Organizers of a South Korean regional rugby tournament have apologized for misinterpreting the anthem of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters as China’s national anthem.
“Glory to Hong Kong,” whose lyrics call for democracy and freedom, was played ahead of the men’s final between South Korea and Hong Kong in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Sunday.
The music video composed by a local musician and sung by protesters during the 2019 anti-government protests has gone viral on Hong Kong social media.
The Hong Kong government issued a statement on Monday expressing its outrage over the incident. “The national anthem is a symbol of our country. The tournament organizer has a duty to ensure that the national anthem receives the respect it deserves,” a government spokesman said.
The Seoul-based Korean Rugby Union justified the case with human error and said it was not politically motivated.
Officials later apologized to the Asian Rugby Union, as well as the authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China.
The organizers issued an apology in Korean and English at the stadium after the game, and the official Chinese national anthem was played for the winning team from Hong Kong during the award ceremony.
The song was accidentally chosen from a computer file folder labeled “Hong Kong” that had been mistakenly saved without anyone realizing that it was associated with pro-democracy protesters.
In 2019, thousands of Hong Kong soccer fans booed the Chinese national anthem when it was played before a World Cup qualifier. The crowd started chanting “Glory to Hong Kong” at the event.
In September, a man paying tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside the British consulate in Hong Kong was arrested for alleged sedition. local media reported that he had played songs on a harmonica including “Glory to Hong Kong”.
Source: TSF
