Fish Leong Song ‘Unfortunately Not You’ Banned on China Platforms After US Capture of Maduro

The United States’ strike on Venezuela on January 3, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, has sparked international shockwaves and condemnation.

China, known for its close relationship with Venezuela, issued a statement expressing strong dissatisfaction, criticising the US action and calling for the couple’s release.

While many Chinese netizens denounced the US as a “global bully,” an unexpected reaction soon appeared online.

Large numbers of users began flooding major music platforms and social media with streams of Malaysian singer Fish Leong’s 2005 hit song ‘Unfortunately Not You’.

So what does a romantic ballad about missed love have to do with Maduro’s arrest?

Well, it’s all in the name.

The song’s Chinese title, Ke Xi Bu Shi Ni (可惜不是你), contains the word “Kexi” (unfortunately), which sounds similar to “Xi”, the surname of Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Using this sound-alike, some netizens turned the song into a form of indirect sarcasm.

Besides repeatedly streaming the track, netizens also left provocative remarks in the comments section of the song, such as “Unfortunately, it wasn’t Xi,” “Unfortunately, it wasn’t that someone,” and “They caught the wrong person—should catch the right one again,” which are seen to be targeted at the Chinese leader.

Unsurprisingly, the song was soon removed from Chinese platforms.

According to screenshots shared online, major music services such as QQ Music took down the song in less than a day as the controversy grew.

Pages that had previously played normally suddenly displayed a notice stating: “This song is temporarily unavailable due to copyright restrictions.”

This isn’t the first time ‘Unfortunately Not You’ has disappeared from Chinese platforms.

It was temporarily removed in 2022 following the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and also in 2023 after the sudden death of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang.

Some netizens remarked that the song’s “value keeps rising”.