Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Monday, Mar 27, 2023

Criticism surges as protest song played in Asian Rugby Seven

Criticism surges as protest song played in Asian Rugby Seven

Pro-establishments politicians strongly criticised the protest song played in place of the Chinese national anthem during the Asia Rugby Seven in South Korea on Sunday. Some even slammed the Hong Kong team should be "dismissed".
Glory to Hong Kong, a song written in the city's 2019 protest, was played on Sunday during the match between Hong Kong and South Korea at the Asian Rugby Sevens in Incheon.

"The organisers initially played incorrect music for Hong Kong. This was brought to their attention and an apology was announced after the game," The Hong Kong Rugby Union said on Monday.

The Union said that the mistake was caused by human error of junior staff, and Asia Rugby has sincerely apologised. "The HKRU expressed its extreme dissatisfaction at this occurrence," the Union added, "The HKRU has registered our deepest concern and regret over this incident."

Asia Rugby said the error was a mistake as it issued an apology to both the Hong Kong and Chinese governments. "The incident happened due to a simple human error from a junior member of the local organising committee, playing a song downloaded from the internet instead of the correct anthem," the tournament organisers said.

The Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong said in a statement the explanation given by the organizer was “unacceptable.”

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said police would probe into whether the incident had constituted a breach of the National Anthem Ordinance or other local laws. Chief Secretary Eric Chan also met with South Korea's top diplomat in the city to condemn the incident and requested the Korean side to investigate the matter, Lee added.

Lawmaker Brave Chan Yung slammed the government's failure to implement a mechanism for athletes to respond to "deliberate or unintentional insulting" during competitions.

"There is no excuse for playing a song involved with violent protest," he said, "since China enjoys a high reputation over the world."

"Members of the teams showed no response during the incident," said lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, "which is a humiliation to our country." He even said the only solution is to dissolve the Hong Kong rugby team.

"The act was definitely not unintentional," said Ronny Tong Ka-wah, senior counsel and a government adviser on Hong Kong's Executive Council.

One who conducted this act has committed offences of "secession or collusion with foreign force" under the Hong Kong National Security Law, he claimed, or conspiracy to violate the city's National Anthem Ordinance.

The National Anthem Ordinance was in force in June 2020. Any conduct involving insulting the Chinese national anthem will lead to three-year imprisonment after conviction.

On November 10 this year, a local male journalist was sentenced to three months in jail after pleading guilty to waiving a British Hong Kong flag while the Chinese national anthem was playing at a match of the Tokyo Olympics.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
Close
0:00
0:00
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Overhaul Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Bordeaux town hall set on fire in France pro democracy protest
Police violence in Paris
Paris: Some of the police are stepping down and showing solidarity with the protesters.
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Goldman Sachs cuts outlook for European bank debt over Credit Suisse crisis
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
The US government has charged Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with leading a $1 billion fraud scheme that cheated thousands of followers out of their money.
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
The BBC problem about China
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
"Will Fly Wherever International Law Allows": US Warns Russia After Drone Incident
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Announcing GPT-4
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
China is calling out the US, UK, and Australia on their submarine pact, claiming they are going further down a dangerous road
A brief banking situation report
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
'No relation to the American SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion.
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Saudi Arabia has announced a major breakthrough in diplomacy with Iran after two years of intense talks
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
Silicon Valley Bank: Struggles Threaten Tech Startup Ecosystem"
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
2 universities in Hong Kong embrace use of ChatGPT, other AI tools
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Missing Chinese banker was working to set up Singapore family office
Hong Kong ditches Covid mask mandate after 945 days
Xi Jinping and His Wife Meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
×