A Hong Kong man charged with insulting the Chinese national anthem at a volleyball match sang the pro-democracy song Do You Hear the People Sing while the anthem was being played, a court has heard.
Chan Pak-yui, 21, appeared at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday for the first day of his trial after pleading not guilty to the offence in December. He is accused of publicly and intentionally insulting the national anthem at the Hong Kong Coliseum on June 16 last year, when China played Bulgaria in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League Hong Kong match.
The prosecution displayed a video in court filmed by an off-duty chief inspector surnamed Cheng, who was watching the game, The Witness reported. It showed Chan sitting down while the anthem was played and covering his ears. He also sang Do You Hear the People Sing, a song from musical Les Miserables that was popular during the pro-democracy protests in 2014 and 2019.
Cheng, summoned by the prosecution as a witness, told the court he recorded the video because he suspected that Chan was committing an offence. He decided to film him so that he could report it to his colleagues for follow-up, he added.
Another officer who testified for the prosecution, surnamed Kan, said he received a report at around 8.30 pm about Chan. Kan identified and observed Chan, noting that when the China team scored, he made a thumbs down sign.
Kan added that he approached Chan and took down his information, and that Chan then left the game early.
A chief inspector surnamed Lau, the third prosecution witness, told the court he received a call about someone suspected of breaching the national anthem law. He at first did not order an arrest as he believed the “evidence might be unclear,” but changed his mind after watching a video sent by Cheng.
Kan told the court he had called Chan later that night and asked him to return to the Hong Kong Coliseum. He arranged to meet Chan at an Hung Hom MTR exit, where he announced that he was under arrest. Kan said Chan told him under police caution that he sang the English song because he “does not like the China team and the Chinese anthem.”
‘Does not like the China team’
At the start of the trial, barrister Steven Kwan said Chan has autism and ADHD.
Kan said while being questioned by Kwan that he did not think Chan acted differently from other people, and that he did not observe him talking to himself.
Kwan also questioned Kan’s written notes made during the initial investigation in which he said Chan had told him at the Hong Kong Coliseum that he “does not like the China team.” Kwan said Chan had actually said he “does not support the China team.”
Kan disagreed, saying that Chan had used both of those phrases. He added that he had only made rough notes at the time, and did not write details word for word.
Hong Kong passed a law that criminalised insulting the March of the Volunteers, the Chinese national anthem, in 2020. The law regulates the use of the national anthem and sets out standards of behaviour when it is played.
Offenders risk fines of up to HK$50,000 or three years in prison. Chan, however, faces a maximum jail term of two years as his case is being heard in a magistrates’ court.
The trial continued on Thursday. Chan is expected to personally testify.
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