Скачать или смотреть 'Firefighter' Hong Kong Cartoonist Bids Farewell To Newspaper Strip After 40 Years | English News

'Firefighter' Hong Kong Cartoonist Bids Farewell To Newspaper Strip After 40 Years | English News

One of Hong Kong's most prominent political cartoonists, whose newspaper cartoon strip was axed on Sunday (May 14) after four decades, defended freedom of expression in the face of political pressures while urging others to keep speaking out.

"Apart from news reports, comics actually serve as a record of society's emotions, some layman's ideas, or the thoughts of the masses, and to question (and challenge). I believe this is something that should be done in a healthy society and environment," Wong Kei-kwan, 67, told Reuters on Monday (May 15).

Wong's work has garnered a huge following in Hong Kong since 1984. Some of it has addressed China's tightening grip on freedoms in Hong Kong, including a national security law that has been used to arrest scores of Hong Kong activists and shut down civil society groups and liberal media outlets. Wong's work has also addressed human rights issues in China, the significant democracy movements in Hong Kong in 2014 and 2019, as well as the transition of Hong Kong from a British colony to Chinese rule since 1997.

Ming Pao had been the last mainstream media group to publish Wong's cartoons after police raided and shut down the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper in 2021. Ming Pao decided to axe the strip following six official complaints, including from Hong Kong's security chief, though he gave no official reason for doing so.

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