A man was left bloodied in a Kowloon Bay mall last night after defiantly belting out the Chinese national anthem as a throng around him conducted a sing-along of the newly minted Hong Kong protest anthem Glory To Hong Kong.
According to Apple Daily, similar sing-alongs were held in multiple location last night including Kowloon Bay, Aberdeen, Sai Wan, Diamond Hill, Sha Tin, Yau Tong, Tai Kok Tsui, Tsuen Wan, Whampoa, and To Kwa Wan.
At the Kowloon Bay edition, about a hundred people had gathered at the Amoy Garden shopping mall at 7pm to sing the new anthem — which was unleashed on the world by an anonymous LIHKG user last week.
All was going about how you’d expect until a middle-aged man wearing a gray T-shirt and glasses, and holding a baby in his arms, began loudly singing March of the Volunteers. At about 40 minutes and 40 seconds into the Apple Daily video below, you can see an angry crowd begin to gather around the soloist, who at one point pulls out his phone to film the crowd.
The man, later identified as a 40-year-old surnamed Lee, continues to sing as the increasingly agitated crowd chants “go back to the mainland” and “pack it up.” The baby, blessedly, seems unaware of what’s unfolding. The same, unfortunately, can’t be said for two older children he has in tow, both of whom appeared mortified and more than a little frightened.
A few people in black shirts can initially be seen trying to maintain calm, while some in the crowd can also be seen attempting to comfort the children, who by now are in tears.
At about the 56-minute mark, a scuffle breaks out between the man and some of the protesters. While it wasn’t entirely clear from the video who struck first, the man in gray is later seen with a cut just under his right eye.
An ambulance arrived at the scene shortly afterwards, transporting the man to United Christian Hospital with injuries to his face and mouth, HK01 reports.
Police told the outlet that no arrests have been made, but that the suspects include five men who were wearing black shirts and trousers at the time. The case is being investigated as an assault by the criminal investigation team of the Sau Mau Ping Police District.
There were similar scenes this afternoon when pro-Beijing and pro-democracy supporters got into an anthem battle at the IFC mall in Central.
Pro-Beijing supporters were seen inside the mall waving the flag of the People’s Republic of China, and singing the Chinese national anthem along with other patriotic songs such as Ode To The Motherland (see below.)
https://twitter.com/FreedomLee10/status/1172017813839433728
Pro-democracy supporters also turned up in huge numbers to out-sing the pro-Beijing side with Glory To Hong Kong.
At IFC mall, the 1st anthem battle: a bunch of pro-CCP uncles showed up w a big PRC flag. They were surrounded, outnumbered & outsung by #HK patriots with ‘Glory to Hong Kong’. pic.twitter.com/UdomTD5NSW
— Brian Kern / Kong Tsung-gan / 江松澗 (@KongTsungGan) September 12, 2019
While only about a week old, Glory To Hong Kong has quickly been adopted by anti-government protesters as an “unofficial national anthem” for Hong Kong and shown up in public settings like football matches.
Yesterday, protesters dropped a video of a philharmonic arrangement complete with a choir and orchestra dressed in protest gear, and also SFX tear gas at the song’s climax.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUIDL4SB60g&feature=youtu.be
