hong kong handed don prison times to 5 speech therapist over the weekend for publishing children's books deemed seditious. the defendants were sentenced to 19 months in jail for publishing books, which among other things, showed she fighting back against walls one to occupy a village. prosecutors argued these and other content shown to china sentiment and was aimed at in fighting readers. hatred against the mainland authorities, 5 accused did not contain

the group who are all in their twenties, have already been behind bars for over a year while i'm waiting. why did they launch the picture book, cds in 2020, to explain hong kong democracy movement to children. some of the defendant struck a defiant tone during saturday's sentencing, hearing melody young told the court, she has no regrets about a deficient saying. and i, my only regret is i couldn't publish more picture books before getting arrested and there are 3 books in the sheep will a series on the plots all relate to real events. the 1st guardians of sheep village explained the 2019 pro democracy protests in the 2nd book, janitors of sheep, village, garbage collectors, go on strike, to force out the wolves. and reference to striking medical workers at the start of the corporate van demick. and the 3rd book, the 12 heroes of she finished, is about 12 sheep who tried to flee. there was a plot inspired by last year's famed attempt by 12 protesters to flee hong kong by

speed boat and got him enough in the u. k is ming lamb, he is with the organization, the hong kong, a labor rights monitor, mr. lamb, 19 months in jail for children's book series was expected under the current hong kong government. i think the seriousness of such sentence is a little bit off of expectation, but to be honest with you, i think that the questions of the home and chinese government at the moment was the national security law. i think that would be even a little bit. i'll expect expectations, but i think that will become a pressing the civil society. and then hong kong, it's interesting to talk about the national to go to norma. in this particular case, the national security law appears not to have been news. it appears to be in a trial under the colonial era sedition law. what does that say about the judicial

process and hong kong? i think we have a holistic perspective that the hong kong and the chinese government is now using national security as a concept. as a pretext in suppressing the civil society, as well as the right to freedom of expression in hong kong. so although in this particular case, national security law is not being used to prosecute the 5 speech therapist. and this has been a set of law that has been passed by the colonial government decades ago. it has been used for many, many years. but now they are recycling these kind of precedent laws in pressing a direct to freedom of expressions. so as you can see from the coming up from the national security has become a very central idea in prosecuting the speech therapist. because i do

have inciting hatred against the chinese at home as well as in national security. we are of course, also talking about children's books here. so should the pro democracy activists be deliberately timing these children's books political i think this 1st of all of your children's books can cause a certain kind of message. and one of a very disturbing idea coming from the vegas was the judge and the government was that these books are not. i mean the restrictions of this on the freedom of expression is not about the book whether in fact and because of my reliance, but only in a losing kind of a hatred against a government in alluding that hong kong government is tressa. to innocence,

people could become criminal. so this is just an expression of an opinion on how you see your government. it's not even spreading ideas on, you know, inciting people to go on to the streets, to protest against the government. it just, you know, expressing a low opinion how you see the government treating people. so this has a very, very bad example in future for any kind of publications to make any comments and opinions on how to see the government will leave it for the time being . thank you so much for joining us. sort of learn from the hong kong liberal rights . wanted to thank you sir. thank you very much. ah. while the you came on the death of queen elizabeth the 2nd in south asia, the depth of feeling is a bit more complicated. a rain began at

a time that many countries in the region had recently gained that independence from british colonial rule. the desire to for them independent identity has since then been constantly balanced between a warm nostalgia and the darker aspects of colonial rule. to mon, the queen are not a complex question in india, on the streets of mom, by children paid respects in their own way. and the prime minister called for the indian flag to be flown at half mast during a day of official morning. but not every one is convinced that there is reason to mourn a monarchy that many indians represents a colonial past. one point of contention is the famous corps he nor diamond, which was allegedly stolen by colonial britain and sits on the queen's crown. many indians, wanton back reminder that queen elizabeth is not a remnant of colonial times. she was an active participant in colonialism. yet the

