The ruling also means that the song may no longer be distributed or reproduced on internet-based platforms.
An appeal court in Hong Kong has banned a popular song written during pro-democracy protests on Chinese territory in 2019.
Wednesday’s ban on “Glory to Hong Kong” came as the territory’s authorities sought to remove the song from internet search results and content-sharing platforms.
The popular song features defiant lyrics, including the central protest slogan, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time.” It was later mistakenly played as Hong Kong’s anthem at international sporting events instead of China’s March of the Volunteers, causing confusion that angered the city government.
Judge Jeremy Poon, ruling in favor of the Hong Kong government, wrote Wednesday that the song’s composer “intended it to be a ‘weapon,’ and that is what it has become.” The song had been used as “impetus for the violent protests in Hong Kong since 2019,” he said, citing its power to “arouse emotions among certain sections of society.”
He said an injunction was necessary to stop a range of actions, including the broadcast and performance of the song “with criminal intent”, and to persuade internet platform operators to remove “the problematic videos related to the song” from their platforms to remove.
The ban would target anyone who broadcasts or distributes the song to advocate for Hong Kong’s separation from China. It would also prohibit any actions that misrepresent the song as the national anthem with the intent to insult the anthem. However, it would exclude legitimate journalistic and academic activities.
Critics say banning the song’s broadcast or distribution further restricts freedom of expression since China cracked down on protests in Hong Kong in 2019.
They have also warned that the ban could hurt the operations of tech giants and hurt the city’s attractiveness as a business hub.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Glory to Hong Kong, whose artist is known as “Thomas and the Hong Kong People,” was still available on Spotify and Apple Music in English and Cantonese. A search on YouTube for the song also revealed several videos and interpretations.
Google, Spotify and Apple did not immediately comment.
The Hong Kong government went to court last year after Google resisted pressure to display the Chinese national anthem as the top result in searches for the city’s anthem instead of the protest song. But a lower court rejected the government’s initial offer last July.
In its appeal, the government argued that the court should allow a measure to be taken if the executive branch deemed it necessary unless it believed it would have no impact, according to a legal document on the government’s website.
The government had already asked schools to ban the protest song on campus.
It had previously said it respected the freedoms protected by the city’s constitution, “but freedom of expression is not absolute.”