Otto Fong Yong Chin (born 1968) is a Singaporean comic artist, playwright and teacher.

Early life and education

Fong was born in Johor Bahru in 1968.[1] His father was trade unionist and politician Fong Swee Suan and his mother is former trade unionist Chen Poh Cheng. He has a brother and a sister.[2] He studied at The Chinese High School and later Hwa Chong Junior College.[3] He studied engineering at the Oklahoma State University in the United States and took up a two-year diploma course in film directing at the Beijing Film Academy in 1994.[4]

Career

Fong wrote several plays, including We Are Family, Cetacea, Another Tribe,[4] and HERStory.[5]

Fong returned to Singapore after studying in Beijing in 1997 and worked as a video editor and graphics artist for a year. His first comic book, Buddy Buddy, was published by the China Friendship Publishing Company in 1998. In 1999, he became a science teacher at Raffles Institution. He wrote a musical, Mr. Beng, which was staged at the Singapore Arts Festival in 1999. His second comic book, Sir Fong, was published in 2005.[6] The book was positively reviewed by Prudencio Miel of The Straits Times.[7] The second installment in the Sir Fong series, Sir Fong 2: Fur-o-cious, was published in 2007, and was again positively reviewed by Miel.[8] He left Raffles Institution at the end of 2007.[9]

Fong has also created the TV series Totally Totto.[3] The third installment in the series, Sir Fong's Adventures In Science, was published in 2008.[10] The sixth installment in the series, Sir Fong's Adventures In Science Book 6: Synthetic Biology, was published in 2017.[11]

Fong currently teaches in Anglo Singapore International School Sukhumvit 64 Thailand.[3]

In 2022, Fong made his acting debut, starring as Uncle Alex in Getaway (Gay Web Series), Singapore first Boys Love web series. [12]

Personal life

Fong is openly gay and lives with his partner.[3] He came out as gay in a 2,000 word-blog entry, and was asked by the government to take down the entry as the blog was also read by students.[13][14] In a speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong used Fong's case to state that "Singapore should strive to maintain a balance, to uphold a stable society with traditional heterosexual family values, but with space for homosexuals to live their lives and to contribute to society."[15]

References

  1. ↑ Low, Ignatius (29 March 2015). "Critical Battles: Letting go of past, but not forgetting it". The Straits Times. Singapore. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Koh, Jaime. "Fong Swee Suan". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Zi Shan, Kow (18 July 2022). "I am not what that counsellor taught you: openly gay Hwa Chong alumnus & science teacher speaks out". Mothership. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 Libing, Guan (7 September 1994). "Singapore engineer snares a place at prestigious Beijing Film Academy". The Straits Times. Singapore.
  5. ↑ Corrie, Tan (3 May 2011). "Tribute buried beneath". The Straits Times. Singapore.
  6. ↑ Ai Li, Ho (11 December 2005). "To thine first love, be true". The Straits Times. Singapore.
  7. ↑ Miel, Prudencio (25 September 2005). "A labour of laughs". The Straits Times. Singapore.
  8. ↑ Miel, Prudencio (4 February 2007). "SIR FONG BOOK 2: FUR-O-CIOUS". The Straits Times. Singapore.
  9. ↑ Ng, Tze Yong (24 July 2008). "His life now revolves around cartooning". The New Paper. Singapore.
  10. ↑ "The great Singapore draw". The Straits Times. Singapore. 28 September 2008.
  11. ↑ Hong, Jose (28 September 2017). "Comic-stripping science of its mysteries". The Straits Times. Singapore.
  12. ↑ "Singapore's Dear Straight People drops gay drama set in Bangkok: Coconuts". Coconuts. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Coming out to mum and dad and what you wish they had said | TheHomeGround Asia". thehomeground.asia. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "The First Singaporean Teacher To Come Out Did So in 2007. Have Things Changed Since Then?". RICE. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Live proud, not loud". The New Paper. Singapore. 24 October 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.