Hong Kong Comics artist Ah To continues creating from abroad

Hong Kong Comics artist Ah To announced his departure from Hong Kong on social media, saying his spirit remains in the homeland, although his body is already in exile.  

Ah To is an illustrator and editorial comics artist whose works expressed concerns on local issues, primarily political and social phenomena. His work Golden Creature Card in 2011, made him famous in Hong Kong.  

He posted on Tuesday that he would leave the city while continuing production without naming his destination, although the background of the picture uploaded to his social media seemed to show London.  

In his post, Ah To said it was difficult to decide whether he should leave the city as he was worried that his work may be unable to keep the common touch with local people.  

However, he continued that staying in Hong Kong to produce editorial comics posed enormous mental pressure on him and that leaving was a choice he had to make.  

He said he hoped his readers could forgive his self-exile: "The only thing I can do is to continue staying with Hong Kong from a distance via my work."  

He also mentioned that he had to leave quietly and felt sorry for his friends, relatives, readers, as well as his wife, who was forced to "flee" with him.   

At the end of the post, he said, "May good people take care and keep their goodness alive in various forms."