The World of Lily Wong cartoon strip appeared in the Hongkong Standard, and then the South China Morning Post, from November 1986 to May 1995, and then again as a special feature for three months, from March through June 1997, in the British newspaper The Independent. Lily was brought back to life in May 2000, when a new English-language newspaper, the Hong Kong iMail, began publication. The paper was the brainchild of several journalists and some enthusiastic investment bankers. When the bankers later sold their interest to Charles Ho - a conservative Hong Kong businessman whose major contribution to humanity is to make a fortune importing cigarettes - things continued as usual, but only for a short time.

On Saturday, 15 September 2001, the iMail fired 80 out of 120 staff and terminated the services of most outside contributors. The excuse was a rumoured change in government regulations which would have caused a loss in advertising revenue for the newspaper. Almost every employee of non-Chinese race was fired on that day. The new editor, a local Chinese journalist, declared to his remaining staff: "Colonialism is dead at last!" Read into this whatever you want. Racism? Can't be. According to local opinion surveys, Chinese people believe that only Caucasians are capable of being racist.

A skeleton of a newspaper continued to be published, until the iMail was laid to rest in May 2002. The company re-launched it as a business-only paper renamed the Hongkong Standard.

Where does that leave Lily Wong? Answer: she has gone away for good this time.

I have no plans to revive Lily Wong. She was a wonderful character to live with for so many years. But as the housewife in the Glad Sandwich Bag commercial says: "Change is good." My wife can have me back: no more cartoon mistress. Let Lily rest in peace.

There will be two more Lily Wong book releases: A two-volume omnibus collection of the best and most significant Lily Wong cartoons since her inception in 1986, to be released one volume at a time, the first volume to come out...well...whenever I can find the time to put it together properly, with annotations and stuff.

Thank you for being a loyal reader and for taking the trouble to visit this web site. If you wish to be informed when the books are published, send me an e-mail message.