Man charged with insulting China’s national anthem during World Cup qualifier in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong man has been charged with insulting China’s national anthem during a 2026 World Cup Asian qualifier in Hong Kong in June.
The 19-year-old was charged on Tuesday with one count of insulting the national anthem during a match between the city’s football team and Iran held at Hong Kong Stadium on June 6. He will appear at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts for mention next Tuesday.
The charge was laid more than five months after the 19-year-old man was arrested alongside another man and a woman at the qualifying match for the international football championship to be held in 2026. The other two have not yet been charged.
Police said in June that officers had witnessed someone who turned their back to the field and did not stand for the entirety of China’s national anthem. Local media reported at the time that some plainclothes police officers were observing spectators and filming them as the March of the Volunteers was played to the stadium.
“The police stress that it is a criminal offence for anyone who publicly and intentionally insults the national anthem in any way. Upon conviction, they may face a fine of up to HK$50,000 dollars and imprisonment for three years. Citizens are advised not to test the law,” police said in a Chinese statement on Tuesday.
Hong Kong authorities have cracked down on behaviour deemed to be disrespectful to the Chinese national anthem at sports events since the city passed the National Anthem Law in 2020. The legislation also regulates the use of the national anthem and sets out standards of behaviour when it is played.
In August, a man was sentenced to eight weeks behind bars over insulting the Chinese national anthem at a volleyball match after singing the pro-democracy song Do You Hear the People Sing while the March of the Volunteers was being played. He filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence, but later withdrew his application in October.
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