Big bad wolf

A stuffed toy resembling the wolf in Red Riding Hood has sold out like hot cakes in Hong Kong after it became an unlikely symbol of protest. An anti-government protester is said to have thrown the toy at Hong Kong leader C Y Leung on December 7. Stocked by Swedish furniture giant Ikea, the toy flew off the shelves from the next morning as people queued up for it.

Critics have long nicknamed Leung “the wolf”. Ikea did not comment on any political message being read into the incident, but it did say that none of its products in Hong Kong, including its soft toy range, had Chinese names. The wolf in question is called Lufsig in Hong Kong as it is called elsewhere in the world. But the toy’s Facebook page features spoof pictures, including one with the face of the chief executive of Hong Kong superimposed on the toy.