Websites showing correct information linking the Chinese national anthem and Hong Kong have climbed Google’s search rankings after authorities optimised web pages in a bid to prevent further blunders, according to the city’s technology minister. Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong on Sunday said official web pages with the Chinese national anthem correctly listed for searches about Hong Kong had risen in Google rankings after modifications were made to government websites. “Our colleagues at the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer have done a lot of work recently on search engine optimisation. The ranking of websites that reflect the correct information has been greatly improved,” Sun said. Hong Kong sports body, ice hockey team clash over national anthem blunder A song linked to the 2019 protests, “Glory to Hong Kong”, has been played instead of the Chinese national anthem, “March of the Volunteers”, at several sports events overseas. The latest incident took place at the Ice Hockey World Championships Division III last month after the city’s team won a match held in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A Google search by the Post on Sunday with the phrase “Hong Kong national anthem” still found the protest song listed as the top three entries, followed by the webpage of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau introducing the Chinese national flag, emblem and anthem “March of the Volunteers”. When the Post searched for “Hong Kong national anthem” in Chinese on Google, the protest song still occupied the top three positions, while the web pages of the Education Bureau and Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau were placed eighth and ninth, respectively. Sun expressed regret that Google, as an internationally renowned internet search provider, had still failed to rectify the problem. He said the company should fulfil its corporate responsibility to ensure it provided users with correct information on the internet. “We notice there is still plenty of obviously wrong information on Google, for example it clearly defines a 2019 protest song as the Hong Kong national anthem, which is obviously far from the facts,” Sun said. “Putting wrong information on the website violates Google’s policies and it may continue to be used by others,” he added. Hong Kong must get Google to fix national anthem results problem: sports body Sun stressed the government had been keeping in close communication with the firm, maintaining “utmost patience, sincerity and professionalism” to resolve the issue. “We have been in negotiation many times hoping it would remove the wrong information, but it is regrettable that it has not taken corresponding measures,” Sun said. The minister also mentioned the mainland would share data and technological resources with the city to strengthen cooperation in science and research. He was referring to a new arrangement signed last Wednesday with China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. “We are also considering administrative and legislative measures to regulate how Hong Kong uses the mainland data,” Sun said on a radio programme on Sunday. The agreement aims to promote talent flow, the sharing of resources and the transfer of technologies. It also looks to strengthen a coordination mechanism between the mainland and Hong Kong. “It’s the first important agreement signed after the ‘two sessions’ meeting, which reflects the great importance attached by the central government and the special administrative region government to the development of innovation and technology,” he said. The two sessions, held earlier this month, are the annual meetings of the country’s top political advisory body and legislature. Hong Kong man denies national anthem insult after use of protest song on Olympics video Sun said the ministry had stressed that Hong Kong’s scientific and technological edge was an important part of the country’s strength in those areas, and the city should speed up the construction of an international innovation and technology hub. The construction of the first three buildings of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop would be finished by the end of 2024, he said, adding that the bureau had planned to start attracting investment this year. “Apart from life and health technology, some companies specialising in artificial intelligence and data science have shown interest because they can enjoy the convenience of obtaining data in both places. Some of them are new energy and advanced manufacturing enterprises,” he said.