It’s the fans who protest the national anthem
HONG KONG — In the United States, athletes protest during the national anthem. In Hong Kong, fans do.
Sports fans in Hong Kong have been turning their backs, booing and even raising their middle fingers as China’s national anthem is played, a protest of Beijing’s growing influence in this semiautonomous city.
While Hong Kong returned to Chinese control in 1997, it still fields its own teams in international sports competitions. One of its most popular teams, men’s soccer, has become a focal point for discontent.
On Tuesday, fans booed before the start of an Asian Cup qualifier against Malaysia, which Hong Kong won, 2-0. Last week, they protested the anthem before a friendly match against Laos that Hong Kong won, 4-0.
The boos come from hard-core fans who worry that Hong Kong’s autonomy and unique identity are being undermined by Beijing. A few even hold up signs advocating independence, an idea that mainland and local officials denounce as illegal.
Now the authorities are planning tougher measures. Last month, China’s legislature approved a law prohibiting disrespect of the anthem, barring the song’s use in commercials or parodies, and outlining punishments for people who do not “stand with respect” and “maintain a dignified bearing” when it is played.
Weeks-long street protests in Hong Kong known as the Umbrella Movement ended three years ago without the government ceding any ground on expanding residents’ say in local elections.
But that spirit of protest has been revived in the stadium jeers, which appear to have started two years ago. Hong Kong played China in World Cup qualifiers twice in 2015, and those matches took on an added political dimension coming a year after the street protests.
With a population of 7 million, Hong Kong is a minnow in the ocean of international soccer. But the city has a long history with the sport and, with the help of some foreignborn players, often punches above its weight.
China has a huge population to draw from and its teams have been successful in several sports. But its men’s soccer teams have routinely struggled in international competition.
In 1985, Hong Kong beat China, 2-1, in Beijing to eliminate the team from qualifying for the following year’s World Cup, setting off a riot. In the 2015 World Cup qualifiers, Hong Kong tied China twice. To add to the insult, the home fans booed the Chinese national anthem before the game in Hong Kong.
The world governing body for soccer, FIFA, fined the Hong Kong Football Association for fans booing during one of the China matches and also during a 2015 World Cup qualifier against Qatar. The city’s football association has called on fans to behave, and stewards make vain attempts to encourage hard-core supporters to keep quiet during the national anthem.
The anthem law went into effect on Oct. 1. But Hong Kong, a former British colony, maintains a semiautonomous existence that allows it to keep its own economic and legal systems. So Hong Kong will need to enact its own version of the law, which it has yet to do.