When the victorious American invaders of Iraq began to clamp down their occupation of the country, they used a novel and effective tool. They issued packs of playing cards carrying the likeness of wanted men and women of the defeated regime; Saddam Hussein was the ace of spades.
The idea was successful, although the occupation itself has been anything but a quiet game of whist. The majority of those depicted on the Americans' most-wanted deck of cards have been captured or killed; the war for the hearts and minds and streets of Iraq continues at a bloody pace.
One person intrigued by the idea of playing cards being used as a vehicle to promote social and political issues was Ringo Choi Nam-hing. The 24-year-old student of construction and economics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University was among a group of students who decided to compile their own version.
Using prominent citizens and political events, they came up with a pack of satirical cards displaying the great and the good, the bad, the weird and the ugly of Hong Kong life. Students Force, an imaginative group of four young entrepreneurs, raised money, printed their glossy sets of cards and tendered for shop space at the Lunar New Year Fair at Victoria Park. Since then, the card set has become a cult item.
The decks can be used to play a hilarious card game that pokes fun at billionaires, politicians and the Hong Kong elite. The ace of spades is Donald Tsang Yam-kuen wearing a bow tie and a savage smile as he energetically gives Tung Chee-hwa a vigorous kick out of office. The ace of hearts shows the former chief executive in a snarling nose-to-nose confrontation with radical Legislative Council member 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung.
The four kings are the reigning government heavyweights running justice, the economy and the administration. The quartet of queens include former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang, Legislative Council president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai and former secretary for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee. Caricatures capture their likenesses with a waspish ferocity.
