Just Say NO!... to Piglet.

So, I came across this the other day. It's one of those stories you read where you first figure, "so what?" Then you start thinking about it.

For those of you who are linkaphobic, it's a story on the recent Chinese government ban on all things pig related in commercials and advertisements. It's going to be the Year of the Pig very soon in China, and China and the pig go way back.

Not only does the pig represent prosperity and health, it's also culturally ubiquitous. The average Chinese person eats over 80lbs of pork every year. Hell, the reason so many flu viruses come from China and Asia is because old germs morph into new ones inside of the pigs, and then make their way into humans. Too much information, I know. The point is, this isn't the Dog or the Horse. This is the damn Pig.

So why did they do this? Because they don't want to offend the Islamic minority in the country. Let me use different words, but repeat that, because it's important. The Chinese government is canceling billion dollar deals because it doesn't want to offend a religious minority. Since when did the Chinese give a flying monkey's ass about pissing off religious groups?

This is a government that has serious issue with religious groups of all shapes and sizes. And they're changing for a group that represent 2% of their population? Too be sure, 2% of China's population is about 21 million Muslims, which is comparable to the total amount in Europe, but the notion is odd. Especially considering the wrench it throws into the works of many large deals. Disney, fresh off the opening of a new theme park in Hong Kong, was prepping for a large publicity push, focused on Piglet. Hell, the postal service just unveiled a new series of Piglet stamps that will have to be changed or downplayed. Never mind the general use of the Pig in advertising this year.

So here's the fun part of the equation? Why is China terrified of their Islamic minority? If you think the government is doing this because they've realized the error of their ways vis-a-vis religion, let me know. I always love winning one sided arguments. China's attempting to placate, rather than quash. It's a very unusual approach from them, and might be worth keeping an eye on.

Oh, and if you read all of that and got bored, here's a video of a break-dancing toddler.