page_title: Graffiti in Hong Kong
section_title: Government response
hierarchical_section_title: Graffiti in Hong Kong / Government response
caption_attribution_description: English: Mong Kok's Graffiti Wall of Fame
context_page_description: In Hong Kong there are a few types of graffiti that are utilized for different reasons. The face of artist Ai WeiWei is one of the more well-known caricatures in the region. Journalist and commentators have considered the graffiti as "street-art", "creative" and the "voice of the young".
  Graffiti is often a mode of expression much like other artistic outlets. It can allow artists to vent emotions as well as their opinions on the politics or society around them. Unlike other places around the world, Graffiti in Hong Kong can be used as a way of advertisement for some companies.
  Similar to other countries however, graffiti is considered defacing public property and is technically an illegal act in Hong Kong. While graffiti is not prosecuted as commonly as in the United States, fines and arrest still do occur.
context_section_description: Per basic law, modifying a public property without permission is illegal in Hong Kong. On 13 July 2009, a French graffiti artist name Zevs painted a Chanel logo on the outside wall of an Armani store in central Hong Kong. He was arrested for his illicit spray-painting and was detained in Hong Kong until August. In 2011, a painted portrait of Ai WeiWei resulted in an investigation by Hong Kong police and the Crime Investigate Detective. Invader, another famous graffiti artist, has been spreading his work in Hong Kong since 2001; he has painted at least 74 mosaic print tiles on city streets. Most of them have been removed. In 2014, a Pac-Man print in Tin Hau also produced by Invader was removed for safety reasons. Such actions have stirred up much disagreement. The public did not agree that tile mosaics on walls would cause any harm and danger to society. Some news articles and journals criticised the government for their actions towards street art. However, the government continued to take down Invader's work.
  Though painting on public properties without permission is illegal, Hong Kong's government promised to preserve the painted works of King of Kowloon Tsang Tsou Choi, though most have already been cleaned away. The wall of fame in Mong Kok, in an alleyway linked to Argyle Street, provides a canvas for Hong Kong graffiti artists. The government seems to have accepted the street as a "graffiti community" even though street artists are violating the law. Paintings extend over the wall for two blocks.
caption: Mong Kok's Graffiti Wall of Fame in 2016.
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