Govt to ask online platforms to remove protest song
Justice Secretary Paul Lam said the government will ask internet service providers to remove the 2019 protest song "Glory to Hong Kong", adding that such a move will not hinder normal journalistic and academic activities. Speaking to reporters after the Court of Appeal granted a temporary injunction order banning the song, Lam said the ruling is not meant to target tech giants such as Google or Meta.  "So the effect is to persuade the internet service provider not to provide the convenience and not to facilitate the commission of unlawful act. And that also makes it crystal clear that the injunction is not aiming at restricting the normal operation of any internet service provider," he said.  "Free flow of information is of crucial importance to Hong Kong. This is a core value that we will do our best to maintain and preserve."  Chief Executive John Lee also welcomed the ruling.  In a Facebook post, he wrote that the injunction safeguards national security and the dignity of the national anthem.  Lee said the song was used to incite acts endangering national security and "Hong Kong independence", causing harm to both the SAR and the country.  In banning the song, the Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned a lower court ruling last year, with the three judges agreeing with the administration that there was a compelling need to grant an injunction on national security grounds. The injunction bans anyone "with seditious intent" from playing or performing the song. Lam added that the court ruling will not lead to unreasonable restrictions on freedom of expression.  "The Court of Appeal actually conducts the well-known proportionality test to consider whether a grant of injunction would in fact lead to any disproportional or unreasonable restriction on the freedom of expression," the secretary for justice said. "But after conducting that proportionality analysis, the court came to the conclusion that in all the circumstances, the injunction would not constitute any unreasonable restriction on freedom of expression." In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing that “preventing anyone from using or disseminating the relevant song with the intention of inciting secession and insulting the national anthem is a legitimate and necessary measure by the SAR government to fulfil its responsibility of safeguarding national security”.