“Cartoons and portraits can create a unified visual symbol, which can help spread the message and attract sustained attention, in order to create pressure from public opinion. Maybe this pressure can improve the situation for those who are imprisoned, as well as comfort the family members of the persecuted.” — Badiucao
Badiucao’s e-book “Watching Big Brother”
Chinese cartoonist and rights activist Badiucao — whose work has been used by Amnesty International, CNN and the BBC — has published a collection of cartoons which serves as a primer to President Xi Jinping’s first three years in power.
Like fellow dissident cartoonist Rebel Pepper (Wang Liming), Badiucao has incurred the wrath of China’s government and draws his cartoons in exile. The e-book, “Watching Big Brother,” is published by China Digital Times. It can be downloaded for free, with the option to pay if you can. All proceeds go to Badiucao to support his artwork.
An interview with the artist by China Digital Times’ editor Sophie Beach can be found at the LA Review of Books. In the interview, Badiucao says “…from analyzing the two [Internet] attacks on me, I have learned that authorities are very concerned about international media attention on the suppression of human rights activism. This encouraged me to continue creating portraits of China’s prisoners of conscience.”