On January 5, 2023, China issued two stamps to mark the "Year of the Rabbit”, which began on January 22, 2023. One of the stamps showed a rabbit with human hands holding a pen and a letter. The rabbit was designed with blue paint and red eyes. This depiction caused negative comments on social media, the rabbit would be a demonic representation, there was talk of a "death rabbit", an evil omen for the Corona pandemic and other interpretations. The designer of the stamp defended his creation, saying that the only interpretation was the words "blue rabbit" and "blueprint", which sound similar in Chinese.

The second stamp with three rabbits was also subject to negative interpretation. It was said the background image was a depiction of Yutu, a rabbit living on the moon, pestling medicine for the covid pandemic.

The controversy surrounding the stamps generated a hype, with the result that the stamps, with a print run of 39.5 million, sold out within a short time.