Hong Kong blasts protest song replacing China national anthem at rugby final
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The song was the unofficial anthem of mass pro-democracy protests that rocked the Asian financial hub in 2019.
PHOTO: AFP
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HONG KONG – Hong Kong officials have blasted the mistaken playing of a protest song instead of the Chinese national anthem at the final of a rugby tournament in South Korea.
The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens men’s side were seen standing to attention as Glory To Hong Kong was played before their final in Incheon against South Korea on Sunday, in a screen recording of a live stream posted on the Twitter account of a local journalist.
The song was the unofficial anthem of mass pro-democracy protests that rocked the Asian financial hub in 2019.
The Hong Kong government “strongly deplores and opposes the playing of a song closely associated with violent protests”, a spokesman said in a statement.
It added that it has asked the Hong Kong Rugby Union to launch a “full and in-depth investigation” and submit a detailed report.
Asia Rugby said it “deeply regrets” the incident, which was caused by a junior staff member downloading the wrong song from the Internet, the organiser said in a statement on Monday.
The correct anthem, March Of The Volunteers, was played during the prize-giving ceremony after Hong Kong won the final, the statement said, adding that the match footage was removed from the air immediately.
The Chinese national anthem has become a symbol of Communist Party interference in recent years, and often drew boos during football matches.
In June 2020, Hong Kong passed a law carrying sentences as long as three years that banned residents from disrespecting the anthem.
Some Hong Kong legislators reacted strongly to the incident.
Ms Starry Lee, in a Facebook post, expressed “extreme dissatisfaction” with the organiser for making such a “low-level” mistake. Mr Junius Ho, also on Facebook, blasted members of the team for listening to the song, saying the “only solution is to dissolve the Hong Kong rugby team”.
The faux pas in South Korea comes just a week after Hong Kong hosted the Sevens tournament as a key part of the city’s reopening party. BLOOMBERG
