A pro-democracy protest anthem well-known in Hong Kong has been removed from streaming platforms including iTunes and Spotify after the government sued to ban the song’s public performance.
The song “Glory to Hong Kong” was written and popularized during the massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Hong Kong authorities have been enraged by blunders at international sporting events in recent months, when the title was played for the city’s athletes in place of the Chinese national anthem, the “March of the Volunteers,” which the area has been using since it was handed over to China in 1997.
After Beijing enacted a draconian national security law to crack down on dissenters in the southern Chinese territory in 2020, city authorities felt the song promoted separatist ideas and was banned in schools.
Last week, the government took a further step by asking Hong Kong courts to ban Glory to Hong Kong, a lawsuit set to be heard next month.
As of Friday, the song was no longer available on Spotify or iTunes streaming platforms, but some versions were still available on YouTube.
After the anthem was removed from Spotify on Wednesday, its anonymous creator DGX Music reported on Facebook that they were facing “technical issues unrelated to streaming platforms.”
Spotify told local media that the song has been removed from its distributors, not the platform.
Last week, the pro-democracy song topped local iTunes downloads for several days after the government called for a ban.
Apple was contacted by AFP and did not immediately respond.
Hong Kong authorities have also been attacking search engine Google, which displays “Glory to Hong Kong” in its search results, for several months, which they say is helping to perpetuate the confusion.
In December 2022, the tech company said it hadn’t tampered with search results and declined to comply with Hong Kong government demands to prevent the song from appearing at the top instead of the Beijing anthem.
Under the National Security Law, Hong Kong police can order online platforms to remove information deemed “dangerous to national security”.
Any non-compliance or refusal to comply is punishable by six months in prison and a maximum fine of HK$100,000 (€11,700).