Rebel Pepper
Wang Liming | |
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Born | 1973 (age 50–51) Shihezi, Xinjiang, China |
Area(s) | Political Satire |
Pseudonym(s) | Rebel Pepper |
Notable works | A Shrinking Apple |
Children | 1 |
Wang Liming (
Early life
Wang was born in
Censored in China
Since 2006, he published on comics on current affairs in Mop.com, which caused widespread concern. In October 2013, he was subpoenaed by the Chinese domestic security bureau for "suspicion of provoking quarrels" after allegedly reposting a rumor. Before leaving mainland China, Wang Liming lived in Tangshan, Shanghai, and Beijing.[5]
By March 2012, Liming reported that his user account on
On 2014, Wang moved to in Japan, where he continued to publish satirical cartoons. People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, has accused Wang of being a "Japan-worshipping traitor" and called for his arrest.[8] Because he could be taken away by the police for questioning in Beijing, Wang was worried that his safety would be threatened after returning home, so he applied to the Japanese Immigration Bureau to extend his stay in Japan. Wang announced that he would stay in Japan and would not return to Mainland China. He continued to stay in Japan and worked concurrently as a researcher at Saitama University. In May 2017, Wang obtained an EB-2 visa, which was issued by the United States and was able to immigrate to the United States. He currently resides in Fairfax, Virginia.[9]
Style and approach
Wang start drawing political cartoons in 2009, and originally coined the name 'Perverse Pepper' (biantai lajiao) for himself – later modifying it for English usage at the suggestion of a Taiwanese friend. He frequently draws himself into his cartoons, as 'the Pepper', described by one journalist as a "sometimes sad, sometimes oblivious, sometimes lascivious chili, with large, intense eyes".[1]
Activism
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Proposed_National_Flag_of_Shanghai.svg/220px-Proposed_National_Flag_of_Shanghai.svg.png)
In 2012, Liming depicted the Communist Party as an anglerfish hypnotizing smaller fish (the Chinese people) with the image of Lei Feng, a famous soldier in the People's Liberation Army.[6] He has satirized CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, depicting Xi as a steamed dumpling surrounded by other breakfast foods 'kowtowing' to him as an old-time emperor;[11] and as a shirtless post-coital smoker in bed with a young man. Wang depicted former CCP Chairman Mao Zedong boasting of his 'victim count' to leaders of Islamic State.[1]
His work often appears in China Digital Times and its related publications. In February 2016, he created artwork in support of persecuted lawyer Zhang Kai, who had worked with Christians to fight the government's removal of crucifixes from churches in Wenzhou.[12]
Wang is the sole contributor of Radio Free Asia's cartoon column.[13]
In July 2018, Wang announced the establishment of the Shanghai National Party in New York, advocating for Shanghai independence. He tweeted the ultimate goal of the Shanghai independence movement was to destroy the concept of a unified China. He wrote: "We must not only fight against the Communist Party, but also win more Chinese people to abandon the shell of "China."[14]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Stone, Isaac (2015-08-31). "Rebel Without a Country". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ "Chinese cartoonist Wang Liming stays in Japan amid fears for safety | South China Morning Post". Scmp.com. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ "Radio Free Asia's Rebel Pepper e-Book Wins Prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award". Radio Free Asia. 25 April 2018.
- ^ Wee, Sui-Lee (2013-10-03). "Freed Chinese cartoonist refuses to be cowed by Internet crackdown". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
- ^ ""变态辣椒"惹祸记". Sina.com. 2013-10-25. Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
- ^ npr.org.
- ^ Henochowicz, Anne (12 May 2015). "Still in Japan, Cartoonist Rebel Pepper Seeks Help - China Digital Times (CDT)". China Digital Times. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ "China's Rebel Cartoonist". WSJ. 2015-05-17. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ "Popularity carries a sting for China's exiled 'Rebel Pepper' cartoonist". The Christian Science Monitor. 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
- ^ Areddy, James T. (23 April 2022). "Shanghai Lockdown Bolsters a Fringe Independence Movement". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Chinese cartoonist Bai Budan draws cute, risky battle lines in political satire | South China Morning Post". Scmp.com. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ Beach, Sophie (27 February 2016). "Rebel Pepper (变态辣椒): Zhang Kai on the Cross - China Digital Times (CDT)". China Digital Times. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
- ^ "Cartoons - Radio Free Asia". Radio Free Asia.
- ^ "「上海民族党」在纽约成立 反共并要求上海独立". Radio France Internationale (in Chinese). 8 December 2018.
External links
- Rebel Pepper on X