The World of Lily Wong



The World of Lily Wong was a comic strip by Larry Feign, an American resident in Hong Kong. It ran in several Hong Kong newspapers from 1986 to 2001.

The title character is a Hong Kong woman married to an American expatriate. The comic focuses on Lily's daily family and professional life, among her live-at-home parents, her ne'er-do-well brother, her henpecked husband and her ethnically mixed baby daughter. The name of the comic is a parodic Shout-Out to the classic movie The World of Suzie Wong.

Contains examples of:
"Stuart: My wife... (pant) baby... (pant) bring me to her...
 * Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: When the husband's American parents come visiting, their behavior is so embarrassing that he puts on a disguise and pretends not to know them.
 * Asian Gal with White Guy: The main characters. Parodies some stereotypes. While Lily Wong is indeed married to a Westerner, she very much calls the shots in the relationship. Also referenced when Lily's husband shows up at the maternity:

Nurse: Not allow. You wait in here.

Stuart: But I'm the father!

Nurse: Sorry. Only hospital staff allow.

Stuart: But but but--at least find out for me if it's born yet! and the sex! ask the sex!

Nurse (to her colleagues): Some gweilo out there interested in sex.

Other nurse: Aren't they all..."


 * Briefcase Full of Money: Lily is given one by a businessman after he hears she's related to a Communist Party official. "And so we're trying to get planning permission for this new industrial/office complex in Guilin..."
 * Crossover: One story arc featured The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers coming over to Hong Kong after hearing how the city was founded on dope smuggling.
 * Education Mama: While in her doctor's waiting room, Lily meets an expecting mother who, even though her child is not even born yet, has already decreed he will be a banker.
 * Executive Meddling: The strip was cancelled after Feign trod on the sensibilities of the PRC's leadership too much. The owners of the newspapers it ran in had extensive interests in the mainland, and apparently had been pressured.
 * Henpecked Husband: Stuart.
 * Instant Birth, Just Add Water: Averted. Lily's labor takes place over an entire story arc.
 * Meddling Parents: Lily's own parents don't hesitate to meddle in her personal life, which is all the easier since they live in the same flat.
 * This is Truth in Television insofar as it isn't rare for Chinese parents to share living accommodations with their adult children and take an active interest in their lives. And that brings us to...
 * Multigenerational Household: Three generations in the same flat.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Averted. Such figures as Deng Xiaoping and Bill Clinton appear as themselves.
 * Obnoxious In-Laws
 * Reincarnation Romance: Parodied in a story arc that depicted the husband's previous incarnation as a British sailor at the time of the foundation of Hong Kong, and Lily as a haughty local lady.
 * The Slacker: Rudy, Lily's lazy bum of a younger brother.
 * Tsundere: At first, Lily's very cold and rude to Stuart, scorning his obvious devotion. Even after they're married, she's not above delivering the occasional zinger.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Political?: Several of the strips allude to Hong Kong and Chinese politics.