Hong Kong’s justice department has applied for a court injunction to crack down on the playing of the song Glory to Hong Kong, which was widely sung during 2019 anti-government protests and has been at the center of a national anthem scandal.
The Asian finance hub is seeking to ban the distribution and dissemination of the song — both its lyrics and melody — in any way that could be construed to have seditious intent, according to a government statement released Tuesday.
It also seeks a ban on playing, singing or disseminating the song, including on “any internet-based platform or medium,” if it is likely to insult or be mistaken for China’s national anthem.
The government is still awaiting directions from the court on their application and a hearing date has not yet been fixed, the statement said.
The injunction application comes after Glory to Hong Kong was played in place of China’s national anthem March of the Volunteers at a string of international sporting events.
Read More: Tiananmen Crackdown Taboo Topic in Hong Kong on Anniversary
The incidents sparked a showdown between city officials and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, after it emerged that searching for “Hong Kong national anthem” online — which a sporting official was said to have done when selecting anthems to be played ahead of a match — returned Glory to Hong Kong as the top search result.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee last year said that Google had a “moral obligation” to stop the pro-democracy song from appearing in its search engine.
Hong Kong passed a law in June 2020 banning insults to China’s national anthem, with offenders facing jail time of up to three years.
The injunction “pursues the legitimate aim of safeguarding national security,” a government spokesman said, adding that the acts outlined may constitute criminal offenses and people “should not take their chances and attempt to break the law.”
