British lawyer Michael Vidler knows the song “Glory to Hong Kong” well. The Briton lived in the former British colony for 30 years, he was not in the habit of going to protests, but he defended several activists and remembers causing panic in the family.
“Before I left Hong Kong forever, I remember walking through the streets whistling the song, because it’s a song that sticks in your ears. And my children were worried. They thought they were going to arrest me. This is the point where that repression has reached Hong Kong,” he says.
“Glory to Hong Kong” has an unknown author. contains slogans banned by the government and verses from a forum online in the 2019 protests.
For the authorities, the song incites sedition and secession, but the human rights defender replies: “This anthem is about democracy. It has nothing to do with secession from China. It is asking for more democracy for Hong Kong”.
The song was mistakenly used in international competitions, such as the ice hockey World Cup, instead of the Chinese anthem.
“When these bugs appeared in international stadiums, the Hong Kong and Chinese governments were horrified. And for this reason, they have now taken the extraordinary step of trying to ban the reproduction of this anthem on the Internet throughout the world”, stresses Michael Vidler.
After the government injunction, the song became the most searched term on Google for “Hong Kong national anthem” and became the most popular song on Spotify.
The British lawyer confesses that he was not surprised by the defiant response of the population to the Government’s intentions. Vidler describes the ‘honkongers‘ as “ingenious” and “creative”, but warns that the dangers are real, after the entry into force of the National Security Law.
“If they play the music and the authorities know who these people are, even those who are abroad, when they enter China or Hong Kong, they risk arrest. That’s the threat. How are they going to police searches in Google or the transmission on YouTube? Nobody knows”, highlights the lawyer, who also refers to the existence of red lines.
In order for authorities to remove any reference to the subject from the Internet, the tech giants would have to agree to remove music from search engines and servers worldwide. But Michael Vidler stresses that it would not be the first time that the Chinese government has succeeded in applying pressure.
“They were already very determined to force the definition of Taiwan on international bodies that had an independent designation for the island. And many companies or even states gave in to the threats. That’s the big concern: whether big business is going to cave. or if they are going to do it under pressure from the governments of Hong Kong and China ”, he underlines.
Pending further developments, the lawyer believes that the unofficial anthem “Glory to Hong Kong” will continue to play.
even if it’s clandestine.
Source: TSF
