Hong Kong yesterday presented a controversial bill to lawmakers that prescribes jail terms of up to three years for disrespecting the Chinese national anthem.
Besides imprisonment, the measure would fix a maximum fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,373) for those who publicly and intentionally disrespect the March of the Volunteers.
It also extends to schoolchildren, including pupils of international schools, who would be legally required to learn the anthem.
Photo: Reuters
“I think teachers would feel worried about this proposal, because if we allow this government to pass a law to instruct the teachers what to teach, well, this time it is for the national anthem, maybe next time it could be other things,” secondary-school teacher Simon Hung said.
“We’re worried that by passing the bill, people’s right and liberty to express themselves in terms of political ideology will be restricted,” Hong Kong Legislator Alvin Yeung (楊岳橋) said.
Pro-Beijing Legislator Holden Chow (周浩鼎) disagreed, saying that the bill was merely about upholding the sanctity of national symbols.
“We are simply deterring people from showing disrespect to the national anthem,” Chow said.
Small groups of pro-democracy and pro-Beijing protesters taunted each other outside the Hong Kong Legislative Council.
Waving the Chinese flag, pro-Beijing demonstrators held up banners that read: “Safeguard national dignity,” while democracy advocates held placards that said: “Unsung freedom.”
Booing the anthem at soccer matches in Hong Kong has emerged as a form of political protest in the past few years, seized upon by young people keen to demonstrate their frustration at Beijing’s perceived creeping influence.
The anthem proposal is expected to pass easily when it comes to a vote — probably before the summer — as the opposition does not have enough seats to block routine legislation.
Hong Kong has already outlawed the desecration of national flags and emblems, which can attract jail terms of three years.
“We have no sense of belonging to China at all,” a soccer supporter said. “Even people I know who are born since 1997, they still think they are Hong Kongers, but not Chinese.”
In 2017, China adopted a law banning disrespect for the anthem. A similar measure is being reviewed in Macau.
Additional reporting by AP
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