HONG KONG – CHINA Hong Kong police ‘irritated’ by satirical cartoon in official newspaper

The unusual illustration shows riot police officers asking the principal of a school how the students behaved. The police consider that she damages her image. Fourteen schoolchildren were suspended for not being present at the moment of raising the flag. Under the security law, minors can also go to jail. The cartoonists flee the city.

Hong Kong () – The city’s police reacted with irritation to the publication of a satirical cartoon in the Ming Pao. An unusual development considering that the newspaper is aligned with the pro-Beijing establishment.

The illustration, which appeared yesterday, shows officers in riot gear outside a school asking the principal how the students behaved that day. The principal lists the “crimes: they said bad words, lost an eraser, hid laser pointers in backpacks, disobeyed or disrespected teachers.”

The police authorities consider that it is an erroneous representation of the functions of the Forces of order, a real damage to their image. According to the Hong Kong Free Press, Deputy Commissioner for Public Relations Joe Chan expressed his concern to Ming Pao officials that readers might associate the cartoon with what happened last week at St. Francis Xavier’s School. School authorities suspended 14 students for three days, accused of not being present that morning at the time of raising the flag.

The dispute between the police and the Ming Pao comes just days after five minors were sentenced to three years in prison. They are accused of supporting the overthrow of the central government. The court tried them under the national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020 to silence the pro-democracy movement and cancel public debate.

The author of the offending cartoon is Wong Kee-kwan, also known as Zunzi, who also drew comic strips for Apple Daily. The independent newspaper, founded by Catholic tycoon Jimmy Lai (long in jail), had to close last year due to an investigation by the national security police. In recent months, several cartoonists have left Hong Kong fearing the risks to freedom of expression.

Despite its ties to the authorities, in a 2019 survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Ming Pao was ranked as the second most credible paid newspaper, behind the South China Morning Post and ahead of the Apple Daily.

(Photo: Ming Pao, Hkfp, Twitter)