Hong Kong’s justice secretary announced on Monday that the government would appeal a recent high court judgment rejecting its bid to obtain a legal injunction banning the popular protest song, “Glory to Hong Kong.”
The high court judge, Anthony Chan, dismissed the government’s application on July 28, citing concerns that prohibiting the song’s playing and distribution could impede freedom of expression and have potential “chilling effects.”
However, the Department of Justice spokesperson stated that an appeal was necessary to safeguard national security, arguing that the song had been utilized to incite secession and sedition.
The injunction request was prompted by instances where “Glory to Hong Kong” was mistakenly played at international sporting events instead of China’s national anthem, “March of the Volunteers.”
As a Chinese territory since its return from British rule in 1997, Hong Kong does not have its own anthem and uses China’s anthem. The city’s justice secretary is obligated to safeguard national security and preserve the dignity of the National Anthem, according to the Department of Justice.
The protest song gained significant popularity during the city’s pro-democracy protests in 2019, but it was subsequently banned at schools after China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong as part of a crackdown on dissent.
In another effort to suppress the song’s presence, Hong Kong officials pressured Google to display China’s anthem rather than “Glory to Hong Kong” in search results for the city’s national anthem, but the technology giant refused to comply.
