A Hong Kong news outlet will no longer publish submissions from a prominent political cartoonist after authorities criticized his work, the latest example of declining press freedoms in the financial hub.
(Bloomberg) — A Hong Kong news outlet will no longer publish submissions from a prominent political cartoonist after authorities criticized his work, the latest example of declining press freedoms in the financial hub.
Ming Pao will from Sunday stop publishing cartoons from the artist Zunzi, the local Chinese-language media publication said on its website Thursday. The outlet thanked Zunzi for “witnessing the changing times with us over the past 40 years,” though did not offer a further explanation for the decision.
On Tuesday, Ming Pao published a comic by Zunzi — whose real name is Wong Kei-kwan — that appeared critical of a move by the government earlier this month to slash the number of directly elected seats in local district councils.
In the cartoon, a man is depicted telling a woman that as long as officials think a person is fit for a position — whether it be as part of a fire prevention or crime reduction committee, or someone who screens potential district representatives — it doesn’t matter whether that person has passed their academic exams or has significant health issues.
Under the new government proposal, just 20% of Hong Kong district council seats will be directly elected, while the rest will be appointed by the chief executive or indirectly chosen via local organizations.
Hong Kong’s Home and Youth Affairs Bureau criticized the cartoon on Wednesday, writing in a Facebook post that the piece “distorts and discredits” people chosen to be district council members. The post on the bureau’s official Facebook page also said the cartoon “disregards facts,” characterizing it as “discriminatory.”
That complaint followed push back from senior government officials on Wong’s work. Last month, Security Secretary Chris Tang took aim at a piece by Wong criticizing government plans to update police communication systems, saying he’d made misleading accusations and fostered public ill will against the authorities. Chief Executive John Lee last year defended his labor secretary’s criticism of the cartoonist’s jab at the city’s talent attraction program.
A representative from the Hong Kong government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to Bloomberg News, Wong declined to comment on Ming Pao’s decision to stop publishing his work, but said “everyone assumes that it is related to pressure,” without elaborating.
“If Hong Kong people want the city to stay the same during the 50 years after its return, they need to redouble their efforts,” he added. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule from Britain in 1997 on the promise Beijing would leave its capitalist economy and political freedoms untouched for half a century.
Concern over press freedom in Hong Kong has grown in the nearly three years since Beijing imposed a national security law on the city. Hong Kong ranked 140th out of 180 places in the most recent World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
At least three pro-democracy newspapers have shuttered in the past few years, signaling the chilling effect. Media mogul Jimmy Lai, who ran the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, is already in prison and could face an even longer sentence if he’s found guilty of national security violations. His trial will start in Sept. 25 but that doesn’t mean a verdict will be delivered this year.
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