Wang Liming (; born 1973), also known as Remon Wang, better known under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Rebel Pepper (, ''lit.'' "Abnormal Chili pepper"), is a Chinese
political cartoonist
An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curre ...
in exile in the United States.
Wang left China out of fears for his safety resulting from the increasing crackdown on freedom of expression by the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
(CCP).
Since 2017, he is working at
Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editoriall ...
as a political cartoonist on the
EB-2 visa
EB-2 is an immigrant visa preference category for United States employment-based permanent residency, created by the Immigration Act of 1990. The category includes "members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent", and "ind ...
.
Early life
Wang was born in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
in China in 1973. He attended a vocational school in
Tangshan
Tangshan () is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. It is located in the eastern part of Hebei Province and the northeastern part of the North China Plain. It is located in the central area of the Boha ...
, Hebei. Before leaving China, he lived in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
for a long time. He was also an agent for imported food.
Censored in China
Since 2006, he published on comics on current affairs in
Mop.com
mop.com is the name of a Chinese bulletin board system (BBS). Though popular in China, it has been cited as a source of controversy.
MOP (www.mop.com) is one of the most well known and influential simplified Chinese entertainment forums curren ...
, 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.
By March 2012, Liming reported that his user account on
Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily acti ...
had been deleted over 180 times.
In July 2014, his microblog accounts were deleted from the sites of two major Chinese media companies,
Sina
Sina may refer to:
Relating to China
* Chin (China), or Sina (), old Chinese form of the Sanskrit name Cina ()
** Shina (word), or Sina ( ja, 支那, links=no), archaic Japanese word for China
** Sinae, Latin name for China
Places
* Sina, Alban ...
and
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
– from which he'd been reaching close to 1 million followers. His page on the wiki-based
Baidu Baike
Baidu Baike (; , also known as Baidu Wiki) is a semi-regulated Chinese-language collaborative online encyclopedia owned by the Chinese technology company Baidu. The beta version was launched on April 20, 2006, and the official version was lau ...
was also removed, along with his store on the e-commerce platform
Taobao
Taobao () is a Chinese online shopping platform. It is headquartered in Hangzhou and is owned by Alibaba. According to Alexa rank, it is the eighth most-visited website globally in 2021. Taobao.com was registered on April 21, 2003 by Alibaba Cl ...
.
After losing his sources of income, he has made a public appeal for financial help.
On 2014, Wang moved to in Japan, where he continued to publish satirical cartoons.
''People's Daily'' has accused Wang of being a "Japan-worshipping traitor" and called for his arrest. 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
Saitama University (埼玉大学, ''Saitama Daigaku'') is a Japanese national university located in a suburban area of Sakura-ku, Saitama City, capital of Saitama Prefecture in Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
Founded in 1873, it became a national uni ...
. In May 2017, Wang obtained an
EB-2 visa
EB-2 is an immigrant visa preference category for United States employment-based permanent residency, created by the Immigration Act of 1990. The category includes "members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent", and "ind ...
, which was issued by the United States and was able to immigrate to the United States. He currently resides in
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...
.
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".
Activism
In 2012, Liming depicted the Communist Party as an
anglerfish
The anglerfish are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes (). They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified luminescent fin ray (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure for other fish. The luminescence ...
hypnotizing smaller fish (the Chinese people) with the image of
Lei Feng
Lei Feng (18 December 194015 August 1962) was allegedly a soldier in the People's Liberation Army who was the object of several major Propaganda in China, propaganda campaigns in China. The most well-known of these campaigns in 1963 promoted ...
, a famous soldier in the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
.
He has satirized
CCP general secretary
The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the Party leader, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secr ...
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
, depicting Xi as a steamed dumpling surrounded by other breakfast foods 'kowtowing' to him as an old-time emperor; and as a shirtless post-coital smoker in bed with a young man. Wang depicted former CCP Chairman
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
boasting of his 'victim count' to leaders of
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
.
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
Zhang Kai (), (born December 1, 1982) is a retired professional basketball player from China. A centre, he played for the Dongguan Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He was also a member of the Sacramento Kings
The Sacramen ...
, who had worked with Christians to fight the government's removal of crucifixes from churches in
Wenzhou
Wenzhou (pronounced ; Wenzhounese: Yuziou y33–11 tɕiɤu33–32 ), historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province in the People's Republic of China. Wenzhou is located at the extreme south east o ...
.
Wang is the sole contributor of Radio Free Asia's cartoon column.
In July 2018, Wang announced the establishment of the ''Shanghai National Party'' in New York, advocating for Shanghai independence. He claims the Shanghai independence movement is more difficult to advocate than other
anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
movements in China as the party calls for the complete abolishment of Chinese identity and the full embrace of Westernized democracy.
Political Stance
Wang describes himself as an anti-communist, anti-socialist and pro-democratic activist. A staunch supporter of independence for
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and
East Turkestan
East Turkestan ( ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان, Sherqiy Türkistan, bold=no; zh, s=东突厥斯坦; also spelled East Turkistan), is a loosely-defined geographical and historical region in the western provinces of the People's Republic of ...
, Wang regards China's hegemony detrimental to democracy and freedom. Likewise, he often criticizes the
pro-democracy camp
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic L ...
in Hong Kong that does not actively seek independence, as well as the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
in Taiwan that advocates for
Chinese unification
Chinese unification, also known as the Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China ("China" or "Mainland China") and the ...
. Wang supported
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's platform, claiming that he supports American right-wing conservatism and criticized the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
,
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
and the moderate left.
Unlike many
pro-democratic activists from China, he opposed the policy adopted by the U.S. government to differentiate the CCP and the Chinese people, on the ground that the Chinese culture, rather than communism, is the bedrock for collectivism and dictatorship.
Wang supported the demonstrators during the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
.
As of late 2020, Wang has not yet renounced his Chinese citizenship, meaning he would be subject to prosecution should he return to China, under the
Anti-Secession Law
The Anti-Secession Law () is a law of the People's Republic of China, passed by the 3rd Session of the 10th National People's Congress. It was ratified on March 14, 2005, and went into effect immediately. President Hu Jintao promulgated th ...
and
Hong Kong National Security Law
The Hong Kong national security law, officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong. It ...
.
See also
*
Censorship in China
Censorship in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is one of strictest censorship regimes in the world. The government censors content for mainly polit ...
*
Human Rights in China
Human rights in mainland China are periodically reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), on which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and various foreign governments and h ...
*
Zunzi
Wong Kei-kwan (, born 1955), better known by his pen name Zunzi (), is a political cartoonist living in Hong Kong. Zunzi has been called "the territory's most prominent political cartoonist"; he has depicted Jiang Zemin, Liu Xiaobo and Xi Jinping ...
*
Ali Farzat
Ali Farzat or Ali Ferzat ( ar, علي فرزات; born 22 June 1951) is a Syrian political cartoonist. He has published more than 15,000 caricatures in Syrian, Arab and international newspapers. He serves as the head of the Arab Cartoonists Associ ...
References
External links
* {{Twitter, remonwangxt
1973 births
People from Shihezi
Chinese editorial cartoonists
Living people
Chinese refugees
Chinese dissidents
Human rights in China
Freedom of speech in China
Chinese anti-communists