Journalists will be allowed to report on matters related to 2019 protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong if the government’s bid to ban unlawful acts relating to the song is successful, according to the city’s largest journalist group.
In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said that the Department of Justice (DoJ) had “informed the court that it agreed to an HKJA proposal to include an express exemption for journalistic activity… if its injunction application is to be granted.” The HKJA said it welcomed the government’s agreement to the exemption.
“This provides protection for the freedom of the press and the freedom of speech in clear terms, both of which are guaranteed constitutional rights in Hong Kong,” the HKJA said.
Following ongoing controversy of the song being played instead of the March of the Volunteers, the national anthem of China and Hong Kong, at international sporting events, the government sought a legal injunction at the beginning of June to ban unlawful acts relating to Glory to Hong Kong, the lyrics of which contain a slogan that has been deemed a call for secession.
If granted, the injunction will prohibit anyone from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing in any way” the song with a secessionist or seditious intent, or with the aim of violating the national anthem law, including on the internet.
The Court of First Instance adjourned the injunction hearing on June 12 and is going to hear the case again on July 21.
HKJA announced on June 22 that it would seek an exemption for media reporting to protect journalistic work.
An HKJA spokesperson told HKFP on Tuesday that over the past month the press group had collected opinions on the injunction from different media outlets and submitted them in an affidavit to the DoJ.
The association said it had decided to hold off making its own application to the court, relying instead on the justice department’s promise to include the journalistic exemption in the injunction.
“The HKJA understands that the Proviso protects journalists from civil liability in clear and unequivocal terms when they report, refer to and make observations about the Song and its various elements in the course of news gathering, interviews and in commentaries, ” the group said.
It also stressed that it had “no intention to publish or broadcast the Song, nor to commit any act of sedition, secession or to insult the National Anthem.”
Original judge replaced
The government’s application for the injunction was previously handled by Wilson Chan, one of the city’s handpicked national security judges.
Chan was recently involved in a judicial copying scandal, after he was found to have copied the majority of a plaintiff’s written submission in a judgement. He received a “serious reprimand” from the chief justice of the Court of Final Appeal.
According to the Judiciary, Judge Anthony Chan has replaced Wilson Chan in the injunction case.
In June 2020, Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution – bypassing the local legislature – following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China. However, the authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city.
Disclaimer: The HKJA invited members to submit information regarding how the injunction may impact their journalistic work were it to be implemented under its initial terms. HKFP was among those to share such information with the HKJA.
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