Hong Kong
CNN
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The Hong Kong authorities on Monday demanded an investigation after a music related to the town’s pro-democracy motion was performed as a substitute of the Chinese nationwide anthem earlier than a rugby sevens match between Hong Kong and South Korea.
Event organizers performed an instrumental model of “Glory to Hong Kong” because the groups lined up for the boys’s remaining of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series in Incheon, South Korea on Sunday. The music, an unofficial anthem of the town’s 2019 pro-democracy protests, consists of lyrics {that a} Hong Kong court docket has beforehand dominated might incite secession – a nationwide safety offense.
Clips of the incident, during which the staff is proven standing to consideration on the sector because the music performs, circulated broadly on social media Monday, threatening to overshadow Hong Kong’s 19-12 victory.
In an announcement, the Hong Kong authorities mentioned it “strongly deplores and opposes” the taking part in of the music, which it mentioned was “closely associated with violent protests and the ‘independence’ movement in 2019.”
“We have already written to the Hong Kong Rugby Union last evening demanding them to deal with this matter seriously, launch a full and in-depth investigation and submit a detailed report, and convey our strong objection to Asia Rugby, who is the organizer of the Series,” a authorities spokesperson mentioned, based on the assertion.
In an announcement Monday, Asia Rugby apologized for the incident, saying it “happened due to a simple human error from a junior member of the local organising committee, playing a song downloaded from the internet instead of the correct anthem.”
The match’s native organizer, Korea Rugby Union (KRU), instructed CNN the error occurred when a employee searched on-line for a Hong Kong anthem and added the highest consequence to a folder labeled “Hong Kong.” The broadcasting room workers performed the music file within the Hong Kong folder as a substitute of 1 labeled “China,” the group mentioned.
The organizer apologized by means of the stadium speaker and performed the Chinese nationwide anthem on the finish of the match, based on KRU.
“Korea Rugby Union will take all measures to prevent a repeat of such an occurrence in future matches,” the group mentioned, including that its “Hong Kong” folder has now been erased.
In an announcement, the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) mentioned it “expressed its extreme dissatisfaction” over the incident to the organizers. “Whilst we accept this was a case of human error it was nevertheless not acceptable,” the assertion mentioned.
Last week, a lady who waved a British colonial-era flag to have a good time Hong Kong claiming Olympic gold grew to become the primary particular person within the metropolis to be jailed on a cost of insulting the Chinese nationwide anthem.
Hong Kong, a former British colony handed over to Beijing’s rule in 1997, sends its personal consultant groups separate from mainland China to a variety of sporting occasions, together with the Olympics.