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No One In China Has Ever Heard The ‘Chinese Proverb’ Ivanka Tweeted

Ivanka Trump left the Chinese baffled on Monday when she tweeted what she labeled a “Chinese proverb”— one that the Chinese weren’t too familiar with, The Washington Post reported.

The tweet in question was posted just ahead of President Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. “Those who say it can not be done, should not interrupt those doing it. -Chinese Proverb,” the first daughter wrote.

“She saw it in a fortune cookie at Panda Express,” one Chinese user speculated on Weibo, a microblogging website popular in China.

Weibo users who agreed it wasn’t a Chinese proverb tried to guess what saying she may have been trying to reference. Some said it could have been “Don’t give advice while watching others playing a chess game.” Another suggestion was, “Don’t force others to do things you don’t want to do yourself.”

Contact Haley Cohen at [email protected]

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