Hong Kong Calls For Investigation As Korean Rugby 7s Play Pro-democracy Protest Song Instead Of Anthem

The unofficial anthem of the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protest movement was played in place of China’s national anthem at South Korea’s Rugby 7 on Sunday, prompting the Hong Kong government to call for a “full investigation”.

Hong Kong rugby players were left petrified as a protest anthem was played in place of the national anthem in Korea. Photo: Rugby7s screenshot via YouTube.

“Glory to Hong Kong” was heard at Incheon stadium during the men’s final between Hong Kong and South Korea instead of “March of the Volunteers” – the anthem the city shares with China.

“The national anthem is a symbol of our country. The organizer of the tournament has a duty to ensure that the national anthem receives the respect it deserves,” a government spokesman said in a press release on Monday. They added: “[W]We wrote to the Hong Kong Rugby Union last night urging them to look into this matter seriously, launch a full and thorough investigation and provide a detailed report and convey our strong objection to Asia Rugby, the organizer of the series. “

According to the government, Asia Rugby have already apologized, saying a junior staffer made a mistake and the Hong Kong team provided the correct anthem. When Glory to Hong Kong was played, the Hong Kong team tried to sound the alarm and – later – the organizers made a public announcement to apologize. The correct anthem was played at the awards ceremony.

The footage was widely circulated online overnight, with the Hong Kong team appearing petrified when the song aired. Asia Rugby appears to have removed its live stream of the event.

protest anthem

The government said the song was “closely linked to violent protests and the ‘independence’ movement in 2019”. Although the protests attracted a handful of pro-independence activists, that was not one of the demands of the movement.

The sports federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, echoed the government’s condemnation in a statement Monday, saying: “The national anthem is a symbol of the country, the playing and singing of the national anthem is a solemn ceremony. Athletes representing Hong Kong, China in international games and competitions must fully reflect this spirit to uphold the dignity of the national anthem.”

Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Rugby Union said in a statement: “The HKRU has expressed its extreme dissatisfaction with this incident and has received a full explanation of the circumstances leading up to it. While we accept that this was a case of human error, it was still unacceptable.”

Authorities have refused to say if the song is illegal, despite it being banned in schools and police having intervened when it is played in public.

In June 2019, protests broke out against an extradition law that has since been scrapped. They escalated into sometimes violent demonstrations of dissent against police behavior amid calls for democracy and anger at Beijing’s interference. Protesters called for an independent investigation into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and an end to protesters being classified as “riots”.

Hong Kong’s national anthem law criminalizing insults to the “March of the Volunteers” was enacted domestically on June 4, 2020 – violators face fines of up to HK$50,000 or three years in prison. Last week, a citizen journalist became the first to be jailed under the law.