From HKFP, the latest on the trial of the five speech therapists accused of ‘…taking part in a conspiracy to print, publish, distribute or display three children’s picture books between June 4, 2020 and July 22 last year with seditious intention’.
On Wednesday, prosecutors read out a long list of exhibits in the case and handed several items to District Judge Kwok Wai-kin, including three handheld boards found in Yeung’s home which featured the union’s name, social media handles and contact details. They also submitted 18 miniature statues donning protest gear, marked with the union’s name, as well as six pieces of paper which could be arranged to read: “Glory to Hong Kong.”
…The prosecution then played an animated version of the first picture book about “guardians of the sheep village” and an audio recording of the second book about the “12 warriors of the sheep village.”
People in the public gallery giggled as the video and audio were played in the courtroom…
More bad press – and no doubt giggling – overseas for Asia’s world city, the only international financial hub that jails people for kids’ cartoons and pieces of paper that could be arranged.
Mindful of the reputational problem, Hong Kong authorities will launch a campaign to attract international talent in the next couple of years as well as (yet again) tell the city’s story better. But no sooner said than undermined: the government will continue its dynamic semi-zero-Covid approach of striking a balance between minimizing and maximizing inconvenience, or something.
To win local hearts and minds, teachers and social workers are being encouraged to attend Mainland-style sessions to study Xi Jinping’s recent ‘important speech’ on Hong Kong. Federation of Education Workers president Wong Kwan-yu…
…said Xi “risked his life [amid the pandemic] to come to Hong Kong to give a speech – we should pay attention to what he said as his remarks are very important to Hong Kong’s future”.
“To win local hearts and minds, teachers and social workers are being encouraged to attend Mainland-style sessions to study Xi Jinping’s recent ‘important speech’ on Hong Kong.”
That will no doubt also convince people HK is a great place to come work and live and is most definitely NOT becoming more and more of a backwater, Cultural Revolution era mainland shit hole.
Next I’m sure 5 hours a week will be set aside at EVERY major HK (and international) corporation (during unpaid lunch hour) trying to outdo the other in their zeal to prove how red they are for “Word of XJP Study Hour”. Proctored by the company CCP rep.
RE: seditious sheep, apart from the fact that the entire case is utter nonsense, I have thought of a possible defense based on the allegory alone.
Without having read the dangerous books, I can only guess why the wolves must represent mainland Chinese and sheep the people of Hong Kong. In the wild, the number of apex predators must naturally be far smaller than the number of prey, so in such a situation the sheep would surely represent the far more numerous, ovine, mainland Chinese population, and wolves the scary rampaging Hong Kongers, adding oil all over the place. They have it all back to front.
The Neighbourhood Watch is being rolled out
The Government announced today (July 6) the establishment of the District Matters Co-ordination Task Force. The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, will lead a number of bureaux and departments to enhance the overall environmental hygiene and cityscape in Hong Kong and build a clean and liveable environment through broad-based community participation……….
the Task Force will harness the combined strengths of government departments and different sectors of the community, especially the network of District Services and Community Care Teams
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202207/06/P2022070600683.htm
So all those slothful wannabes we voted out in 2019 are back in business and will in due course, after glowing media reports and foto ops, be part of the planned revamp of the DCs.
Meanwhile Joe Public will snort as every incoming admin has promised to clean up the city but after creating a lot of additional waste re the abundant distribution of plastic, sprays, rubber gloves and wear once T-shirts the rats and roaches and smokers are soon back in control.
But then this is not about community, it is about control