Jessie Pang
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong protest anthem was removed from streaming platforms by a British digital music distributor on Friday following a court ban in China, music makers said, as judges warned dissidents could use the song against the state.
DGX Music, a group of mostly anonymous musicians, said Friday that EmuBands has notified it that “Glory to Hong Kong” will be removed from all platforms, including iTunes and Apple (NASDAQ:) Music, due to a court injunction.
“We expressed our disagreement with EmuBands, noting that the injunction does not have extraterritorial jurisdiction,” DGX Music said on Instagram. “More importantly, the song itself is not prohibited by the injunction.”
DGX Music hopes to return the song to sales as soon as possible, the company added.
EmuBands, based in Glasgow, Scotland, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Glory to Hong Kong” was written in 2019 during mass pro-democracy protests and became an unofficial alternative to China’s March of the Volunteers. Hong Kong does not have an official anthem.
Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal on May 8 granted the government’s request to ban the song, overturning a lower court’s decision that rejected the ban because of its possible “chilling effect” on freedom of speech.
YouTube, part of Mountain View-based Alphabet (NASDAQ:) in California, has been geoblocking banned videos for viewers in Hong Kong since mid-May.
The government will continue to monitor the situation for any failure to comply with the court order, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday. “If we notice such cases, we will inform the platform of the contents of the court order.”
The US government said the ban would further damage Hong Kong’s international reputation as a financial centre. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said stopping the spread of the song was necessary for Hong Kong to ensure national security.
The injunction has no extraterritorial effect, Eric Lai, a fellow at Georgetown University’s Asian Law Center, said in an interview. “Indeed, the court decision did not impose a complete ban on the song. It allows exceptions for journalistic and academic activities.”
“A blanket ban or removal cannot help enforce exceptions to the ordinance,” Lai added.
Lokman Tsui, a researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, said the Hong Kong government is pressuring companies to censor songs around the world “just because they feel it’s embarrassing for them.”