The World of Lily Wong

"The World of Lily Wong" was a comic strip by Larry Feign (an American-born Hong Kong resident) which began in 1986, running until 2001, with a brief return both online and in print from October of 2007 to March of 2008. During its early years it was featured in several newspapers including the "Hongkong Standard" and the "South China Morning Post" between November 1986 and May 1995; "The Independent" between March 1997 and June 1997 (to track the handover of power); and the "HK iMail" from May 2000 until September 2001.

The strip followed its eponymous protagonist, Lily Wong, a young Chinese woman in Hong Kong (during its time as a British colony).Her parents, her naughty brother Rudy and her "gwailo" husband were often used for commenting on Hong Kong news and for comparison of East and West in terms of both culture and politics.

The criticism of abuses by the People's Republic of China earned Feign prizes from Amnesty International in 1996 and 1997. However, Larry Feign's political dialogue in the Lily Wong comics has caused Mainland influenced media outlets to shun him. Although the South China Morning Post claimed its cancellation of the strip in May 1995 was a normal editorial decision, it was widely seen in Hong Kong and elsewhere as self-censorship by the paper in order not to jeopardise the business interests in China of its owner, Robert Kuok, and consequently made headlines around the world.

For a six-month period in 2007 and 2008, the strip was revived experimentally as both an English and Cantonese comic strip, but it was discontinued in March 2008.

External websites

* [http://lilywong.net Larry Feign's "The World of Lily Wong" official website]
* [http://www.toonhound.com/lilywong.htm Toonhound profile]