Hong Kong’s government yesterday said that it is seeking a court order to prohibit people from broadcasting or distributing the protest song Glory to Hong Kong after it was played as the territory’s anthem at several international sporting events in the past year.
The Hong Kong Department of Justice said in a statement that it had applied for an injunction on Monday to prohibit unlawful acts relating to the song, which became an unofficial anthem for protests in 2019.
The department said that it is awaiting court direction and for a hearing date to be fixed.
Photo: AFP
The lyrics of the song contain slogans that have been ruled by the court as “constituting secession” and it is highly likely that the song would continue to be widely used given that it had been mistakenly played as Hong Kong’s anthem instead of China’s national anthem, March of the Volunteers, The government said.
In 2020, the government outlawed the protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” for being secessionist and subversive. The Glory to Hong Kong lyrics contain parts of the slogan and was therefore widely considered to be banned.
Hong Kong wanted to prohibit anyone from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing in any way” the protest song, or any adaptations of it that are substantially similar to the original in melody and lyrics.
The injunction targets anyone who uses Glory to Hong Kong to advocate for the separation of Hong Kong from China.
In a statement attached to the injunction, the Hong Kong government said that it “respects and values the rights and freedoms protected by the Basic Law, but freedom of speech is not absolute.”
“The application pursues the legitimate aim of safeguarding national security and is necessary, reasonable, legitimate and consistent with the Bill of Rights,” the statement read.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
RSS