Glory to Hong Kong: Protest anthem removed from iTunes, Spotify

The unofficial anthem of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests successful 2019 has been removed from streaming platforms up of a tribunal bid that whitethorn prohibition the song.

Glory to Hong Kong had topped the city's iTunes illustration past week aft the authorities announced its volition to blacklist the opus connected information grounds.

On Wednesday recordings disappeared from Spotify and iTunes.

The tune has been targeted by authorities aft being played successful spot of the Chinese anthem astatine immoderate events.

Critics accidental the anticipated prohibition is different motion of Beijing's crackdown and efforts to stamp retired dissent successful Hong Kong against the cardinal Chinese government.

If Glory to Hong Kong is banned, anyone progressive successful the broadcast, performance, merchantability oregon organisation of the song, including connected the internet, could beryllium charged nether the city's National Security Law.

Hong Kong, a erstwhile British colony, is simply a Special Administrative Region of China and its residents are expected to bask wider freedoms compared to the Chinese mainland. However, advocates accidental antiauthoritarian freedoms person been eroded successful caller years.

On Thursday, successful effect to reports, Spotify clarified the opus had been removed by the distributor - the middleman institution which handled the song's licensing to euphony platforms.

The composer of the opus had earlier told the BBC helium had not asked for the opus to beryllium taken down.

The protestation tune was written successful Cantonese during the 2019 demonstrations. It includes the lyrics: "Revolution of our times. May radical reign, arrogant and free, present and evermore. Glory beryllium to thee Hong Kong".

Many locals successful Hong Kong had rushed to download the opus successful caller days arsenic a tribunal prohibition loomed.

A tribunal was owed to contented a ruling connected Monday, but this was postponed aft the justice asked the Hong Kong authorities to beryllium much circumstantial successful the scope of its request.

For months, authorities person tried to erase oregon disguise each traces of the tune online. Glory to Hong Kong has been banned successful schools since 2020.

Web searches for Hong Kong's nationalist anthem proceed to regularly show Glory to Hong Kong alternatively of China's authoritative anthem, March of the Volunteers.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong's person John Lee described the opus arsenic "not compatible with the nationalist interest".

"Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has a work and work to safeguard nationalist security, and we should bash it proactively and besides preventively," helium said.

"National information whitethorn not beryllium utilized arsenic an excuse to contradict radical the close to explicit antithetic governmental views," said the caput of Amnesty International's China team, Sarah Brooks.

Last year, a harmonica subordinate was arrested for playing the opus extracurricular the British consulate successful Hong Kong to mourn the decease of Queen Elizabeth II.

In effect to the 2019 wide protests, China passed a sweeping nationalist information instrumentality to reconstruct stableness backmost to the city. However, critics said it was designed to suppress dissent and trim Hong Kong's autonomy.