Journalists to be exempt from ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ ban if government wins legal bid
- Journalists will be allowed to report on, refer to or make observations about song in course of news gathering, interviews and commentaries
- Exemption also covers publication of articles, programmes, posts or tweets on online platforms for journalistic activities inside or outside Hong Kong
Use of the controversial protest song “Glory to Hong Kong” will be allowed in the context of news reporting even if the government wins a legal bid to ban it at a court hearing on Friday, according to the city’s largest journalist group.
The news came days before the High Court was expected to hear the government’s application for a court injunction to ban all forms of the protest song and its derivatives on Friday.
The court ban, if granted, will prevent anyone with secessionist or seditious intent or seeking to violate the national anthem law from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing” the song, including on the internet.
On Tuesday, the Hong Kong Journalists Association said it understood that the Department of Justice would include an “express exemption” for journalistic activity if its injunction application was to be granted.
“Following objections from the [association], including that the injunction failed to provide protection for journalists and the media, the Department of Justice … informed the court that it agreed to a proposal [by the association] to include an express exemption for journalistic activity, ‘the proviso’ if its injunction application is to be granted,” it said.
“The proviso will exempt from prohibition and civil proceedings any journalistic activity in relation to the song in news reporting and in publications which make observations about it in news and current affairs in or outside Hong Kong.”
As such, the association also said it had decided not to make an application to the court for the specific exemption.
Hong Kong Journalists Association may seek ban exemption for protest song
It also stressed that it had “no intention to publish or broadcast the song, nor to commit any act of sedition, secession or to insult the national anthem”.
The association last month had indicated it might seek to intervene in the legal bid and hoped to gain an exemption to use the song for media reporting, pending the outcome of the court ruling.
According to the association, the exemption will protect journalists from civil liability if they report on, refer to or make observations about the song and its elements during news gathering, interviews and in commentaries.
It also covers any publication of articles, programmes, posts or tweets on online platforms for news or current affairs purposes and related journalistic activities inside or outside Hong Kong.
Hongkongers free to speak up about proposed ban on protest song: justice chief
“Logically, previously published news, interviews and current affairs articles involving the song should also be similarly protected,” the association said.
The Post has approached the Department of Justice for comment.
Mr Justice Wilson Chan Ka-shun, recently reprimanded for plagiarism in adjudicating a civil case, was originally assigned to hear Friday’s injunction hearing.
But the judiciary’s website shows the Court of First Instance judge has been relieved of the duty which has been given to Mr Justice Anthony Chan Kin-keung.
A judiciary spokesman declined to comment on the switch. He said the allocation of cases was decided based on several factors, including the nature of the proceedings, the background and expertise of individual judges and operational needs.
Hong Kong legal community urges more support for judges after chief justice criticism
Wilson Chan earlier received a rare warning from Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung for copying almost the entirety of written submissions from the winning party in his judgment in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Anthony Chan, meanwhile, was among four high-ranking judges who joined Cheung on a visit to the Greater Bay Area earlier this year in what the judiciary said was part of an ongoing exchange between local and mainland courts.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu endorsed both Chans to hear national security proceedings.
The proposed ban came after organisers of several overseas sports events had played the protest tune instead of the Chinese national anthem, “March of the Volunteers”. Most of the errors stemmed from top search results on Google for “Hong Kong national anthem”.
Hong Kong minister: bid to ban protest song sparked by Google suggestion
The Hong Kong government has asked Google to ban the song from the search engine but to no avail. Instead, the action taken against the tune appears to have generated more interest, leading to a spike in digital downloads.
Last month, the song vanished from several leading streaming services amid the government’s legal challenge. However, it returned to some platforms – including Apple Music, Spotify and KKBox – several days later as a “2023 edition”, with eight renditions available.
The song’s creator and distributor also spoke out, vowing to defend freedoms.
