Mao Zedong
From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
Mao Tse-Tung was a Chairman of China in the 20th century. During the preparations for the World Peace Conference, the Third Doctor mentioned to the Chinese delegate Fu Peng that he remembered having a conversation in Hokkien with Mao, at which time the Chairman allowed the Doctor to call him by his personal name, "Tse-Tung". (TV: The Mind of Evil)
Behind the scenes
- The fact that the Doctor suggests he spoke Hokkien with Mao suggests a difference between the real world and the DWU. In real life, Mao did not speak Hokkien, as he came from deep within rural Hunan Province, far away from the reach of Hokkien.
- Mao Tse-Tung is referred to in the present tense, implying that the story is set at the time of broadcast — i.e. 1971 — rather than the five years into the future where the UNIT-related Doctor Who stories are often said [by whom?] to take place (Mao died in 1976).
