Mon 14 November 2022:
After a democracy protest song was played before the territory’s team played a match at a rugby tournament in South Korea instead of the Chinese national anthem, the Hong Kong authorities criticized the event’s organizers.
In a video posted to social media, the players can be seen expressing confusion as Glory to Hong Kong, rather than the Chinese national anthem, is played before the Asia Rugby Sevens Series final.
The Hong Kong government “strongly deplores and opposes the playing of a song closely associated with violent protests and the ‘independence’ movement as the National Anthem of the People’s Republic of China,” it said in a statement.
“The National Anthem is a symbol of our country. The organiser of the tournament has a duty to ensure that the National Anthem receives the respect it warranted,” a government spokesperson said.
Glory to Hong Kong was written by an anonymous composer and became an anthem for the pro-democracy movement during protests in 2019, which attracted huge crowds but became increasingly violent as the months dragged on.
The organisers of the tournament in Incheon, South Korea, issued an apology and played the Chinese anthem after the match, which was won by the Hong Kong team.
In a separate statement, Hong Kong Rugby Union expressed its “extreme dissatisfaction” with what had happened.
The organisation’s preliminary investigation found that the Chinese anthem had been given to the organisers by the team’s coach, and the protest song had been played by mistake.
“Whilst we accept this was a case of human error, it was nevertheless not acceptable,” the HKRU said.
Since the British returned the island to China in 1997, the Chinese national anthem, March of the Volunteers, has been performed at international competitions in which Hong Kong has participated.
After Beijing enacted a national security rule on Hong Kong that rights organizations claim has “decimated” dissent, playing Glory to Hong Kong throughout the territory is now practically banned. According to the South China Morning Post, it is also prohibited by the sedition law in Hong Kong.
A harmonica musician who performed the song to a crowd honoring Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in September was detained.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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