The Folklore Program is thrilled to welcome Justin Chiu-tat Wong as Visiting Professor in Spring
2026. Wong is a London-based comics artist and scholar whose work bridges political satire,
visual storytelling, and cultural research. He began his career in 2007 as a political cartoonist
and illustrator, gaining wide recognition for his long-running daily column Gei Gei Gaak Gaak in
the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao. Alongside his editorial work, he has published a number
of comics series in Hong Kong, Taiwan and France, including Lonely Planet, Hello World, This
City / That City, New Hong Kong, Big Time, and Je préfèrerais ne pas. He previously served as
an Assistant Professor at the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, where he
taught and researched in the areas of comics studies, visual culture, and political cartooning.
His scholarly interests include the evolution of Hong Kong political cartoons, the role of comics
as a medium of cultural critique, and the emerging field of generative comics. He is also the
founder of Skip Class, an online learning platform offering innovative courses in art and culture,
designed to connect creative practice with critical reflection.
During his time in Berkeley, Wong will be offering a graduate course, “Laughter as Resistance:
Humour, Art, and the Everyday Politics of Hong Kong.” The course examines how humour and
art function as forms of resistance in Hong Kong, shaping identity and sustaining resilience in
everyday life. It will explore how jokes, satire, and humorous sensibilities circulate across
cinema, television, comics, and, more recently, digital media, tracing their evolution within Hong
Kong’s hybrid cultural environment, shaped by both Chinese traditions and Western modernity.
Through these forms, students will analyse how laughter becomes a political act, contributing to
the shaping of a distinctive Hong Kong identity. The will course also investigates the rise of
vernacular creativity within Hong Kong’s vibrant digital communities over the past decade. From
playful linguistic invention and parody music to meme-based image production, students will
examine how seemingly light-hearted expressions function as strategies of resilience and
resistance amid rapidly shifting social and political conditions. Particular attention will be given
to how humour and creativity gained force during recent large-scale social movements,
transforming the everyday into a powerful site of political engagement.