After two protesters from the League of Social Democrats threw Lufsig, an Ikea stuffed toy wolf, at the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying at a public meeting on Sunday – Lufsigs have been flying off the shelves and have become the most sought-after anti-government accessory.
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Photo: Ming Pao
The grinning wolf toy is actually an Ikea educational toy, the toy can recreate the tale of Little Red Riding Hood by rescuing the grandmother from the wolf’s stomach, and HK$10 of each purchase goes to United Nations’ children’s organisation Unicef.
Lufsig has become the unlikely icon against the government mainly because of a play on words on both Lufsig’s and Leung Chun-ying’s Chinese name. At Ikea stores, Lufsig had been translated to “Lo Mo Sai” which sounds like a swear word in Cantonese associated with the female genitalia. Leung has always been nicknamed as “The Wolf” because protesters think he’s cunning and untrustworthy – just like a wolf. Additionally, the Chinese word for wolf sounds a bit like “Leung” so many critics have nicknamed him “Wolf Chung-ying”.
A Chinese University of Hong Kong lecturer Yuen Chan blogged on The Huffington Post about Lufsig, saying “Possession of a Lufsig toy, or a desire to possess one, signifies a shared hunger for fully democratic elections for the city’s leader and legislature, as well as a shared frustration over what Hongkongers say is an unresponsive and incompetent government.”
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Lufsig wiped out in 20 minutes at Ikea store / Photo: 環球膠報 Facebook page
Hongkongers have been quick to snap up Lufsig toys – with all stocks being completely sold-out, Ikea has expressed the next set of supplies will only arrive early January. Online dealers note the resell value of the toy wolf, jacking up the prices from the originally priced at HK$99 toy wolf to HK$659. A Facebook page dedicated to Lufsig has attracted close to 46,000 likes since we last checked.
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Sources: Ming Pao, SCMP, The Standard, BBC
Photo: IKEA
