Posted on July 23, 2021 at 2:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Creative freedom is increasingly under fire in certain countries around the world.
Hong Kong police have arrested five members of a group that published a children’s book, reports the New York Times.
The book tells the story of twelve sheep constantly under attack from wolves and their failed attempt to escape – an allegory for activists fleeing the police in Hong Kong; authorities argue that it teaches children to hate the government.
Hong Kong has seen the freedoms associated with a democracy decline in recent years, as China has flexed its control over the territory.
Across the world, the Belarusian chapter of PEN — an organization dedicated to promoting literary and free expression — learned that it is to be shuttered.
Belarus’s justice ministry sent a letter to that effect Thursday afternoon.
Another group, the Union of Belarusian Writers, told Publishing Perspectives that it anticipates similar treatment soon.
Belarus’s presidential elections — which have kept Alexander Lukashenko in power for decades — have been viewed skeptically in recent years.
But last year’s voting inspired especially vocal protests that in turn were met with violent crackdowns.
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Categories: Today in Books