Hong Kong Journalists Association considers seeking exemption to possible court ban against protest song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’
- Journalists’ group has instructed lawyers to write to Department of Justice to obtain more information about application for court injunction against playing protest song
- ‘We may consider requesting court for leave to intervene in proceedings and to apply to have news reporting considered exempt in order to protect journalists,’ group says
The Hong Kong Journalists Association has said it may apply to the courts for an exemption to use protest song “Glory to Hong Kong” in the context of news reporting if the government’s application for an injunction is granted next month.
The association has instructed its lawyers to write to the Department of Justice to obtain more information about the government’s application, the organisation said on Wednesday.
The government is seeking to ban all forms of the protest song and its derivatives.
The court ban, if granted, will prevent anyone with secessionist or seditious intent, or seeking to violate the national anthem law from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing” the song, including on the internet.
The court is expected to hear the case on July 21.
The association said: “We have also made it clear that we may consider requesting the court for leave to intervene in the proceedings and to apply to have news reporting considered exempt [if an injunction is granted] in order to protect journalists.”
