Hong Kong protest anthem removed from distributors following court order By Reuters

Jessie Pang

HONG KONG (Reuters) – A British digital music distributor removed Hong Kong protest chants from streaming platforms, a judge warned on Friday, following an injunction from a Chinese court. .

DGX Music, a group of mostly anonymous musicians, said on Friday that EmuBands had notified it that “Glory to Hong Kong” would be taken down from all platforms, including iTunes and Apple (NASDAQ:) Music, due to the injunction.

“We expressed our opposition to EmuBands, pointing out that the injunction does not have extraterritorial jurisdiction,” DGX Music said on Instagram. “More importantly, the song itself was not banned by the injunction.”

DGX Music added that it hopes to re-distribute the song as soon as possible.

EmuBands, based in Glasgow, Scotland, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘Glory to Hong Kong’ was composed during widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019, and has become an unofficial alternative to China’s ‘Volunteer March’. Hong Kong does not have an official national anthem.

Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal on May 8 accepted the government’s application to outlaw the song, overturning a lower court ruling that had rejected such a ban on the grounds of a “chilling effect” on freedom of expression.

YouTube, part of Mountain View, California-based Alphabet (NASDAQ:), has been geo-blocking banned videos for Hong Kong viewers since mid-May.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Tuesday the government would continue to monitor the situation to see if there is any failure to comply with court orders. “If we discover such cases, we will notify the platform of the court order.”

The U.S. government said the ban would further damage Hong Kong’s international reputation as a financial hub. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said preventing the spread of the song was necessary for Hong Kong to safeguard national security.

Eric Lai, a fellow at Georgetown University’s Asia Law Center, said in an interview that the injunction has no extraterritorial effect. “In fact, the court ruling did not impose a blanket ban on the song. It granted exemptions for journalistic and academic activities.”

“Blanket bans or removals cannot help enforce sentencing waivers,” Lai added.

Lokman Tsui, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, said the Hong Kong government has pressured companies to censor songs from around the world. “Just because they feel embarrassed.”