One of Hong Kong's most famous artists announced on Tuesday that he had moved to Taiwan, to flee the crackdown on dissent and regain “
total freedom
”.
The departure of Kacey Wong is another blow to the reputation of Hong Kong, once considered a privileged place of expression and artistic freedom.
Kacey Wong, 51, posted a black-and-white video on Facebook in which he performs Vera Lynn's melancholy ode
We'll meet again
.
“
Leaving is not easy, staying is also difficult,
” he wrote.
Read also: A Hong Kong star faces three years in prison for singing during an election rally
In an interview with the Hong Kong Free Press website, Kacey Wong confirmed having fled Hong Kong for political reasons, citing the decline in freedoms since the adoption of the National Security Law, imposed by China last year. to quell any dissent. The artist is known for his contemporary visual, activist and political works. In one of his performances, titled
The Patriot
, in 2018, he performed the Chinese national anthem on the accordion, inside a red metal cage.
In 2020, authorities passed controversial laws providing harsh penalties for anyone in contempt of
The March of the Volunteers
, the Chinese national anthem, or the Chinese flag. “
I want and demand 100% freedom, without compromise,
” Kacey Wong told the Hong Kong Free Press.
In June, Wong handed out hundreds of scraps of candles from previous commemorations of Beijing's murderous crackdown on Tiananmen Square, after Hong Kong officials had banned public commemorations. The arts are not spared by the Security Act, passed to eradicate the pro-democracy movement after the big protests of 2019 in the former British colony. Movies must now be censored for any law-breaking content, and many books have been pulled from bookstore shelves.
On Monday, star singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming was charged with bribery for singing at an election rally organized by a pro-democracy candidate three years ago. Two authors of a children's book comparing democracy supporters to sheep surrounded by wolves were charged with sedition last month. Despite this, Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam recently ruled that freedom of expression was intact. “
I'm honestly asking you the following question: What kind of freedoms have we lost, what kind of dynamism has been eroded in Hong Kong?
She said on a radio show at the end of July.
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