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Tuesday, Jun 06, 2023
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Comic strip being pulled from Ming Pao shows narrower press and speech freedom
Political cartoonist Wong Kei-kwan, better known by his pen name “Zunzi,” said his works being pulled from publication in the newspaper Ming Pao is an indicator of how press freedom and freedom of speech have become narrower in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, he reassured readers that he has no plans to leave the city so far, although he will stop creating political comic strips for the moment.
Speaking on a radio program Friday, Wong believes his work does not run against the city’s interests and noted his style has never changed.
He continued that government officials criticized his work because they changed their judging criteria under the current social atmosphere.
He added that his work could be published in a newspaper because it reflected certain people’s opinions and views on social issues, saying that everyone has the right to voice their thoughts.
Responding to doubts raised by former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying that Wong only criticized the SAR government but not the U.S. or the U.K., Wong said his work focuses on the local situation and the situations in the U.S. or the U.K. will be taken care of by the creators there.
Wong also said it is a shame that certain books have been taken down from public libraries, especially when some of the books are not related to politics and are taken down because of the authors.
He hoped those books could be available in public libraries in the future when the social atmosphere becomes more lenient.
Wong noted he has yet to decide on creating comic strips related to the June 4 crackdown or not, but believed he can create non-sensitive content to contribute to the city, given that many fellow cartoonists are still working very hard.
Speaking on a radio program Friday, Wong believes his work does not run against the city’s interests and noted his style has never changed.
He continued that government officials criticized his work because they changed their judging criteria under the current social atmosphere.
He added that his work could be published in a newspaper because it reflected certain people’s opinions and views on social issues, saying that everyone has the right to voice their thoughts.
Responding to doubts raised by former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying that Wong only criticized the SAR government but not the U.S. or the U.K., Wong said his work focuses on the local situation and the situations in the U.S. or the U.K. will be taken care of by the creators there.
Wong also said it is a shame that certain books have been taken down from public libraries, especially when some of the books are not related to politics and are taken down because of the authors.
He hoped those books could be available in public libraries in the future when the social atmosphere becomes more lenient.
Wong noted he has yet to decide on creating comic strips related to the June 4 crackdown or not, but believed he can create non-sensitive content to contribute to the city, given that many fellow cartoonists are still working very hard.
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