Advertisement
Art
LifestyleArts

Hong Kong political cartoonist takes aim at 40 years of Chinese reform in new show

  • Over 100 cartoons by Wong Kei-kwan, better known as ‘Zunzi’, on show in Kowloon Tong
  • Depictions include Jiang Zemin, Liu Xiaobo and Xi Jinping

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Political cartoonist Wong Kei-kwan, better known as Zunzi, at his retrospective exhibition at the Koo Ming Kown Exhibition Gallery in Kowloon Tong. Photo: Edward Wong
Enid Tsui

A prominent Hong Kong political cartoonist is marking the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and economic opening up with a retrospective whose title says it all: “Disorderly laughter not allowed. 40 years of reform and opening up, sown by Xiaoping and cut down by Jinping.”

Wong Kei-kwan, better known as “Zunzi”, his pen name in Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao, boldly lays out references to the suppression of free expression and the contrast between the exuberance of the late 1970s and today’s repressive environment in over 100 cartoons.

The exhibition opened soon after dissident Chinese political cartoonist Badiucao cancelled an appearance in Hong Kong last month after the organisers cited safety concerns and threats by Chinese authorities against the artist. Tai Kwun, a new heritage and cultural centre run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, also cancelled a talk last month by the well-known Chinese satirist Ma Jian on the pretext of not wanting to provide a political platform. It later reinstated the event following a public outcry.
Advertisement
Wong’s cartoons are, if anything, more impudent than those of Badiucao. Born in 1955, he joined Ming Pao when the paper was still run by its legendary founder, Louis Cha Leung-yung, soon after graduating from the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s art school.

He was given a daily column in 1983 in which he has lampooned Hong Kong’s colonial-era politicians and government ministers, raged against human rights abuses in China, and shamed officials for their vapid sloganeering.

Advertisement
Wong’s more recent works have often focused on President Xi Jinping. Photo: Edward Wong
Wong’s more recent works have often focused on President Xi Jinping. Photo: Edward Wong
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x