Cartoon Poking Fun at Hong Kong Police Leads to Political Reactions

Freedom of creation left is in doubt

Political cartoonist Wong Kei-kwan (Zunzi) published a cartoon in a newspaper alluding to the school principal involved in a student suspensions incident calling the police for a trivial matter. The cartoon aroused "grave concern" comments from the Hong Kong police, claiming that it would damage the image of the police. Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times

When students at a Hong Kong secondary school were recently accused of disrespecting a flag-raising ceremony and  suspended for three days, public controversy arose. Political cartoonist Wong Kei-kwan (pen name Zunzi) has been serializing satirical political cartoons in Hong Kong Ming Pao Daily for more than 40 years. He depicted police officers wearing riot gear in a caricature, which upset the police and  attracted comments from pro-communist politicians and lawmakers. How did the campus controversy turn into a political debate?

People accused School officials of punishing students for a minor infraction.

A student from the secondary school involved told the Epoch Times on Oct 10, that the school had suspended 14 students from class for three days on the grounds of “disrespecting the flag-raising ceremony.” Some of the students were dissatisfied with the school’s action due to insufficient evidence. On the day of the incident, the school reported to the police that a sign at the school gate had been destroyed.

The school’s vice-principal said that “if this incident happened somewhere outside,” it would likely violate the national security law. Some of the punished students criticized the school for announcing at the morning assembly that the students had violated the national security law. Students wondered why the school changed its characterization after they were punished and said that the students only violated the school rules.

Some parents felt that the school’s approach was overly strict and were disgusted with its actions.

Zunzi, who is famous for satirical political cartoons, published a cartoon in Ming Pao on Oct. 11, depicting a policeman in riot gear asking the principal about the situation when he arrived at the scene. “Some students in Class 6A spoke foul language, some students in Class 5C had their erasers missing, students in Class 3D found laser pens in their school bags, and some students in Class 2A contradicted the teacher for allegedly intimidating...” The cartoon remained on the Ming Pao website until Oct. 12.

Police Contact Ming Pao

Hong Kong Assistant Commissioner of Police (Public Relations) Chan Tung sent a letter to Ming Pao’s Executive Chief Editor Lam Chung-yeung on Oct. 11 expressing his strong concern over the content of “Zunzi Comics.” In the letter, Chan pointed out that the cartoon may lead readers to the report on the “Tsuen Wan St. Francis Xavier’s School Incident” that Ming Pao reported on the same day, emphasizing that the school had called the police because a sign at the school gate was destroyed, and the police classified the case as criminal damage. The letter also stated that the cartoon will lead readers to mistakenly believe that the police will deploy a riot squad when schools request help, resulting in a wrong perception that will “create pressure and even harm” the principal, teachers, and students, and will “damage the image of the police force” and “damages police-community cooperation and crime-fighting effectiveness.”

Zunzi responded on Oct. 12, saying that the cartoon was not aimed at the police, and believes that the school should try to teach and guide students untiringly, and should not treat incidents with a heavy hand. Daily cartoons, like other comments, are only the artist making general comments and observations about social customs.

The editorial department of Ming Pao said that it received the letter from the police and thanked them for their opinions, and will continue to provide readers with accurate and credible news content in a professional manner and support columnists in providing professional work.

Pro-Communist Politicians Scramble to Show Allegiance

However, after the incident subsided, some pro-communist politicians immediately pointed the finger at Zunzi and even the students. Leung Chun-ying, former city leader and vice chairman of the Communist Party’s (CCP) rubber stamp legislature, scolded Zunzi on Facebook for his selection of topics that have targeted the CCP and the Hong Kong government for a long time, and asked him, “Does the American police teach and guide students?” Leung also pointed out that Ming Pao, similar to Apple Daily, had hired Zunzi to draw cartoons for a long time. Ming Pao “is a big problem.”

Leung Chun-ying, former city leader and vice chairman of the CCP rubber stamp legislature. Sun-Mingguo/The Epoch Times

Another member of the pro-communist group, Joephy Chan Wing-yan, scolded the 14 students for “not only not admitting their mistakes but also accepting an interview with Ming Pao,” saying that the students involved refused to attend the assembly when the national flag was raised, “[The school] will not raise the flag without warning!” Chan joked that Ming Pao has always been known as a “secret news,” claiming it became dominant after the pro-pan-democratic media, such as, toxic Apple [a derogatory term for Apple Daily] ended. Chan said that these cartoons have a very strong infiltrating power. The power must not be taken lightly, and she believes the police are also keeping an eye on Ming Pao.

Zunzi: National Security Law Killed Hong Kong and One Country, Two Systems

When Zunzi held an exhibition in 2018, he said that the establishment of more politically restricted areas by those in power is an attempt to create a chilling effect, and if cartoonists or critics usually “restrain themselves” or not do it on their own, “it is exactly falling into the trap (set by the authorities),” he believes that it is even more necessary to “get tough” (stand firm) and redouble his efforts to raise his objections.

On the day after the national security law went into effect, he drew a cartoon depicting the CCP party secretary wearing a red apron, holding a wave candy, and smashing to death a bird taken out of the “HKSAR” bird cage with a frying pan in front of multiple cameras. The banner read “Global Live Broadcast Xi Got Talent Too!” and symbolized the CCP’s insistence on implementing the national security law as if putting Hong Kong and “one country, two systems” to death.

Freedom of Creation Withered Under ‘Brave New Hong Kong’

Hong Kong residents have always enjoyed creative freedom, and political cartoons are one of the symbols of a civil society. Political cartoonist Justin Wong Chiu-tat once calculated that after the anti-extradition movement broke out in 2019, as many as 6,000 political cartoons or illustrations were created in Hong Kong.

In 2019, when Zunzi participated in the anti-extradition protest, he pointed out that the revision of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance would bring about “cultural stifling” and once it passed, would pose a “major psychological threat” to Hong Kong’s cultural circles. He described the CCP’s judicial system as “terrifying.”

After the CCP bulldozed the national security law through in 2020, the Hong Kong government has repeatedly suppressed freedom of speech, the press, and creativity, in an attempt to create a chilling effect and spread white terror for the CCP. The authorities have hunted down dissidents, and the street demonstrations and satire in Hong Kong have all but disappeared. A number of active Hong Kong artists, including Justin Wong Chiu-tat, A Tu, VA Wong Sir, and Hong Kong Worker, have seen a sharp narrowing of free space in Hong Kong.

Zunzi has witnessed the changes in Hong Kong society in recent decades. He once said that he would draw until the day no one would publish his cartoons so that everyone can continue to look for reflections on political and current affairs with a knowing smile.