Hong Kong: Arrests during the national anthem at football matches are an attack on freedom of expression

Responding to the arrest of three people accused of “insulting” the Chinese national anthem by turning their backs on the field and not standing at a football match in Hong Kong, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said:

“Once again, a completely peaceful act of protest in Hong Kong is being met with harsh police violence in the form of a repressive law – in this case the National Anthem Law – designed to suppress freedom of expression.

“These arrests are the latest in a series of incidents that are increasingly making Hong Kong appear like a police state, where residents are closely monitored and then harshly punished for even the slightest sign of dissent.

“People’s right to express their feelings about national anthems and other state symbols is well protected under international human rights law. Yet in Hong Kong, it is a crime to ‘insult’ the Chinese national anthem, even if it means simply sitting down.

“Those arrested for ‘insulting’ the Chinese national anthem were targeted solely because they peacefully exercised their right to freedom of expression. The proceedings against them should be dropped immediately.”

background

Three people were reportedly arrested during Hong Kong’s World Cup qualifier against Iran on Thursday night for “turning their backs to the field and not standing up during the playing of the national anthem.”

Local media reported that plainclothes police officers observed and filmed spectators while the Chinese national anthem was played at the Hong Kong stadium.

Hong Kong’s national anthem law, passed in 2020, criminalizes alleged “insults” to the Chinese national anthem and can be punished with up to three years in prison. All those arrested on Thursday were released on bail pending the outcome of the investigation.

In recent weeks, several people in Hong Kong have been targeted for their peaceful activism, including four people arrested on March 35.^th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, and eight people were arrested for “sedition” under the new Article 23 of the city law for peacefully commemorating the crackdown in the run-up to the anniversary.

Under international human rights law, freedom of expression can protect ideas and expressions that some may find offensive, provided they are not intended or likely to incite immediate violence. International human rights standards make clear that peaceful criticism of or insult to the nation or its symbols, even if offensive, does not constitute a threat to national security or justify prohibition on other grounds.