Hong Kong was under British control for 156 years until 1997, when the city was handed back to China.īeijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong to bring back stability following mass protests in the city three years ago. “Can you explain why you didn’t tell the children that the sheep village was part of the land owned by the wolves, and that the land was taken away from the wolves through military invasion of the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) on the part of the shepherd?” Kwok also questioned whether the defendants depicted the whole truth through the stories, adding there was “no doubt” the sheep village refers to Hong Kong, and the wolf village referred to China. They include the high distribution and exposure of the books, the substantial period of time the conspiracy went on and the timing of when the publications were made available, which he said was while Hong Kong’s political and social conditions were extremely unstable. “Any prison sentence is harsh and absurd over a children’s comic book, let alone 19 months,” he told VOA.ĭistrict Judge Kwok, who is one of the hand-selected judges to preside over national security cases in Hong Kong, said there were four reasons for the length of the sentences. Kevin Yam, a Hong Kong lawyer and former activist now living in Australia, said the sentencing was harsh. ![]() ![]() stating, “a riot is the language of the unheard,” and that she didn’t regret her contribution to the children’s books.įILE: Members of the media take photos of evidence on display, including children's books trying to explain the city's democracy movement, at a police press conference in Hong Kong on July 22, 2021, after five members of a pro-democracy Hong Kong union w Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. One of the defendants, Melody Yeung, spoke in court Saturday quoting U.S. In a two-month trial, prosecutors said the books had caused hatred toward the government and argued a sedition offense is like “treason.”ĭefense lawyers had argued the animal characters were fictional and the allegations were too broad. All five were members of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, which has since closed. Lorie Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung, Sidney Ng, Samuel Chan and Fong Tsz-ho, all younger than 30, had pleaded not guilty in July. ![]() ![]() The publications referenced real events in recent years during Hong Kong’s political turmoil, including the mass pro-democracy protests in 2019 and how 12 dissidents attempted to escape to Taiwan in a speedboat before being intercepted by the Chinese coast guard.Īfter convicting the five, Judge Kwok implied that children reading the books would be told they are the sheep and the wolves that are trying to harm them are Chinese authorities. The books featured cartoons of sheep that were trying to repel wolves from their village. FILE: A hooded suspect is accompanied by police officers to search for evidence at office in Hong Kong, July 22, 2021.
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