the high walls of the White House, could absolutely hear our voices loud and clear!

Quite a few overseas Chinese passing by also came over to take photos and shake hands with us. A friend who also lives in California said to me: “Inside the Great Firewall, people have to use pinyin abbreviations even to mention that name; but today in Washington, we can finally wear this ‘taboo’ on our bodies and stand upright in the open sunlight.”

To tell the truth, wearing such heavy plush suits under the bright Washington sun for several hours left our clothes soaked in sweat. But when thinking of the countless compatriots inside the Great Firewall who cannot even make a sound, or are even imprisoned for their speech, this bit of hardship is nothing at all. Trump and Xi Jinping can reach all kinds of commercial compromises at the negotiating table, but no matter how grand the diplomatic etiquette may be, it cannot cover up the public’s pursuit of freedom and dignity.

From Los Angeles to Washington, we used this seemingly somewhat absurd “performance art” to make a serious voice heard. What a dictator fears most is not necessarily solemn and righteous criticism, but rather his authority evaporating in the face of humor and ridicule. When absurdity becomes a weapon of resistance, Winnie the Pooh touches not only his raw, sensitive nerve, but is also telling the whole world: Power can block the internet, but it can never shut down people who pursue freedom.

Editor: Li Jing Proofreader: Kong Xiangqing Translator: Ge Bing