Lawmakers Urge YouTube to Unblock Pro-Democracy Song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’

A masked trombonist plays the first notes of “Glory to Hong Kong” above the crowds in Wong Tai Sin Square on the night of the mid-autumn festival in Hong Kong on Sept. 13, 2019. James Pomfret/Reuters

Two lawmakers are calling on Google and YouTube to restore access to the song “Glory to Hong Kong” on the YouTube platform in Hong Kong. The request comes after a Hong Kong court ordered the video platform to block the song last month.

In a letter dated June 4 to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), chair and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), respectively, said YouTube may have restricted the song more than the court’s injunction required and urged them to unblock the song.

“The steps taken by your company thus far exceed what is required by the court’s injunction and will have far-reaching implications for the free flow of news and information and the freedom of expression in Hong Kong,” the lawmakers wrote.

On May 8, a Hong Kong appellate court, siding with the Hong Kong government, overturned the lower court’s ruling that rejected the ban due to concerns about free speech.

The court ruling bans people from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing” the song to commit secession or with a seditious intention or misrepresent it as Hong Kong national anthem.

YouTube geo-blocked Hongkongers access to 32 videos listed in the court order after the court’s decision. YouTube still displays these videos on its platform in Hong Kong, but when clicking the videos, the following message appears: “Video unavailable. This content is not available on this country domain due to a court order.”

However, YouTube expressed disappointment with the ruling and said it might appeal the court’s decision. “We are disappointed by the Court’s decision but are complying with its removal order,” YouTube said in a statement at the time. “We'll continue to consider our options for an appeal, to promote access to information.”

In the letter, the lawmakers asked YouTube when it would appeal the Hong Kong court’s decision.

After being handed over to China from Britain in 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China and does not have an official anthem. “Glory to Hong Kong” was written in 2019 as a pro-democracy song during the anti-extradition protests. Pro-democracy protesters use the song as an unofficial alternative to the Chinese regime’s anthem, “March of the Volunteers.”

In 2022, during a Rugby Sevens game in South Korea, the song was mistakenly played as Hong Kong’s official national anthem instead of the Chinese regime’s. It was later revealed that an intern had reportedly downloaded the song from the internet, mistakenly believing it was Hong Kong’s national anthem.

In addition, the lawmakers expressed concerns that the injunction to ban the song violates human rights principles that Google is committed to following in its policy. They also asked the company to publish all demands to remove online content from the Chinese regime and the Hong Kong government.

“We hope you will agree that it is imperative to limit the negative impact on free speech and on the free flow of information,” the lawmakers said. “We urge you to restore the songs already removed and consider alternative ways of complying, such as providing a warning message.”

Meanwhile, 31 human rights organizations and activists sent a letter to UK-based music distributor EmuBands on June 4, asking the company to reverse its decision in late May to ban the song from its global distribution partners, including Apple Music, iTunes, and Spotify.

“Your decision appears based on a flawed understanding of a court order in Hong Kong, which does not adhere to international human rights law concerning acceptable restrictions on the freedom of expression, and certainly does not apply extraterritorially,” the letter reads.

Washington has also expressed concerns over the erosion of rights in Hong Kong. The ban was “the latest blow to the international reputation of a city that previously prided itself on having an independent judiciary, protecting the free exchange of information, ideas, and goods,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in May.

A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies released last month found that Hong Kong’s freedoms have significantly eroded since 2020 in almost all areas under Beijing’s control.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Google and YouTube for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.