Hong Kong News
Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Wednesday, Feb 05, 2025
Real, Diverse, Unbiased.
Another national anthem blunder sees HK athlete intervene with ‘T-sign’
There's been another case of a banned 2019 protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong” being wrongly played instead of China’s national anthem at an international sporting event involving a Hong Kong athlete - in which the athlete intervened by making a “T-sign” this time.
The second mix-up came as weight lifter Susanna Lin won gold on Thursday at the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
After the protest anthem was being played for 15 seconds, Lin made the “T-sign” to signal there was a problem with the song played. Organizers then played the national anthem correctly.
The “T-sign” was one of the measures listed on a guideline issued earlier by the Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee on how athletes should react if there were problems with the national anthem and the regional flag - including leaving the venue if the problem isn't rectified immediately.
The sports body said the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Powerlifting Association had provided organizers with the correct version of the national anthem, also noted that the athlete and team manager had responded in a timely and appropriate manner during the incident as they had notified the organizers to make a correction.
The sports body also urged the association to follow up on the incident with the organizer and the Asian Powerlifting Federation to find out the cause of the mistake.
The SAR government said in a statement on Friday that it strongly deplores and opposes playing of the wrong national anthem at the powerlifting competition, and has requested the Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee to submit a report in due course.
The statement also affirmed representatives of Hong Kong at the venue for preserving the dignity of China.
After the protest anthem was being played for 15 seconds, Lin made the “T-sign” to signal there was a problem with the song played. Organizers then played the national anthem correctly.
The “T-sign” was one of the measures listed on a guideline issued earlier by the Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee on how athletes should react if there were problems with the national anthem and the regional flag - including leaving the venue if the problem isn't rectified immediately.
The sports body said the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Powerlifting Association had provided organizers with the correct version of the national anthem, also noted that the athlete and team manager had responded in a timely and appropriate manner during the incident as they had notified the organizers to make a correction.
The sports body also urged the association to follow up on the incident with the organizer and the Asian Powerlifting Federation to find out the cause of the mistake.
The SAR government said in a statement on Friday that it strongly deplores and opposes playing of the wrong national anthem at the powerlifting competition, and has requested the Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee to submit a report in due course.
The statement also affirmed representatives of Hong Kong at the venue for preserving the dignity of China.
