Hong Kong man, 22, convicted of insulting national anthem before volleyball match

Court rules Chan Pak-yui disparaged March of the Volunteers at opening ceremony held at Coliseum in Hung Hom last June

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Defendant Chan Pak-yui (masked) is escorted by supporters as he leaves Kowloon City Court on Friday. Photo: Handout

Published: 5:20pm, 19 Jul 2024Updated: 10:41pm, 19 Jul 2024

A Hong Kong man has been convicted of insulting the national anthem through a series of disruptive acts during the opening ceremony of an international volleyball match last year.

Kowloon City Court on Friday found Chan Pak-yui had deliberately disparaged “March of the Volunteers” before the contest between the women’s national teams of China and Bulgaria at the Coliseum in Hung Hom on June 16, 2023.

The 22-year-old Hongkonger admitted he had booed the national anthem, displayed a thumbs-down gesture, plugged his ears and chanted the chorus of “Do You Hear the People Sing”, the centrepiece of the 1987 Broadway smash hit Les Miserables, which became a Hong Kong protest song.

But the court rejected his defence that his eccentric behaviour was the result of his autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which he was diagnosed with at the age of six.

Chan Pak-yui booed as the anthem played at the opening ceremony of the Volleyball Nations League game in June of last year. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Magistrate Kestrel Lam Tsz-hong characterised Chan’s offence as “the ultimate affront to the national anthem” and said he had undermined China’s “significance and existence” by diverting public attention away from the song on an occasion where it was intended to be honoured.