TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hong Kong artist AhTO (阿塗) created this map mocking the political situation in the Indo-Pacific region based on a similarly colorful map made 120 years ago.
On Sept. 30, AhTO posted the illustration on Instagram (ah_to_hk) and wrote that 120 years ago, Tse Tsan-tai (謝纘泰), used a map titled "The Situation in the Far East 1902" to depict the chaotic situation with the Qing Dynasty as it lay the verge of subjugation, and to "police the corruption and incompetence of the Manchu Qing Dynasty." In the original piece, Tse, an Australian Chinese revolutionary, depicted a bear representing Russia intruding from the north, a British bulldog encroaching on the east, a French frog lurking in the south, an American eagle swooping in from the southeast, a string from Japan wrapped around Taiwan, a Qing high official presiding over Tibet, and a Chinese teacher lecturing a Turkic man in Xinjiang, while various other European nations bide their time below.
Original map by Tse Tsan-tai. (Wikimedia Commons image)
In AhTO's version, a Russian polar bear stressed from the war in Ukraine sends a love letter to Winnie the Pooh in imperial garb, representing Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping. A North Korean tiger hands a missile to a Russian polar bear with the help of a Chinese panda, while another panda offers a bag of money to a South Korean tiger, eagerly waving the Chinese flag.
In eastern China, a panda points a claw at a Formosan black bear (Taiwan) while holding up a gun, while another panda traps Hong Kong and Macau under cages. In the South China Sea, a panda waves the Chinese flag as a Philippine eagle, Malayan tapir, and Vietnamese water buffalo all gather around and wave flags at each other.
Down in Cambodia, a panda carries a captured Formosan black bear across Thailand and into Myanmar with the help of a Burmese lion. In northern Myanmar, another Burmese lion can be seen shaking hands with a panda.
At the bottom of the map, a New Zealand Kimi, Australian kangaroo, British lion, and Canadian beaver jockey for position. Other notable elements include people in white hazmat suits, the "Da Bai" (大白), kowtowing to Pooh as he holds a little red book and sickle while a banner next to him roughly translates to "Zero COVID Emperor."
(AhTO illustration)
Map close up. (AhTO illustration)
