Zunzi is one of our most famed local cartoonists, channeling society’s frustrations into comedy and caricature. Many of his creations during his two decades sketching out our social issues are difficult to forget, including his “bloom-headed Regina Yip” of the Article 23 debate, or his portrayals of Tung Chee-hwa and Donald Tsang Yam-kuen. He talks to Yvonne Young about the Mohammad cartoons, freedom of speech and starting a family.
How did I grow up? I drank milk.
My dad was a sailor. Me and my five brothers and sisters were so excited when he showed us weird fruits he brought back from overseas. He told us stories about what he saw out there, and the outside world became a mystery to us. I wrote a composition in school called “My Dream” – it was about wanting to be a sailor.
My parents are not intellectuals; they love mahjong. But they are liberal-minded. So I was allowed to indulge in what all kids love doing: drawing.
My father is a leftist. Those were the days when leftists were obsessed with unions and always busy with “Victoria Park elderly chats.” Most of my political thinking was nurtured in university.
The concept of the Mohammad cartoons in the Danish paper is just wrong. How can you equate all Muslims to a bomb? It’s a total abuse of the freedom of speech. Those drawings aren’t really done with a sense of mission; it’s more an irresponsible accusation.