A roundup of online political cartoons from the past two weeks. Click any image to launch the slideshow view.
As the 25th anniversary of the June 4th, 1989 crackdown on protest in Tiananmen square grows ever nearer, names are being added to the list of those detained, placed under house arrest, or questioned by authorities as the central government makes efforts to conceal commemoration of that unfortunate date 25 years ago (for up-to-date records of detentions, house-arrests, and other restrictions, see lists from Human Rights in China and Amnesty International).
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- “Cards in Hand” (Li Xiao Guai 李小乖) Xi Jinping holds onto a fierce hand of cards, each reading “arrest,” as he faces off against a team of rights lawyers, journalists, activists, and artists in the weeks leading up to June 4th, 2014.
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- “The Attorney” (Badiucao 把丢草/CDT). Prominent civil rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was placed under criminal detention on Tuesday, May 6 along with several others after attending a weekend meeting about a June 4th commemoration. Pu, who is being held under the charge of “causing a disturbance,” received much support on social media, including a covert endorsement from model and actress Zhang Ziyi. Zhang made reference to the South Korean film The Attorney (변호인), the story of a man’s rise from tax lawyer to human rights champion, inspired by the life of former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun. CDT resident cartoonist Badiucao reimagined the popular film’s promo poster.
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- “So Many Lawyers” (Li Xiao Guai 李小乖/Blogtd.org) Pu is not the only rights lawyer in detention during this sensitive time. Most recently, Tang Jingling, Liu Shihui, and Qu Zhenhong—herself Pu’s lawyer and niece—were reportedly detained last week. Li Xiao Guai illustrates one take on how an event like the one that inspired The Attorney might have unfolded in China.
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- (Jiu’an Manhua 鳩鵪漫畫) As the Xi administration’s drive to root corruption out of all ranks of the party continues, comparisons to campaigns launched by Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution have been frequent—indeed, commentators have been quick to liken much of Xi’s presumed political agenda to the late Chairman’s. Jiu’an Manhu depicts President Xi consulting Mao’s embalmed brain at his mausoleum in Tiananmen Square.
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- “Anti-Corruption” (Zhu Senlin 朱森林) Last week it was revealed that Wei Pengyuan, vice-director of the National Energy Administration’s coal division, had stashed 100 million yuan at his home. Wei becomes the most recent “tiger” to be ensnared in an anti-corruption campaign believed to be centered around former security chief Zhou Yongkang.
See more recent cartoons inspired by current events in China via CDT Chinese.
