Hong Kong (AFP)

One of Hong Kong's most famous artists announced on Tuesday that he had moved to Taiwan, to flee the crackdown on dissent and regain "total freedom."

The departure of Kacey Wong is another blow to the reputation of Hong Kong, once considered a privileged place of expression and artistic freedom.

Kacey Wong, 51, posted a black-and-white video on Facebook in which he performs Vera Lynn's melancholy ode "We'll Meet Again" (+ We'll meet again +).

“Leaving is not easy, staying is also difficult,” he wrote.

In an interview with the Hong Kong Free Press website, Mr. Wong confirmed that he fled Hong Kong for political reasons, citing the decline in freedoms since the adoption of the National Security Law, imposed by China the year last to quell any dissent.

The artist is known for his contemporary visual, activist and political works.

In one of his performances, titled "The Patriot", in 2018, he performed the Chinese national anthem on the accordion, inside a red metal cage.

In 2020, authorities passed controversial laws providing harsh penalties for anyone in contempt of "March of the Volunteers," the Chinese national anthem, or against the Chinese flag.

“I want and demand 100% freedom, without compromise,” Kacey Wong told the Hong Kong Free Press.

In June, Wong handed out hundreds of scraps of candles from previous commemorations of Beijing's murderous crackdown on Tiananmen Square, after Hong Kong officials had banned public commemorations.

The arts are not spared by the Security Act, adopted to eradicate the pro-democracy movement after the big protests of 2019 in the former British colony.

Kacey Wong behind bars during an art performance, "Le Patriote", on December 6, 2018 in Hong Kong Anthony WALLACE AFP / Archives

Movies must now be censored for any law-breaking content, and many books have been pulled from bookstores.

On Monday, a famous singer, Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, was charged with bribery for singing at an election rally organized by a pro-democracy candidate three years ago.

Two authors of a children's book comparing democracy supporters to sheep surrounded by wolves were charged with sedition last month.

Despite this, Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam recently ruled that freedom of expression was intact.

"I'm asking you this honestly: What kind of freedoms have we lost, what kind of dynamism has been eroded in Hong Kong?"

she said on a radio show at the end of July.

© 2021 AFP