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Sheep Village|羊村繪本

The "Sheep Village" trilogy (羊村繪本) is a series of three children's books published by the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists that became the center of a landmark sedition case. The books use allegory to depict Hong Kong's political struggles, with sheep representing Hong Kong residents and wolves representing mainland Chinese authorities.

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In July 2021, five members of the speech therapists' union were arrested and charged with "conspiracy to publish seditious publications" under a colonial-era sedition law:

  • Lorie Lai (黎雯齡) - Union chairperson
  • Melody Yeung (楊逸意) - External vice-chairperson
  • Sidney Ng (吳梓瑋)
  • Samuel Chan (陳源森)
  • Marco Fong (方梓皓)

All five, aged between 25 and 28 at the time of arrest, were denied bail and held in pre-trial detention for over 13 months.

September 2022 Conviction: In September 2022, all five defendants were found guilty and sentenced to 19 months in prison. The judge ruled the books were an "exercise in brainwashing" meant to incite hatred toward the government. The five were released shortly after sentencing, with credit for time served during pre-trial detention.

Defiant Statements: During sentencing, some maintained their stance:

  • Melody Yeung told the court she had "no regrets" and only wished she had "published more picture books" before her arrest
  • Lorie Lai attempted to argue that her only "crime" was trying to tell a story from the people's perspective

Aftermath:

  • The General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists was de-registered and disbanded by the government
  • In late 2024, the High Court ordered the seizure of the defunct union's remaining assets (approximately HK$116,000) on national security grounds
  • Since 2023, individuals in Hong Kong have been arrested and sentenced to prison merely for importing or possessing copies of these books, which are now classified as "seditious publications"

The Three Books

The first book, titled "Guardians of Sheep Village" (羊村守衛者), explains the 2019 pro-democracy protests that swept through Hong Kong.

"Janitors of Sheep Village" (羊村清道夫), the second book, sees cleaners in the village go on strike to force out wolves who leave litter everywhere. The book's introduction explains it is a reference to Hong Kong medical workers striking in February 2020 in a bid to force the government to close the border with mainland China at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The final book in the trilogy -- "The 12 Braves of Sheep Village" (羊村十二勇士) -- is about a group of sheep who flee their village by boat because of the wolves. It references the "Hong Kong 12," a group of activists captured by the Chinese coastguard while attempting to flee to Taiwan.

中文概述

羊村繪本共三冊，分別為《羊村守衛者》、《羊村十二勇士》和《羊村清道夫》。三本繪本分別描寫二零一九年反修例風波、十二港人案及2020年2月3-7日香港醫護罷工行動。警方批評繪本合理化暴力事件及違法行為荼毒下一代。支持者認為繪本只是反映事實，並不構成煽動暴力或社會仇恨。此外，外界亦擔心是次事件會削弱香港的言論自由，令港人未來難以安心創作藝術作品、政治漫畫及評論政治。

2021年7月，工會5名成員因涉嫌串謀刊印、發佈、分發、展示或複製煽動刊物罪被捕，包括主席黎雯齡及外務副主席楊逸意，以及工會其餘3名理事會成員吳梓瑋、陳源森、方梓皓。五人全部不獲保釋，須還柙候審超過13個月。工會的資金遭到凍結。工會及工會成員的電腦、傳單、電話等亦被扣留。

2022年9月，五人全部被裁定罪名成立，被判入獄19個月。法官裁定繪本是「洗腦」企圖煽動對政府的仇恨。五人於判刑後不久獲釋，因已於審前羈留期間服刑超過13個月。

判刑期間，楊逸意在法庭上表示她「沒有後悔」，只希望在被捕前「出版更多繪本」。黎雯齡則試圖辯稱她唯一的「罪行」就是試圖從人民的角度講述故事。

其後，香港言語治療師總工會被政府撤銷註冊並解散。2024年末，高等法院基於國家安全理由下令沒收已解散工會的剩餘資產約11.6萬港元。自2023年起，有香港市民僅因進口或管有這些繪本副本而被捕及判監，該等繪本現已被列為「煽動刊物」。

詳細內容

《羊村守衛者》

2020年6月，香港言語治療師總工會出版一本名為《羊村守衛者》的繪本，以2019年發生的反修例事件作背景，將中共政權描繪成狼，香港人則描繪成羊。故事內容講述有兩條村落，一條村是住了善良的羊，另一條村是住了邪惡的狼。有一天，守護羊的牧羊人突然離開了，狼村落便派了大灰狼去帶領羊群，並頒佈「狼羊規矩」，規定狼群可隨意吃掉羊，結果羊起來反抗。繪本裏列有反修例事件的時序表，以及相應故事的頁數。故事最後向讀者發問：「如果你是羊，會否勇敢繼續守衛家園？」

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《羊村十二勇士》

2020年9月，香港言語治療師總工會再次出版另一本「羊村系列」繪本，名為《羊村十二勇士》，故事繼承上一本《羊村守衛者》的內容，都是講述狼欺壓羊，而《羊村十二勇士》就以2020年8月時發生的12名逃犯潛逃台灣的案件作背景。

在《羊村十二勇士》中，羊群為了對抗狼群而變得團結和英勇，狼群首領大灰狼擔心未來不能再欺負羊群，便下令要殺死羊群中最勇敢的12隻羊。12隻羊便嘗試逃走結果失敗，被狼抓回狼村。然而，故事裏該12隻羊的名字都和偷越邊境案的12名逃犯相同，有聲音批評此舉明顯是將12名逃犯英雄化，將其描述是守衛香港、卻被迫害以致要離開香港的勇士。故事最後向讀者發問：「如果你是羊，會否用盡辦法拯救十二位勇士？」

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《羊村清道夫》

2021年3月，香港言語治療師總工會出版第三本名為《羊村清道夫》的繪本，繼續將內地人描繪為狼，香港人則是羊，並以2020年2月醫護於新冠疫情期間罷工事件作背景。故事描述狼在羊村開了一個「窿」，骯髒的狼不斷進進出出，狼不單隨地拋垃圾，更四處吐痰，令周圍環境變得污穢，而羊就罷工要求封關，禁止狼再進入羊村。

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