The distributor of the British slasher film "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" announced on Tuesday that the movie’s screening in Hong Kong, scheduled for this week, has been canceled. No explanation was given for the cancellation.

VII Pillars Entertainment said on its Facebook page that it was with "great regret" that the movie scheduled to release on March 23 had been canceled. It did not provide further details.

Chinese censors have in the past targeted the film’s main character, initially conceptualized by English author A.A. Milne, due to memes that compare the bumbling bear to President Xi Jinping.

The comparisons began in 2013 when Xi visited the United States and met his then-counterpart Barack Obama, and some online commentators seized on their likeness to Pooh and Tigger.

Some people have used the image of Pooh to signal dissent.

Hong Kong’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A ticket-booking link on its Facebook page brought up a message saying ticketing was temporarily unavailable.

Moviematic, which had organized a film screening for Tuesday evening, reported the cancellation on its social media page earlier in the day and cited technical reasons for the cancellation.

A new censorship law in the former British colony was enacted in 2021. As a result, some films have been prevented from being screened in the Chinese administrative region.

The city’s censorship law bars films that "endorse, support, glorify, encourage and incite activities that might endanger national security."

After anti-government protests rocked the city, Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020. The law punishes anything deemed subversion, secession, colluding with foreign forces, and terrorism.

Two films were dropped from Hong Kong’s international film festival last year after failing to secure approval from authorities.

The cancellation comes as Hong Kong hosts the Art Basel contemporary art fair, with authorities keen to promote the city as a vibrant cultural hub.