Badiucao, a dissident Chinese-Australian cartoonist was born in Shanghai and studied law in China before moving to Australia, where he has lived in exile for the last 10 years.

Wearing masks and cross-dressing during public appearances, he has gone to extreme lengths to conceal his identity, fearing reprisals from China’s government over his work, which regularly mocks and criticizes Xi Jinping and his regime’s authoritarian policies.

On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Badiucao revealed his face in a documentary broadcast on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) titled China's Artful Dissident.

Filmmaker Ben-Moshe told the ABC that while it was initially agreed his documentary would be filmed without revealing Badiucao's identity and would end with the success of his Hong Kong exhibition, there was a sudden change of plans when his family in China was threatened by the communist regime to stop the exhibition in November 2018.

(Chairman Mao is hungry)

The event had been titled “Gongle,” a play on words about Google, based on a Chinese phrase that translates to “singing for Communism.”

(Silent Invasion Australia)

Hong Kong organizers of the exhibition cancelled the event in the Chinese-ruled city on Nov. 2 because of the threats by the Chinese communist regime against Badiucao's family in China, and concerns for Badiucao's own safety in Hong Kong after the regime discovered his identity.

The exhibition by Badiucao was to have been his first international solo event. His work highlights themes including rights violations and abuse of power under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule and he often satirizes Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“We are sorry to announce that the exhibition ‘Gongle’, by Chinese artist Badiucao, has been cancelled out of safety concerns,” wrote the organizers, Hong Kong Free Press, Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, in a statement.

“The decision follows threats made by the Chinese authorities relating to the artist. Whilst the organizers value freedom of expression, the safety of our partners remains a major concern.”

Since November last year Badiucao had kept a lower profile whilst he evaluated the threats to himself and his family.

He finally decided to reveal his face in the documentary which was broadcast on the 4th June 30th anniversary, as he decided that going public with the threats was the only hope of some degree of safety for himself and his family.

(Soft power in Australia)