The government is “anxious” to see Google’s response to its request to remove a protest song – Glory to Hong Kong – from their platforms, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam has said.
Lam, talking on Commercial Radio on Sunday, said the government had informed Google about an injunction order, after a court banned people from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing” the song with seditious intent.
The Court of Appeal sided with the government in its attempt to ban protest song Glory to Hong Kong last Wednesday, overturning last year’s decision by a lower court that cited free speech concerns.
Lam told reporters soon after the judgement that authorities will communicate with internet service providers to “request or demand them to remove relevant content in accordance with the injunction order. “
“Now the court order clearly defined utilising this song with the intent of sedition is illegal, its very clear. [People often ask] what the red line is. Now the court hastold you,” Lam said in Cantonese, adding, “Along with all Hongkongers, all Chinese, we eagerly expect Google to respond to us. “
“You might remember that, in November 2022, we reached out to some internet service providers [asking them to remove the song] at that time – they said there was no court order, ” Lam said, “Now there it is. We are anxiously waiting for Google to get back to us as to whether it will keep its word.”
The Asia Internet Coalition, a group that counts Google, Meta and Spotify among its members, told HKFP last Wednesday that it was assessing the implications of the decision and how the injunction will be implemented.
“We believe that a free and open internet is fundamental to the city’s ambitions to become an international technology and innovation hub,” the coalition told HKFP.
As of Monday, there are still different versions of the song available on YouTube and the Google search engine
HKFP has Asia Internet Coalition for updates.
Gov’t campaign against the song
Glory to Hong Kong was released on YouTube by a local songwriter named “Thomas,” and his team, on August 31, 2019 – during the height of the citywide pro-democracy demonstrations and unrest. It was swiftly popularised among protesters and democrats.
Its lyrics incorporate the now-illegal key protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” which has been declared by the government as “pro-independence.”
Authorities rolled out a campaign against the song starting in November 2022, when when Glory to Hong Kong was played at a Rugby Sevens game in South Korea. It emerged that an intern reportedly downloaded it from the internet, mistakenly thinking it was Hong Kong’s national anthem.
Hong Kong uses China’s “March of the Volunteers” as its anthem.
The government later demanded it be removed from Google’s internet search results and other content-sharing platforms such as YouTube — a request that has been largely ignored.
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said last July that Google had not acceded to the city’s request to remove Glory to Hong Kong from its search results.
“Google said you must have evidence to prove that [the song] violated local laws, that [we] needed a court order,” Sun said. “Very well, since you brought up a legal issue, let’s use legal means to solve the problem.”
Not a ‘forbidden’ song
Speaking on Commercial Radio on Sunday, Lam said that – even though the court had issued a ban on certain acts linked to the song – it should not be regarded as a “forbidden song.”
“We should not use the term ‘forbidden song.’ The ban targets acts which utilise the song to fight for Hong Kong independence… as a weapon praise of violence and the pursual of Hong Kong independence, ” Lam claimed.
He added that the media can still report news of the song and scholars can research it, “such as how it promoted Hong Kong independence.”
Whilst pro-independence protesters were spotted during the 2019 demonstrations, neither the song’s lyrics – nor the movement’s official demands – mention independence for the city.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
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