Glory to Hong Kong (protest song)

Yes. Since 8 May 2024, Glory to Hong Kong has been effectively banned in Hong Kong. The city’s Court of Appeal granted the government an injunction against broadcasting, performing, publishing or sharing the 2019 protest song with seditious intent. It was the first song banned in Hong Kong since the 1997 handover to China.

The song

Glory to Hong Kong was written during the huge 2019 pro-democracy protests by a composer known as “Thomas”, with lyrics shaped by users of the online forum LIHKG. It was released on YouTube in August 2019 and quickly became the movement’s anthem, sung in shopping malls and at football matches. At several international sporting events, it was mistakenly played instead of China’s national anthem, and online searches for Hong Kong’s anthem often showed it first.

The court battle

In June 2023, the government asked the High Court for an injunction. The judge refused, saying a ban could have a “chilling effect” on innocent people. The government appealed, and on 8 May 2024 three Court of Appeal judges overturned that decision. They described the song as a “weapon” that could be used against the government and said the injunction was needed to persuade online platforms to remove it.

What the injunction covers

The order targets the song when it is shared with seditious intent, with intent to incite secession, or to insult China’s national anthem. It does not stop lawful uses such as academic research and news reporting. Even so, the practical effect has been broad. A week after the ruling, Radio Free Asia reported that YouTube had geoblocked 32 videos of the song for viewers in Hong Kong, and versions later disappeared from Apple Music and Spotify.

Part of a wider crackdown

The ban followed the 2020 national security law and a 2020 law that made insulting China’s national anthem a crime.

China cut off Instagram during the 2014 Hong Kong protests, and keeps YouTube blocked on the mainland. See the Hong Kong page for more.