HONG KONG – A judge denied on Friday a Hong Kong government request for an injunction banning Glory To Hong Kong, an anthem that emerged from the city’s huge pro-democracy protests in 2019.

“I cannot be satisfied that it is just and convenient to grant the injunction,” said Judge Anthony Chan in his ruling. “This application is accordingly dismissed.”

The Hong Kong government in June requested an injunction order so that the song – penned anonymously – would be banned from being disseminated or performed “with the intention of inciting others to commit secession or with a seditious intent”.

But Judge Chan said in his ruling that banning Glory To Hong Kong would raise serious freedom of expression issues.

“I believe that the intrusion to freedom of expression here, especially to innocent third parties, is what is referred to in public law as ‘chilling effects’,” he wrote.

“While I entirely accept that no chilling effect is intended behind the injunction, it is the duty of the court to keep in mind that there is a whole spectrum of Hong Kong people” with varying degrees of knowledge about the injunction, Judge Chan explained.

Glory To Hong Kong first emerged in August 2019, when the city was undergoing massive and at times violent democracy demonstrations, with millions taking to the streets to demand political freedoms.

The Cantonese lyrics integrate a protest slogan – “break now the dawn, liberate our Hong Kong; in common breath, revolution of our times” – and the song was widely adopted by protesters.

Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020, quelling political dissent.

Hong Kong officials had also criticised Google for refusing to change its search results to display China’s national anthem instead of Glory To Hong Kong when users searched for Hong Kong’s national anthem. 

A senior Hong Kong official, Mr Sun Dong, said earlier in July that Google had told the government to first prove that the song violated local laws – thus prompting the legal application. 

The Hong Kong Journalists Association, which opposed the government injunction bid, welcomed the decision. 

“Exercising public power would create a chilling effect, threatening innocent people,” association head Ronson Chan told reporters outside the court. “I think the judgment is very reasonable.”

Earlier in July, Hong Kong’s Eastern Court convicted photographer Cheng Wing-chun over using Glory To Hong Kong in a 94-second video depicting the 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medal ceremony for Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung

The court ruled that Cheng’s use of the song was an insult to the Chinese national anthem March Of The Volunteers.

The court’s ruling marked the first legal decision against the use of Glory To Hong Kong. AFP