Protest song Glory to Hong Kong played again at sporting event instead of Chinese, as gov’t demands probe
Pro-democracy protest song Glory to Hong Kong was played in place of the official national anthem of the city, China, at a sporting event in Bosnia and Herzegovina March of the Volunteers. Tuesday night’s blunder at an ice hockey game in Sarajevo comes amid a months-long row over the mix-ups and marks the fifth such incident in a year.
The song – linked to the protests and riots of 2019 – was stopped and after around 90 seconds the correct anthem was played. Several Hong Kong hockey players made the “time-out” gesture at the World Championship Division III Group B game as the song was played after their victory over Iran.
“We are very sorry, it will be corrected,” said an announcer before the correct song was played.
The Hong Kong government expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with the latest slip on Wednesday. It said the athletes immediately protested in accordance with guidelines issued by the Sports Confederation and the Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China. It asked the organizers to make a correction.
Authorities said they had urged the local Olympic Committee to launch an in-depth investigation, including whether the sports federation in question had reconfirmed to organizers that the anthem to be played was the correct one. The government also requested a report from the committee and urged the organization to “solemnly follow up” on the incident.
“The Hong Kong SAR government reaffirms the performance of Hong Kong athletes in upholding the country’s dignity on the ground,” the government said in a statement in Chinese.
HKFP has contacted the Hong Kong Olympic Authorities and Security Bureau.
Anthem Saga
Last December, local gold medalist Susanna Lin made the “time out” gesture when Glory to Hong Kong was played during the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championship in Dubai.
Last November, the protest song was heard in place of the national anthem at South Korea’s rugby sevens. It prompted Asian rugby president Qais Abdulla Al Dhalai to fly to the city to apologize as the government called for an investigation. Organizers reportedly downloaded the top song while searching online for the “Hong Kong national anthem.”
instances of Glory to Hong Kong In the days that followed, it emerged that television footage from other rugby events had twice mistakenly referred to it as the ‘Hong Kong national anthem’.
Late last year, the government asked a search engine to pin the correct information about the national anthem at the top of its search results. Local media reported that the search engine in question was Google.
When HKFP searched “Hong Kong national anthem” in English in incognito browsing mode on Wednesday, the top result was the Wikipedia page for the protest song.
Legality unclear
The government said the song was “closely linked to violent protests and the ‘independence’ movement in 2019”. Although the protests attracted a handful of pro-independence activists, that was not one of the demands of the movement.
A 42-year-old was arrested last November on “sedition charges” for sharing video of the anthem blunder with supportive messages of thanks – he was denied bail.
Authorities have refused to say whether the song is illegal, despite it being banned in schools and police having intervened when it is played in public.
Hong Kong’s national anthem law criminalizing insults March of the Volunteerswas enacted domestically on 4 June 2020 – violators risk fines of up to HK$50,000 or three years in prison.
Additional Reporting: Kelly Ho.
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