🌏 Hong Kong Jails Five People For Publishing Children's Books, Thai Activist Jailed For Dressing Up Like The Thai Queen And More

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Five Hong Kong speech therapists have been found guilty of “sedition” for publishing a series of children’s books about wolves and sheep and sentenced to 19 months in prison.

The three books are about sheep who try to protect their village from wolves and reference events in Hong Kong’s recent history, including the mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The sheep have been compared to Hong Kong residents and the wolves to the mainland Chinese authorities.

In one story, 12 sheep are forced to flee by boat and are caught at sea, which has been interpreted to represent the 12 Hong Kong activists who tried to flee to Taiwan but were captured at sea in 2020.

In July 2021, the two men and three women – Lorie Lai, Melody Yeung, Sidney Ng, Samuel Chan and Marco Fong – aged between 25 and 28, were arrested by Hong Kong police and accused of “inciting hatred of the government in children.”

They were found guilty of “sedition” on Wednesday Sep. 7, with prosecutors arguing that the books contained “anti-China sentiment” and were trying to “incite readers’ hatred of mainland authorities.”

The colonial-era charge of “sedition” has not been used since the mid-1960s, according to the Reuters.

“The seditious intention stems not merely from the words, but from the words with the proscribed effects intended to result in the mind of children,” the judge wrote in his judgement.

During the sentencing on Saturday Sep. 10, Yeung told the court that she had no regrets and hopes to always stand by the sheep, DW reported.

“My only regret is I couldn’t publish more picture books before getting arrested,” she said.

“Writing books for children is not a crime, and attempting to educate children about recent events in Hong Kong’s history does not constitute an attempt to incite rebellion,” Amnesty International said.

Also Happening Around The World

🇻🇳 A noodle seller in Vietnam who went viral for impersonating Salt Bae has been arrested by authorities for “anti-state propaganda” in the latest crackdown on freedom of expression in the country.

🇰🇷 Seven people have died in South Korea after heavy rains from Typhoon Hinnamnor flooded an underground parking lot, increasing the death toll to ten people.

🇨🇩 A newly opened bridge in the Democratic Republic of Congo collapsed right after officials inaugurated it.

A Thai court has found an activist guilty of “mocking” the monarchy after she dressed up like the Thai queen during a protest in 2020.

25-year-old Jatuporn “New” Saeoueng was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday Sep. 12 for being part of a street protest in Bangkok where she walked down a red carpet wearing a pink traditional dress while another protester held an umbrella for her.

Her dress resembled that worn by the Thai queen on public events.

As Jatuporn walked down the red carpet, people alongside had chanted, “Long live the queen”.

The street performance was meant to protest member of the royal family allegedly using THB13 million (US$416,000) in public funds to promote Princess Sirivannavari’s fashion show, according to local media Coconuts.

In Thailand, the lèse-majesté law makes it illegal to insult, defame or threaten the king, the queen and other members of the royal family, and sentences range from three to 15 years in prison.

Before the court ruling, Jatuporn said in an interview that she had “no intention to mock anyone.”

“I dressed for myself on that day, for a version of myself in a Thai traditional dress,” she said, according to AP.

The palace and court have not commented on the case.

More and more activist have been accused of “insulting” the monarchy in Thailand, since King Maha Vajiralongkorn became the ruling monarch in 2019.

Activists have criticized the expenses of the royal family and the country’s use of the military to maintain the monarchy’s power.

In January last year, a 63-year-old former civil servant, was sentenced to a record 43 years in prison for sharing audio clips deemed to be insulting the monarchy on social media.

According to human rights groups in Thailand, members of the royal family have used this lèse-majesté law to accuse around 210 activist since November 2020.

More Women You Should Know About

🇲🇽 People gathered around the Reclusorio Oriente prison in Mexico City, Mexico, to demand that the alleged murderer of a Ingrid Escamilla receives the maximum penalty.

🇭🇺 Hungarian women are protesting after the government announced they will have to listen to the fetus’ heartbeat before they are allowed to seek an abortion starting Thursday Sep. 15.

Tinder Japan has opened a Tinder-themed convenience store where users can hangout or meet matches in Japan.

The pop-up convenience store, “SwipeMart”, is open from September 16 to 19 in the popular and bustling Tokyo district of Shibuya.

The store will sell the usual products found in a convenience store such as instant noodles, snacks, and drinks.

Tinder members may even get free items such as the fried chicken or “TINDER CHIKI”, “BOOST” ramen, and “Super Like” chips.

Members can also obtain special merchandise such as shirts, socks and boxers with the iconic Tinder logo.

People can also take a picture in the store’s photo booth and update their Tinder profile.

At night, the convenience store turns into a live venue with performances from TikTok singer-songwriter Shimamo, rapper “ELLE TERESA”, “Vick” from tokyovitamin artist collective, and DJ group “CYK”.

The pop-up store is only available to adults, and customers must be 18 years or older.

More Good News For Your Week

🇬🇧 London Zoo held its annual weigh-in on Aug. 25, weighing and measuring all its 14,000 animals and it’s so adorable

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