Hong Kong Furious As Banned Protest Song Replaces Chinese Anthem At Rugby Match

Authorities in Hong Kong have condemned the organizers of a rugby tournament in South Korea for playing "Glory to Hong Kong" — a song that rose to popularity during the 2019 protest movement — instead of the Chinese national anthem before the territory's team played against the host country.

The incident reportedly occurred during the men's final between Hong Kong and South Korea in the second leg of the Asian Rugby Seven Series held in Incheon on Sunday.

In response, the Hong Kong government issued a statement saying it "strongly deplores and opposes the playing of a song closely associated with violent protests and the 'independence' movement in 2019 as the National Anthem of the People's Republic of China."

"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 Hong Kong government spokesman said as quoted in the press release.

The Hong Kong government had asked the territory's Rugby Union to "launch a full and in-depth investigation and submit a detailed report," the statement added.

The territory's authority also demanded that the Hong Kong Rugby Union "convey" the "strong objection to Asia Rugby, who was the is the organiser of the Series."

Based on preliminary investigations, the statement said the Hong Kong team coach had handed over the correct recording of the Chinese national anthem, but the pro-protest democracy song was played due to a human error by junior staff of the local organizer.

The clip shared by social media users showed perplexed players as the tune of the pro-democracy protest song was played.

The Hong Kong team brought the mistake to the attention of the organizer as soon as the wrong anthem was played at the stadium. A public announcement conveying an apology was made and the Chinese national anthem was played after the game.

According to the BBC, the song "Glory to Hong Kong" was written by a local musician in his mid-20s, identified only as "Thomas" who hoped the song would "unite Hong Kongers and boost public morale."

Apart from referencing "democracy and freedom," the song's Cantonese lyrics also contain lines like "liberate Hong Kong" and "revolution of our times," which are slogans considered problematic under China's national security law, which was imposed by Beijing in Hong Kong in the wake of the unrest, according to the South China Morning Post.