2 more incidents emerge of Hong Kong protest song mixed up with Chinese national anthem at rugby matches
- ‘March of the Volunteers’ was correctly played at Rugby World Cup event in Dubai earlier this month, but broadcast titled song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ at bottom of screen
- Same incorrect graphic used in broadcast of match between Hong Kong and Tonga on July 23, city’s Rugby Union says
The Chinese national anthem was mixed up with a Hong Kong protest song at two more sporting events overseas, it emerged on Saturday, less than a week after a similar blunder in South Korea angered the city’s government and sparked a police investigation.
A video clip posted on a popular sports streaming site showed the city’s rugby team standing on the pitch in a Dubai stadium before a match with Portugal on November 6 as “March of the Volunteers” played, but the TV broadcaster carrying the game gave the title of the song at the bottom of the screen as “Glory to Hong Kong”. The song, often heard during the anti-government protests in 2019, was also labelled as Hong Kong’s national anthem.
Competition organiser World Rugby attributed the error to a “graphics operator” and apologised for the mistake, the Hong Kong Rugby Union on Saturday said.
The same incorrect graphic was also used by World Rugby’s broadcast production crew in its coverage of a match between Hong Kong and Tonga at the Sunshine Coast Stadium, north of Brisbane, on July 23, the union added.
“Playing or labelling the national anthem of China incorrectly is both disrespectful and hurtful to the people of Hong Kong and the nation, and the [union] has again expressed its extreme dissatisfaction with World Rugby for this serious error,” it said.
“The [union] has since requested a detailed timeline and explanation from World Rugby, as well as a formal apology from the global body to the government and people of Hong Kong.”
The union had threatened to pull out of matches in the future if such blunders continued after “Glory to Hong Kong” was played instead of “March of the Volunteers” when the city’s team took to the field for the final in Incheon against host South Korea last Sunday. Asia Rugby, the organiser of the tournament, admitted on Tuesday it had failed to send a recording of the national anthem to its partners in Korea, and insisted the incident was an honest mistake with no “malicious” intent.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Saturday once again expressed his dissatisfaction over such mix-ups.