The war has gone to the ‘cats’

Cat troubles: While this British shorthair may be welcomed with open arms by FIFe, those from Russia are cattus non grata at the moment. — AP Photo

SINCE Russia invaded Ukraine, Chinese netizens have been discussing about which country they support and their military might.

But what has caught the most interest is the “sanction” imposed by the Federation Internationale Feline (FIFe), a cat fancier society with 41 member clubs worldwide, that no cat bred in Russia can be imported or registered in its pedigree book.

The non-governmental organisation also stated that felines belonging to exhibitors living in Russia are not allowed to enter shows it organised.

“Many innocent people have died, many more are wounded and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes to save their lives.

“The Board of FIFe feels it cannot just witness these atrocities and do nothing,” it pointed out.

The announcement went viral on Chinese micro-blogging site Sina Weibo and has been viewed 1.2 billion times and generated 190,000 discussions.

One netizen asked if the wind that blows across Russia to the European continent is considered “Russian wind”.

Some wondered if Tetris could still be played in the West as the computer game – called the Russian Blocks in China – was created by a Soviet software engineer.

A cat breed being affected by the sanction is the popular and regal Russian Blue.

Known for its silvery-blue or blue-grey coat and green eyes, a pure-bred kitten can easily cost more than 8,000 yuan (RM5,300) in China.

In Beijing and Shanghai, art lovers are disappointed over the cancellation of the late French artist Henri Matisse’s solo exhibition.

Scheduled to open in Beijing from March 26 to June, and from July to October in Shanghai, it was to exhibit 300 masterpieces including oil paintings, sculptures illustrations and textiles worth some 300 million euros (RM1.4bil).

The Chinese organiser, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, said it had not been informed of the cancellation which was reported as being due to “China’s political ties with Russia”.

The sale of tickets has been suspended for now.

The artworks are part of the collection of the Matisse Museum which the artist set up in his hometown of Le Cateau-Cambresis in northern France in 1952.

It was reported that France’s Department of Nord, which administers the museum, had earlier announced a suspension of cultural collaboration with China.

Its president Christian Poiret explained that the move was not against the Middle Kingdom.

“It is just that today I have to preserve French heritage.

“We do not know when this conflict will end, and we do not have sufficient guarantees to recover the works,” he added.

Apart from this, the Chinese also slammed the International Skating Union, FIFA and UEFA for banning Russian athletes.

“No politics in sports and arts, please,” netizens appealed.

Meanwhile, books related to the two nations were snapped up at bookstores and e-commerce platforms.

Reading materials about Russian President Vladimir Putin, the history of Russia or Ukraine, as well as those with insights into the tense relationship between the two “divorced nations”, were selling like hot cakes.

Since the Ukraine-Russia relationship went from bad to worse, China has repeatedly emphasised its neutral position although the nation is being seen as taking its neighbour’s side.

There have been stories circulated among the locals of isolated cases of Chinese citizens being attacked in Ukraine after speculation of their motherland supporting Russia.

Some 6,000 Chinese, many of whom are students, have registered for repatriation with the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine.

So far, more than half of them have been evacuated to neighbouring countries such as Poland, Romania and Hungary.

Many others fled on their own.

The Chinese back home have also been involved in heated discussions, expressing their views on the conflict.

Scholars and political analysts have focused on the benefits of China, saying that the country’s interests were the utmost priority, and pointing fingers at the United States for the invasion instead of Russia.

A video clip said to have been taken at a park in Shanghai, shows an old man covering one ear with a blood-tainted tissue.

The netizen who shot the clip claimed that the man had earlier engaged in a fist fight with a retiree.

Apparently one supported Russia and the other, Ukraine.

Mankind should be ashamed that war and the killing of fellow human beings are still happening when the world’s literacy rate has reached 86%, with Russia and Ukraine achieving a high rate of 99.44% and 99.43% respectively, according to Unesco’s Institute for Statistics.

The global village should be peaceful and stay united to fight the unseen Covid-19 enemy.

Each year, nearly US$3 trillion (RM12.56 trillion, equal to 10 times the Gross Domestic Product of Malaysia) is spent on making destructive weapons to ruin innocent lives when many people are struggling to find their next meal.

Let’s pray for the crisis to end soon and for mankind to live in harmony and tranquillity.