Hongkongers must stop walking and stand still for China’s national anthem, Beijing delegate says

Comment goes beyond that of Basic Law Committee head who days earlier urged respect for the tune when it is played at sporting events

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Pedestrians walks on street in Central. Will they stop if they hear the national anthem? Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 12:00pm, 4 Nov 2017Updated: 5:12pm, 4 Nov 2017

Hongkongers will have to stop walking and stand still when the national anthem plays in public, a local deputy to China’s top legislative body said on Saturday, just hours before the mainland law was set to be introduced into the city’s mini-constitution.

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee was poised to vote on whether to introduce the national anthem law into Hong Kong’s Basic Law at 3pm on Saturday.

The local law would only regulate conduct in public settings, such as this flag-raising ceremony in Wan Chai. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

If the resolution passes as expected, the city’s officials will need to introduce a local version of the law and get it through the Legislative Council.

“When the law takes effect, [people] have to stand up and show respect when the national anthem is played. That’s for sure,” Ip Kwok-him, a Hong Kong deputy to the national body and an executive councillor, said on Saturday.

When the law takes effect, [people] have to stand up and show respect

Ip Kwok-him, executive councillor

“Someone asked whether people who are walking have to stop. Yes, just stop,” he said during an appearance on a local radio programme. Ip drew from his personal experience in Thailand, saying that pedestrians could be expected to stand still when the national anthem plays there.

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