China’s ‘Obama Girl’ takes pop at West

The so-called 'Obama Girl', the voluptuous model whose song, I got a crush on Obama, raised pulses earlier this year, has spawned an imitator in China. Step forward pop singer Mu Rongxuan, who has released a ditty (replete with video) called Don't be too CNN.

Those seeking entertainment will be disappointed, however. The song fulminates against the foreign press, accusing journalists of demonising China for its policy on Tibet. One lyric goes, "CNN solemnly swears that everything on it is the truth, but I've gradually discovered this is actually a deception". Another: "Don't think that repeating something over and over again (means that) lies become admonitions".

The accompanying video is equally low on laughs. It features images from Tibet that have appeared in the Chinese media, such as burnt-out Chinese-owned shops and smoke rising over the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Not surprisingly, Mu Rongxuan's song has slipped under the Great Firewall of China and can be found, surprise, surprise, on Chinese state television's website (which goes, amusingly, by the name cctv.com).