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Showing the hard with the soft

Political cartoons

By To Shun Kei

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Cartoons might be just for leisure, but they can also be utilized as a weapon in social critiques.

Unlike words, cartoons arouse people’s instant awareness on a certain issue.

While Japanese cartoons are becoming popular among Hong Kong young people, local political cartoons are gradually being neglected.

“Japanese cartoons are in some ways ‘polluting’ the minds of our new generations,” said Mr. Liao Bingxiong, an 85-year-old Chinese cartoonist who played an important role in the history of development of cartoon in China, as well as in Hong Kong.

“I always encourage primary students to create their own cartoons. This can help them analyze the issues and stimulates their imaginations.”

Born and raised in Guangzhou, Mr. Liao started to publish his cartoons in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shanghai in the ‘30s.

With over 60 years of experience in cartoon drawing, Mr. Liao said good cartoons can sharply figure out a social problem which may seem to be irrelevant when seen on the surface.

“Cartoons don’t require skills, but they require you to think about the critique,” continued he.

Zunzi, a local cartoonist creating political cartoons for the Apple Daily, said, “Mr. Liao’s works had great influence on people’s thinking during the ‘40s and the ‘50s.”

As the illiteracy rate was high before the ‘60s, cartoons served as a strong and effective means to express opinions in the community, especially opinions on government policies.

“He popularized the use of cartoons to show commentary,” said Zunzi. “His style had also been imitated by other cartoonists.”

Having experienced the Anti-Japanese War, the Civil War and the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Liao is one of the few Chinese artists who continually made critical comments during those turbulent times.

Mr. Sze Chai, a local arts administrator, praised Mr. Liao for his insights.

“Many of his works reflect the attitudes of the Chinese. Some of the problems noted in his previous pictures still exist now,” said he. “He pointed out the government’s mistakes, even if imprisonment might be put on him.”

Ms Lizzy Lie, a student of Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School, said, “I think youngsters nowadays cannot figure the problems so critically as Mr. Liao does. They regard politics as unimportant.”

Zunzi, who graduated from the Department of Fine Arts of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1980, said young people at that time always discussed politics and would like to make their voices heard on problematic issues.

However, Zunzi did not agree that young people today are indifferent to society.

“The generation nowadays spread their concerns on social issues rather than politics issues,” said he. “They are interested in issues like pollution, consumer rights and discrimination.”

Zunzi said that, being a political cartoonist, it is important to keep up with society.

That is not easy, especially for Zunzi, who publishes cartoons everyday.

The other problem political cartoonists face is that no matter how good the cartoons are, sometimes they just cannot escape from the fate of being turned down.

“A long time ago when I was working for an English newspaper, my cartoons were not published because the editor regarded them as irritating as there was conflicts between Britain and China at that moment,” said Zunzi.

Zunzi also mentioned that few young people would like to take up his career, as most people consider political cartoons merely as illustrations of news.

“Compared with news photos, cartoons are considered exaggerated and not reflecting the truth,” he said.

Zunzi said that although many Asian countries are suffering from social problems, political cartoonists got little support in fighting injustice.

For example, he said that the Chinese government’s prohibitions on opposing opinions makes the numbers of political cartoons keep declining.

However, Zunzi said would not let these political powers interfere in his work.

“As a Chinese,” said he, “I cannot just sit and do nothing to stop the deterioration of the government policies that might deprive the rights of the citizens.”

Yet, he will not try to publish his cartoons in China.

Explained he: “I don’t think it’s practical, as my cartoons must not be welcome by the Chinese government.

“In addition, people with a different culture may not receive the messages well due to the regional nature of these cartoons. My target group now is still Hong Kong people.”

Mr. Liao also said he would not stop drawing due to political reasons. “There’re still many things we have to criticize. We can’t put a full-stop here right now.”

Also Wu Chong? by Mr. Liao Bingxiong (1980)
Contemporary cartoonists care only about the little stuff, not crucial matters. (Courtesy of Mr. Liao Bingxiong)

A new teaching method by Zunzi (1989)
The official statistic about the number of injured in the June Fourth Incident is 23, but it is believed to be more than a thousand. (Courtesy of Zunzi)

A caricature self-portrait by Mr. Liao Bingxiong (1998)
The picture complains about the banning of knowledge during the 10-year Cultural Revolution; it was awarded the Luxun Artistic Gold Award of Guangdong Province. (Courtesy of Mr. Liao Bingxiong)

Internet Links:
Apple Daily
Department of Fine Arts
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

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