Hong Kong soccer fans risk paying penalty on Chinese national anthem law
- Disrespect for the Chinese anthem is a regular affair among some sections of the crowd at international soccer matches in Hong Kong
- Proposed law will make insulting anthem a crime, but what will happen if thousands boo song together or turn their backs on national flag?
Soccer inevitably comes up when experts discuss Hong Kong’s proposed law which will introduce penalties for insulting China’s national anthem.
One soccer match in particular, on November 17, 2015, stands out. It was during the World Cup qualifiers, with Hong Kong facing China at a packed Mong Kok Stadium, and the Chinese anthem was played.
As the rousing strains of March of the Volunteers picked up, some spectators began booing and chanting: “We are Hong Kong!” and “Hong Kong superb!”
Some unfurled banners with slogans such as “Hong Kong is not China” while others held up signs which said: “Boo.”
The match ended in a 0-0 draw, but the protest during the Chinese anthem made headlines beyond Hong Kong.
What a contrast it was with the scenes when Hong Kong faced Japan on December 12, 2009. That was the soccer final of the 2009 East Asian Games, and nearly 32,000 fans turned up at Hong Kong Stadium in Happy Valley.