Hong Kong court convicts first person tried under national anthem law for adding protest song to Olympic athlete clip

Cheng Wing-chun found guilty of disrespecting Chinese national anthem by substituting correct music in clip of Tokyo Olympics fencer winning gold in July 2021

Conviction marks first criminal court ruling on legality of unofficial protest anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’, which could be banned soon by way of civil injunction

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A court has convicted Cheng Wing-chun under the city’s national anthem law. Photo: Elson Li

Published: 3:48pm, 5 Jul 2023Updated: 6:52pm, 5 Jul 2023

The first person to stand trial under Hong Kong’s national anthem law has been convicted for using a soundtrack of protest music in a video that showed a local athlete celebrating his victory at the Tokyo Olympics.

Eastern Court ruled on Wednesday the use of the anti-government tune “Glory to Hong Kong” was an insult to “March of the Volunteers” and amounted to a breach of the national anthem ordinance enacted in June 2020.

It was the first ruling by a criminal court in regard to the legality of the unofficial anthem of the 2019 social unrest. The government is seeking to ban promotion of the song by way of a civil injunction.

The defendant, photographer Cheng Wing-chun, 27, was accused of disrespecting the national anthem by substituting the correct music accompanying footage of Tokyo Olympics fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long receiving a gold medal in July 2021.

Magistrate Minnie Wat Lai-man revoked Cheng’s bail ahead of sentencing in two weeks in light of the seriousness of the offence. She added the likelihood of a term of immediate imprisonment was “very high”.

The song, written during the 2019 protests against a now-withdrawn extradition bill, appealed to people to fight for freedom and “Liberate Hong Kong” in a “revolution of our times”.

The last expression was found to be capable of carrying a secessionist meaning in the city’s first national security trial.