Hong Kong’s netizens could soon be facing another blow to freedom of expression, as mainland authorities are set to pass a draft Chinese National Anthem Law that would legally bar people from revising the lyrics of March of the Volunteers or even singing it in a way deemed derogatory.
The proposed law was given a second reading yesterday by authorities, and the National People’s Congress Standing Committee is expected to discuss the draft law when members meet in October. However, there is no clear date on when the law will be passed.
Under the proposed legislation, anyone who maliciously amends the lyrics of the Chinese national anthem, sings it in a derogatory way, or uses it in any way to attempt to discredit the song, will face up to 15 days in detention and could be held criminally responsible. The law would also ban the playing of the anthem for any commercial purpose or at private funerals. During the second reading yesterday, the mainland authorities also suggested upping the punishments for repeat offenders.
Once the national law has been passed by the Committee, it can be announced and implemented by the Hong Kong government, or submitted to the Legislative Council for further examinations before being put into Annex III of the Basic Law.
If the law is made effective in Hong Kong, soccer fans will no longer legally be allowed to boo during the anthem.
FIFA fined Hong Kong’s soccer governing body in 2015 after fans booed and put up derogatory signs when the anthem was played at the World Cup qualifiers between Hong Kong and China at Mong Kok Stadium.
If the national anthem law had a retroactive effect, many local pop singers as well as film writers could be held responsible, as March of the Volunteers is often used in pop culture productions.
Canton-pop singer Leon Lai’s 2000 song “All Day Love,” features snippets rom the Chinese national anthem.
Hong Kong singer Hacken Lee’s song “Adventure of Football Fans,” meanwhile, released in 1998, contains several lines of the lyrics from March of the Volunteers.
The mainland authorities are allowed to add additional laws to Annex III of the Hong Kong’s mini-constitution. In the 20 years since the 1997 handover, several laws, including ones involving the national flag, national emblem, the garrisoning of Hong Kong, and regulations concerning consular privileges and immunities, have been added to the list.
But Legislative Councillor Tanya Chan said regulations over the anthem were very different from those for the national flag, HK01 reports. While there is only one way to display the national flag, she said, the national anthem can be played in many different versions and performed in various ways depending on the instruments used and the scale of the performance. Meanwhile, she expressed concerns over people’s rights and freedoms once the law is implemented.
“Hong Kong enjoys a very high degree of freedom of creation. It would be very difficult to execute if the regulations are too strict,” she said.
University of Hong Kong law expert Eric Cheung said if the Chinese national anthem law were to be enforced in Hong Kong, the local government will need to “make a huge effort” to make the mainland law “applicable” in the city as the judicial systems and legal languages in Hong Kong and the mainland are completely different.
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