Hong Kong: Court Finds Five Guilty Of Sedition Over Children's Books
Facts
- On Wed., a Hong Kong District Court found five speech therapists guilty of conspiracy to produce "seditious" illustrated children's books allegedly intended to promote hatred toward local authorities and Beijing.
- Lorie Lai, Melody Yeung, Sidney Ng, Samuel Chan and Marco Fong - all of them in their mid-to-late 20s - pleaded not guilty. They will be sentenced on Sat. and face up to two years in jail.
- This ruling comes after the five defendants have spent more than a year detained in custody on national security charges.
- The three picture books reportedly depicted sheep defending their village from wolves, which prosecutors claimed were allegories referencing actual events that have taken place in Hong Kong since the 2019 protests.
- These are the latest convictions based on a colonial-era sedition law that has been used in par with Hong Kong's national security laws enacted in 2020.
- Despite being accused of using the laws to crush opposition, Beijing argues that it's seeking to restore stability in the city.
Sources: CNN, Reuters, Scmp, Guardian, and BBC News.
Narratives
- Anti-China narrative, as provided by The Guardian. Hong Kong authorities have been using the overly broad crime of sedition to clamp down on peaceful dissent. Even writing children's books has become a crime as creative productions are now vulnerable to subjective judgements.
- Pro-China narrative, as provided by China Daily. These illustrated books were produced solely with the intent to brainwash very young minds against the government, promoting sedition and exalting unlawful behavior. This could affect the notion of right and wrong in future generations.