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Hongkongers free to speak up about application to ban protest song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’, justice minister Paul Lam tells Post forum

  • Secretary for Justice Paul Lam invites those who disagree with ban to come forward and present arguments during hearing scheduled for July 21
  • Lam issues reassurance in response to question by Bar Association chairman Victor Dawes during keynote discussion at Post’s China Conference: Hong Kong 2023

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A screen capture from a music video for “Glory to Hong Kong” on YouTube. Photo: Handout

Hongkongers are welcome to speak up about a government application to outlaw a popular protest song, the justice minister has said, issuing a reassurance that the proposed ban will have a narrow focus and not affect ordinary residents.

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Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok on Tuesday said the application for an injunction to ban “Glory to Hong Kong” – regarded as the unofficial anthem of the 2019 anti-government protests – only targeted specific actions.

“We are seeking to restrain very specific types of activities which may well constitute criminal offences already. So those sorts of activities are not matters that ordinary people would be interested in doing, and not something that they had been doing,” Lam said.

“I do not see why ordinary law-abiding citizens should be worried or concerned.”

Victor Dawes (left), chairman of the Bar Association, and Secretary for Justice Paul Lam take part in a discussion at the Post’s China Conference: Hong Kong 2023. Photo: May Tse
Victor Dawes (left), chairman of the Bar Association, and Secretary for Justice Paul Lam take part in a discussion at the Post’s China Conference: Hong Kong 2023. Photo: May Tse

Lam also addressed the recent “judicial copying” saga involving national security judge Wilson Chan Ka-shun, noting it showed the city’s courts were reliable and had upheld a core value of the common law system that justice must be seen to be done.

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