Popular protest song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ banned after previous court ruling overturned
- ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ had become ‘weapon’ that could be used to arouse anti-government and separatist sentiment, Court of Appeal rules
- Justice minister says he believes internet platform operators will comply with court order to remove content related to song, but tune still widely available, Post finds
A Hong Kong appellate court has banned the distribution of a protest song popular during the 2019 anti-government unrest, quashing an earlier judgment and ruling in favour of the justice secretary.
The judges said on Wednesday they allowed the appeal and granted the interim injunction sought by Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok last year given the song, “Glory to Hong Kong”, had become a “weapon” that could be used to arouse anti-government and separatist sentiment.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu welcomed the ruling, saying it would safeguard national security, while the foreign ministry described the ban as a “legitimate and necessary” measure to protect the state.
Secretary Lam said he believed that internet platform operators, such as Google, would comply with the court order to remove content related to the song, widely considered the unofficial anthem of the protests triggered by a now-shelved extradition bill.
Google said it was reviewing the judgment.
But hours after the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the afternoon, a Post check of several online platforms, including Google, YouTube and Apple’s iTunes, found search results for the song and options to play or download it.