A Hong Kong court has officially approve a government ban on the protest song "Glory to Hong Kong," overturning a lower court's rejection of the ban. To dive deeper into the effects of the decision on the city's people and pro-democracy movement, TaiwanPlus speaks to Hong Kong human rights activist Johnson Yeung.
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00:00The Hong Kong government had been working for more than a year to have the protest song
00:04Glory to Hong Kong banned.
00:06Why is the government intent on having this song officially prohibited by law?
00:11Glory to Hong Kong is a very popular song during the 2019 anti-elect movement.
00:17It was very popular.
00:19It was seen as the most popular protest song in the movement.
00:24So the government has the incentive in blocking it and also banning it from circulations in
00:31the public arena.
00:33What effects will this ban on Glory to Hong Kong have not only on the city but also its
00:38people?
00:39This is the first song that is banned by the government and also the court after 1997.
00:46If we forbidden and prohibited citizens from engaging information and also this song, it
00:55would definitely have a lot of cheating effect.
00:57What we've seen is this time the appeal court has been deviating with this international
01:03standard and making Hong Kong less global.
01:07The Asia Internet Coalition, which composes of companies such as Google, X and Meta, has
01:14just published a statement, obviously paying attention to the judgment.
01:19And they say open internet freedom is fundamental to the city.
01:24And in light of all this, what is next for the pro-democracy movement of Hong Kong and
01:30the remaining few opposition forces in the city?
01:34I think there are a lot of liberal culture that are remaining in Hong Kong and a lot
01:40of civil society actors are still trying very hard in committing to the principles
01:46of democracy.
01:48So there's not a particular tactics or strategies that, you know, are, you know, a silver bullet
01:53and apply to all.
01:56Rather, people will just keep trying hard, making the principles of democracy, the culture
02:03of democracy and trend in this city.