Hong Kong speech therapists sentenced to 19 months over children’s books

A Hong Kong court has sentenced five speech therapists to nearly two years in prison for their role in the publication of children’s books deemed seditious.

The penalties are the latest sign of China’s hard line against free speech and any sign of political opposition in the city following the 2019 anti-government protests.

Beijing responded to the months-long demonstrations by imposing a sweeping National Security Law and disqualifying, imprisoning or silencing political opponents, many of whom have sought asylum abroad.

The five defendants have already been jailed for more than a year and may be eligible for early release under the terms of the 19-month sentence handed down yesterday.

They had pleaded not guilty but were convicted of sedition on Wednesday after they printed a series of children’s books that included material about sheep and wolves that a court said was aimed at inciting hatred against authorities.