Five speech therapists in Hong Kong were sentenced to 19 months in prison on Saturday for their part in the publication of children’s books that were deemed seditious.
The picture book series, which debuted in 2020 and was intended to educate children about the Hong Kong democracy movement, represented the city’s pro-democracy campaigners as sheep defending their village from wolves.
Prosecutors had argued the books contained “anti-China sentiment” and aimed to “incite readers’ hatred of mainland authorities.”
The judge referred to the books as “a brainwashing exercise” and stated that there was ample proof that children’s minds were being filled with hate, fear, and unhappiness.
The speech therapists’ group has been added to the increasing list of Hong Kong citizens imprisoned under a colonial-era sedition legislation that the government utilized in conjunction with a national security law Beijing enacted in 2020 to crush dissent.
Three of them struck a defiant tone during Saturday’s sentencing hearing. Melody Yeung told the court she has no regrets about her decisions and hopes to always stand by the sheep.
“My only regret is I couldn’t publish more picture books before getting arrested,” she said.
The defendants, who are all in their 20s and unionized speech therapists, have been imprisoned for more than a year while they await punishment.
One of their attorneys calculated that the group may be released after taking into account time served in 31 days.
