While Prime Minister John Key has maintained his beaming smile since taking office, his standing within the Kiwi-Asian community has changed dramatically.
Below are a couple of cartoons from famous Auckland-based Chinese artist Mu Xun to illustrate the point.
Note: The captions are a direct translation (not verbatim) from the Chinese text.
Cartoon 1:
National: One; Labour: Nil. Published shortly after the 2008 general election, this cartoon shows the approachable, energetic and triumphant John Key becoming New Zealand’s Prime Minister with an array of promises he will fulfil.
Prime Minister Key laps up the rounds of applause from the majority of Kiwi’s who can’t wait for the new Government to deliver tax cuts, stop the brain-drain, curb the economic crisis and take a hard-line on Law and Order.
![K[1]](http://blog.labour.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/K1-499x385.jpg "K[1]")
Cartoon 2:
Step forward (or fast forward?) for the super rich and tiptoe for the middle class.
Published in early 2010.
This cartoon shows the same approachable, energetic and triumphant John Key, however the weight of his promises are becoming unbalanced.
Tax cuts for the top income earners and salary increases for the top CEO’s outweigh the gains made by lower income earners.
The rounds of applause now only echo out from the privileged few – who can afford giant diamond rings.
Man that’s a lot of writing for a political (or any) cartoon!
Tom Scott eat yor heart out
Very acurate
And you too Raymond, apologies for hijacking your thread but
Whaling! Its a core NZ value being decimated here Labour – get on it – Whaling – draw Key into it, get frikken busy on it – phones hot, c’mon people, earn your pay! and the next election – don’t Democrat (donkeys?) out on us!
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That’s GOLD Cnr Joe
Demonstrates the Natinal government to a T, or should I say, to a Key. The dompost cartoon today hit the nail on the head also.
Thanks for this Raymond.
One thing I’ve noticed over the last couple of months is that most of the cartoonists have been hitting the govt fairly hard. (On GST and mining on schedule 4 particularly). Leadng indicator?
While the toon is quite funny, you’ve mistakenly omitted the word “a” from the title, Raymond.
The same privileged few that are still eating the obnoxious and cruel dish Shark Fin Soup at Grand Harbour Restaurant on the Viaduct @ $40 a plate …
Who are kiwi Asians?
I agree ..shark fin soup should be banned..The Chinese won’t be eating it when all the sharks are gone will they?