LETTER FROM HONGKONG
This time, disaster was narrowly avoided. The incident ” totally unacceptable “, according to the head of government John Lee, however almost happened again in mid-April, for the fourth time in as many months, when the Hong Kong women’s ice hockey team was about to receive its gold medal in Romania. . The head of the Ice Hockey Association (HKIHA), Annie Kwan, had taken the precaution of handing over to the organizers of the competition a USB key with the Chinese national anthem, The March of the Volunteers… But a few minutes before the awards ceremony, for the sake of conscience, she had the good idea to go and check with the management. She then realized in extremis that, as in Sarajevo in February, as in Dubai in December 2022, and as in Incheon (South Korea) in November 2022, where other teams from Hong Kong had participated in international events, the local technician had ignored the provided key or link and had done, as usual, an Internet search; he was therefore preparing to broadcast through all the loudspeakers in the stadium not the Chinese national anthem, but the much banned and politically incorrect Glory to Hong Kong.
The piece Glory to Hong Kong was born during the summer of 2019, in the midst of demonstrations and anti-government revolts. With its heroic outbursts and harmonious melody, it instantly became the rallying cry for opponents of the authorities. That this tune has been accidentally played three times in recent months at international sporting events has offended and enraged the Hong Kong government, while silently jubilant all sympathizers of the democratic cause who have been muzzled by the virulent revival in political hand started in 2020.
The first incident of its kind took place in South Korea on November 13, at the start of a rugby sevens match. The paralyzed team did not move. It was then established that a young Korean assistant thought he was doing the right thing by playing the “Hong Kong anthem” he had found online. The Hong Kong government scrambled to get Google to fix its search engine. But Google was reluctant to intervene, allowing the same mistake to be repeated a month later during weightlifting events in Dubai and then in February in Sarajevo at the men’s ice hockey world championships. With each episode, new anger, more and more red, on the side of the authorities and new burst of laughter more and more hilarious in part of the population… It was not until April 19 that the local press noticed that research “Hong Kong National Anthem” produced the official government website as the first response and not “Glory to Hong Kong”, which remains in second position.
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