How many British cultures did Hong Kong acquire? As a former British colony, Hong Kong once acquired its common law system and the rule of law, but the encroachment by the national security law changed everything, producing a lot of wrongful convictions and political prosecutions. British humor, another national treasure, had not been taken seriously in Hong Kong, where language learning is always utilitarian and mechanical. Hong Kong did have some political satire programs but was criticized by pro-communist forces as “enigmatic.”
Such “enigma,” however, is key to British culture. On my last two days in 2022, I visited the coastal city of Brighton with friends, and the museums I saw all contained elements of humor and satire. Royal Pavilion, George IV’s pleasure palace, is an Indian-style building filled with Britons’ fond imaginations of China in the early 19th century, thus explaining why British merchants were keen to explore the Chinese market before the Opium War. One section featured political cartoons during George IV’s reign, mocking his extravagant life and the political influence of his lovers.
I was particularly attracted by the permanent ceramics exhibition at the Brighton Museum and Arty Gallery, opposite the Royal Pavilion. A major difference between British and Chinese ceramics is that the former is exceptionally rich in political elements and current affairs, covering royal life, military and naval businesses, revolutions, and many others. Seeing this exhibition is like reading a condensed version of British political and social history. Humor and satire are not difficult to be seen, such as in a Napoleonic War chamber pot with a bust of Napoleon within, with the word ‘PEREAT’ (Let him Perish!) in front of it, so that every Briton could be a patriot, humiliating this enemy by urinating on his head.
Featuring train toys, the Brighton Toy and Model Museum has a lot of other attractive exhibits. This was the first time I saw real puppets of Punch and Judy, a well-known British show that has been around for 400 years and is still a strong presence today. “Punch” was brought to a much wider world after it was used as the name of a British humor magazine in 1841, and Punch political cartoons are an important source for teaching the history and culture of satire, as teachers in Hong Kong have been doing for decades.
Unfortunately, authoritarian regimes have very limited tolerance of satire and humor. Zunzi, a famous political cartoonist from Hong Kong, has published his works for nearly four decades but recently was repeatedly criticized by the Hong Kong government. Ming Pao, the only newspaper that still dares to publish his works after the closure of Jimmy Lai’s Apple Daily, has been forced to close the column of a current affairs commentator who the government had similarly reprehended. Zunzi’s days with Ming Pao may be numbered.
Humor and satire are important features of civil society, and Hong Kong used to have stand-up comedians such as Dayo Wong Tze-wah, who skillfully included politics in his performance. However, this has become history. There are no more similar performances due to the national security law. Former chief executive Leung Chun-ying showed his ignorance of the culture of satire and suggested that Ng Chi-sum, a Hong Kong journalist and comedian who has relocated to the U.K., “satirize Queen Elizabeth II” as if it were blasphemy. In fact, from the statistics by a U.K. satirical magazine Private Eye, it has used the Queen on its cover eighty times since it was founded in 1961 to make fun of her. For example, after her death, when the British people waited in a long queue to enter Westminster Abbey to pay their final respect, its cover changed “God Save the Queen” to “God Save the Queue,” with King Charles chatting to the people in the queue, in which he said “How long did you have to wait?” to which one responded “Not as long as you!” ridiculing Charles for having become an old man waiting to succeed the throne.
Like all other “old cultures” in Hong Kong, humor and satire will soon cease to be part of daily life. Mainland China-styled mechanical use of language is looming, and the following that took place years before in the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority may become a norm: Chairman Samuel Yung Wing-ki gave a speech in English at a seminar. “Good morning,” he said, pausing, expecting applause, but none came. Then he repeated “good morning” twice in an inquisitive manner. Some of the audience felt compelled to clap, and they did so. Yung was satisfied and continued his speech.
