A Hong Kong university student has been found guilty of insulting the national anthem during a World Cup qualifier football match between the city’s team and Iran in June last year.
Lau Pun-hei, a 19-year-old student in politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was convicted on Wednesday for turning his back to the pitch while the Chinese national anthem, “March of the Volunteers,” played ahead of the match at Hong Kong Stadium on June 6, 2024.
Magistrate Kestrel Lam of the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts said the playing of the anthem before a match “represented national pride, unity and identity.”
“That the defendant chose to turn his back to the pitch was obviously improper and disrespectful,” Lam said in Cantonese.
The magistrate noted that Lau had turned his back to the pitch only during the Chinese anthem and that the student faced the pitch and clapped during the Iranian anthem.
Lam found that it was a deliberate act to demonstrate Lau’s dissatisfaction with, or contempt for, the national anthem.
“Different people may have different feelings towards the nation and its anthem. Supporters may sing along. Meanwhile, people who don’t support the country should allow the anthem to be played solemnly,” the magistrate said.
Lam rejected the defence’s argument that some other people in the stadium, including the police officers who filmed the spectators while the national anthem was being played, also had their backs facing the pitch.
The police officers were carrying out their duties, Lam said, but the student had no reason to do the same.
Whether an act constitutes an insult to the national anthem must be based on the facts and the circumstances in the case, the magistrate added.
He also rejected the defence’s argument that the law was vague and could infringe upon one’s freedom of expression.
Steven Kwan, Lau’s lawyer, told the court that the student was a keen supporter of Hong Kong and a staunch advocate of an eco-friendly lifestyle, showing his care for the world.
Lau’s offence was of a “minor nature,” Kwan said, as his act was “quiet, peaceful, and did not involve any violence.”
Kwan urged the court to adopt a non-custodial sentence given the defendant’s young age.
Lam scheduled sentencing for August 13 to allow the court to receive a report on the defendant’s background. Lau was given bail pending sentencing.
Hong Kong passed the National Anthem Ordinance in 2020, which criminalises “insulting behaviour” towards the anthem. Under the law, one must “stand solemnly” and “not behave in a way disrespectful to the national anthem.”
Offenders may be punished by up to three years in prison and a fine of HK$50,000.
