Hong Kong to distribute ‘Security Bear’ national security picture books to 900 kindergartens

The Security Bureau held a launch ceremony for its Andy and Security Bear: Young Citizens Safeguarding National Security educational picture books on Tuesday.

The three-volume set of titles includes new stories and national security-themed children’s songs.

They will be distributed to 900 kindergartens and public libraries by the end of the year.

According to a Tuesday press release, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said the “engaging storyline enables children to discover and learn the meaning of following rules and thinking critically, so that they can understand the importance of safeguarding national security from an early age.”

The Security Bear series was launched by the bureau in 2024.

A theatre show toured schools shortly after, with the Security Bear mascot telling children that their homeland must “remain free from disruption, allowing everyone to live in peace.”

See also: From interactive drama to election forums: Politics turns to pageantry in Hong Kong

All eight University Grants Committee-funded local universities have national education and national security courses which students must pass in order to graduate.

Children’s books

In September 2022, five members of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists were sentenced to 19 months in prison for publishing children’s books that were deemed seditious. The books involved an allegory of sheep facing off against wolves, with the sheep representing pro-democracy protesters and the wolves representing the police.

Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.

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Tom founded Hong Kong Free Press in 2015 as the city's first crowdfunded newspaper. He has a BA in Communications and New Media from Leeds University and an MA in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong. He previously founded an NGO advocating for domestic worker rights, and has contributed to the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Al-Jazeera and others.

Tom leads HKFP – raising funds, managing the team and navigating risk – whilst regularly speaking on press freedom, ethics and media funding at industry events, schools and conferences around the world.