with a Lufsig doll
Leung Chun-ying, the former
Chief Executive of Hong Kong, has suffered low popularity ratings since his
election in 2012. Of particular criticism was the election process itself, where the new Chief Executive was chosen by the
Election Committee, a group of 1200 individuals, many of whom belong to the
pro-Beijing camp. The election of Leung, combined with speculation during the campaign that Leung was connected to the
Chinese Communist Party, brought about a pro-democracy movement and protests calling for the adoption of
universal suffrage in Hong Kong. His approval ratings among citizens reached a record low in December 2013. Following the incident, Lufsig experienced a surge in popularity in Hong Kong; people lined up outside IKEA's three Hong Kong locations the next morning to purchase the toy, which were sold out within hours. In Canada, the toy went out of stock at several Toronto- and Vancouver-area IKEA stores. A Lufsig Facebook page amassed over 50,000 likes, and Lufsigs were being put up for sale in auctions for a symbolic
HK$689 – 689 being the number of votes Leung received in the election. On 11 December 2013, Leung posted a picture of himself with a Lufsig he bought as a Christmas present for his daughter, and praised the "creativity" of Hong Kong people. IKEA called the unintended pun "unfortunate" the same day, and changed the official Chinese name to "路福西" (pronounced as "Lufuxi" in
Putonghua and as "louh fūk sāi" in Cantonese), incorporating a Chinese character meaning "good fortune". ==See also==