China’s internet regulator has rebuked the nationalist Chinese tabloid Global Times over its coverage, including a bellicose online poll ahead of Taiwan’s presidential inauguration and dubbing US presidential hopeful Donald Trump a “buffoon”.

The rap follows several months in which the paper has been increasingly at odds with the political establishment, but Beijing appears to be circumscribing its role as a platform for criticising Chinese policy abroad. China’s heavily censored media is usually limited to reprinting bland reports from the Xinhua news agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Global Times appears to have crossed the line when it referred this month to the upcoming inauguration of Taiwan’s president-elect Tsai Ing-wen. The poll asked if “within the next five years” would be a good time to retake self-governed Taiwan by force. Also this month a mocking editorial weighed in on Mr Trump, whose dark horse candidacy has fascinated the Chinese public.