queen's passing has also brought on a sense of nostalgia. i don't accept people abusing hall forward to india and i don't, i don't feel that way. i feel somebody died at least that was in because of some kind of respect and a love from us at the moment i really loved her sense of style. i mean, the had the dresses, you know, she was absolutely thought on when it came to addressing sense, enabling, focused on the queen's passing was the headline of most newspaper and like india. there was also a day of morning and that was what i said that the queen of great britain has passed away. now i think that was she officially visited pakistan twice, but the visits were fruitful and served very well. be open because my shop too. and i'm very sad at the mile board, but i put a prime minister should have boss sharif, visited the british high commission to awful. his condolences now king charles

is on the throne. the british monarchy lives on but grown increasingly destined for south. asians shall michelle from the w a shall be now for more context on this shamela. just last week, you wrote about south asia as court difficult relationship with the british monarchy. what was difficult about it? well braced the difficult bar to scores was the colonial past of some countries in south asia like india and bugs done. the queen represented the institution that was at the helm of this colonization. and subjugation of the people. there are. there had been many brutal incidents that marked the british colonial rule in india. however, the queen herself was largely admired by the people in these countries, mainly because she pursued a policy of non interference. in many respects, she was a modern queen who drifted away from the previous colonial attitudes. but it was

not an easy relationship. none the less. you talk about her, the queen being the late queen, being admired by the people. but how much influence did she really have on south asia and did saltisha even look to her for guidance and direction? i don't think she played a big role in the affairs of these nations after the gaining independence from 1952 to 56. elizabeth, the 2nd was the defective queen of boxed on as well. but she did not interfere much . some historians believed she could have, for instance, in the kashmir conflict between india and pakistan. but i think it was asking too much from her how ceremonious all did not allow her to provide any guidance and direction in these issues. so as far as the,

the issue of guidance is concerned, i think she could not offer as much as people believe that she could have. the queen also headed the commonwealth of nations or furniture. most countries in south asia are members, but how relevant is these grouping to south issues future? i think most commonwealth nations initial pretty satisfied with the grouping to the rulers. it is a matter of prestige. and there are many benefits associated with it. so not so much for the common people in these countries, to be honest. all these both colonial structures of hampered the growth of these nations and one way or, or the other. but yet the commonwealth is irrelevant. her platform is still for a lot of these, these, these countries that we are talking went on mother or, and family, or the monarchy in addition to service. sure. one does think of the word nostalgia,

do you see this nostalgia or any connection to the u. k. depleting in the coming years in south asia. ah, no, i think the connection remains a strong and it is unlikely to deplete the do we need to understand the colonial legacy is not just about oppression. and subjugation. there are cultural aspects to it as well. the language, the literature art, the media, the mod of governance. the countries like boston, india or bangladesh, new ball have so much in common with the you get that gonna be undone, at least not in the near future, and green elizabeth's demise. one change that the roots are, the tires are deep rooted and the connection is very strong and it will remain is strong. it's not going to go away from and we live there for the time being. thanks so much for joining us today. i'm a chance. thanks for having me on the show. and we'll leave it today with the

images of queen elizabeth in south asia. and we'll see you at laura. ah. these places in europe are smashing the records. stepped into a bold adventure. it's the treasure map for modern globetrotters. discover some of you up to record breaking sites on google maps, youtube and now also in book form. i'm agreeing with

you feel worried about the planning? me too. i'm neil. host of the, on the green fence of cost, and to me it's clear we need to change the solutions are out there. join me for a deep dive into the green transformation. for me to do full of them. ah ah, the british economies on the brink of recession, if it's not already there, look the latest measure of the you case economic woes and what a new government can possibly do to head off the worst possible outcomes. it's not just the u. k. rising energy prices are tightening the screws on businesses across europe, raising fears of a wave of insolvency. s. also on our show,

the cove pandemic pushes more people into the clutches of slavery. we'll hear from the head of the international labor organization alone. welcome to our show, i'm seeing beardley in berlin. it's good to have you with us. britain is mourning the death of a monarch and transitioning to a new one. the country's economic problems, however, remain unchanged. from the fall out of the pandemic to brags at labor shortages, the ongoing energy crisis and other problems. nothing looks good at the moment, and new figures aren't especially encouraging. the british economy grew by a mere 2 tenths of a percent in july, and that is an improvement over the prior month when a contract it by more than half a percent. but it's still lower than analysts had expected. of the bigger picture is also bleak, industrial production and construction are both falling now. inflation is the u. k . biggest problem at the moment in july prices rose.