HK seeks to ban booing of China anthem
Hong Kong: Hong Kong will try to enact a law penalising people who boo the Chinese national anthem “as soon as possible”, an official said, in a move that critics say undermines the Chinese-ruled city’s autonomy and freedoms.
In the past few years, some Hong Kong football fans have booed the national anthem during World Cup qualifiers and other games, mirroring a more recent protest in the United States with football players kneeling during the national anthem, a practice denounced by US President Donald Trump.
The Asian Football Confederation warned the Hong Kong Football Association on Tuesday over the conduct of fans who booed the Chinese national anthem in a match in October.
China has passed a law stating that disrespecting the anthem could result in imprisonment. The law has come into force in China but has yet to be extended to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Patrick Nip said the city had a constitutional obligation to follow up the move by China’s largely rubber-stamp parliament.
The law will now be added to the annex of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and put to the city’s 70-strong legislature.
Nip said no decision had been made on jail terms, but the government would make reference to existing laws concerning the desecration of China’s national flag that carry a maximum sentence of three years.