Cartoonist Larry Feign: The World of Hong Kong

Morningside College kicked off this year’s Writers Series with a visit from local cartoonist Larry Feign. His talk, “Cartoons, Creativity, and Censorship” described his unexpected path to becoming an internationally known political satirist around the time of Hong Kong’s handover. Mr. Feign said as an expat who considered Hong Kong his home in the 1990s, he had a unique look into two separate worlds: the transient expat community and a largely immigrant Chinese community. His daily comic, “The World of Lilly Wong”, sought to portray everyday life in Hong Kong in a meaningful way that exposed the misconceptions and prejudices he observed in both communities.

Mr. Feign explained how his comics became increasingly political. As political concerns began to dominate everyday life, they similarly began to dominate his comics. He argued that at times when political discussion is highly suppressed, satire serves to test the boundaries of what can be said, protest abuses of power in creative ways, and speak the truth. To conclude the talk, he opened up about how he admired the rising number of young political voices in Hong Kong. According to him, a new and irresistible civic energy has emerged, something unimaginable at the time he began his career.