‘Glory to Hong Kong’ Is Re-launched on the Shelves Including Spotify, Except Apple Music

Original creation team: defend the rights on freedom to choose one’s music

Small figurines are seen in front of displayed Spotify logo in this illustration taken on Feb. 11, 2022. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

Earlier in June, the Hong Kong government applied for an injunction to ban dissemination of the pro-democratic song “Glory to Hong Kong.” The piece was suddenly removed from multiple streaming platforms, including Apple Music and iTunes.

On June 15, the composer and original composing team of “Glory to Hong Kong,” Dgx, posted on its Facebook page that they were “dealing with some technical issues unrelated to the streaming platform, sorry for the temporary impact. Thank you to all the audience.”

And the relevant contents of the song were deleted from its YouTube channel, Facebook, and Instagram pages.

On June 19, Dgx announced that “Glory to Hong Kong” has been re-shelved and said it firmly opposes any attempt to suppress the freedom of thought and speech and will try its best to defend everyone’s “freedom to choose one’s music.”

Dgx posted a blog on Facebook on June 19, stating that the previously removed track of “Glory to Hong Kong” has been re-listed on major music streaming platforms as a “2023 Edition” special, with three new soundtracks.

And due to differences in the processing time of the various platforms, some might be behind in uploading the new versions. No doubt it will take a bit more time to restore the original versions, and we hope the audience can remain patient.

Dgx added, “We firmly oppose any action that amounts to an attempt to restrict the freedom of thought and speech,” and fully understands everyone’s “unwillingness to lose the freedom to choose one’s own music.” Despite encountering all difficulties, it will try its utmost to defend this right.

Multiple versions of “Glory to Hong Kong” have been re-launched on platforms such as Spotify and KKBox on June 19, but iTunes, Apple’s music platform, still only has the Taiwanese and Vietnamese versions available.

At the beginning of the month, the Hong Kong Department of Justice (DOJ) applied to the court for an injunction to prohibit anyone from disseminating “Glory to Hong Kong,” whether it is the tune, lyrics, melody cum lyrics, adaptation, or those substantially like the song in question.

The petition from the DOJ mentioned 32 YouTube video clips of “Glory to Hong Kong,” many of which are currently unavailable or removed by the uploaders. Among them, “BlackBlog,” the creative team of the orchestra and choir version of “Glory to Hong Kong,” was found to have recently deleted all content on its YouTube channel, and its Facebook and Instagram pages have also become unavailable.

“Glory to Hong Kong” is a widely spreading song from the 2019 anti-extradition bill movement in Hong Kong. The song appears as the top response to Google searches for Hong Kong’s national anthem, on top of China’s national anthem. It has been mistakenly played as such in many international competitions.