The Department of Justice (DOJ) of Hong Kong has taken a step further to appeal the High Court’s judgement, which initially refused to grant an injunction prohibiting the popular protest song titled “Glory to Hong Kong”. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam on behalf of the DOJ, applied for the injunction, with the intent to uphold the Hong Kong government’s constitutional responsibility to safeguard national security, prevent acts threatening national security and maintain the dignity of the national anthem.
In their appeal, the DOJ highlighted that the High Court acknowledged the protest song as a tool meant to incite secession or sedition. The DOJ articulate that the injunction they sought aimed at prohibiting acts, which either clearly or potentially consisted criminal activities.
Interestingly, the High Court disapproved the injunction on the grounds of it being of limited utility. Since the injunction looked to prohibit acts that are already criminal offenses, enforcing such an injunction would conflict with the process of cases which violate Hong Kong’s National Security Law.
The High Court did not confirm whether the proposed injunction satisfied the proportionality test. However, the DOJ contends that the injunction indeed meets this requirement. As per the DOJ’s argument,
“The restriction imposed on freedom of expression is no more than necessary to safeguard national security and would not result in an unacceptably harsh burden on the individual, and would have held in favour of granting the interim injunction.”
Previously, the Hong Kong government expressed concerns over the protest song, saying that it not only insults the Chinese national anthem but is also mistaken to be Hong Kong’s own national anthem. According to the DOJ, broadcasting “Glory to Hong Kong” could be a potential violation of Hong Kong laws, including the National Security Law and the Crimes Ordinance.
Notably, on July 5, the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts of Hong Kong found Cheng Wing-chun guilty of violating the National Anthem Ordinance. The conviction resulted from charges of insulting the Chinese national anthem, as Cheng had replaced it with “Glory to Hong Kong” in a video he shared online.
All those interested can find more details on the matter in the original news article.