Hong Kong furious as protest song replaces China anthem at rugby final mix-up in South Korea

Hong Kong protest song replaces China anthem at rugby event

Organizers of a rugby tournament in South Korea inadvertently flared an international incident on Sunday by playing a melody that was a famous symbol of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

China’s anthem, “March of the Volunteers,” was supposed to play before Hong Kong took on South Korea in the final of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series in Incheon.

Instead, the song “Glory to Hong Kong” was played. The song’s lyrics referenced the struggle to bring democracy to Hong Kong and free it from Beijing’s rule.

The organizers apologized for the “human error” after Hong Kong officials reacted strongly to the incident.

The tournament organizers played the Chinese national anthem after the game.

Despite acknowledging that it was a human error, the Hong Kong Rugby Union insisted that the mistake was still unacceptable.

Hong Kong makers react

The Hong Kong government “strongly deplores and opposes the playing of a song closely associated with violent protests and the ‘independence’ movement’ in place of China’s national anthem,” it said.

Pro-Beijing legislators sought an inquiry to determine whether the act was intentional.

The players could be seen remaining calm and not reacting to the wrong song in a video of the incident.

Politicians pounced on this display and attacked the players.

“They just let the country be humiliated,” Junius Ho, a pro-Beijing Hong Kong politician, wrote on Facebook. “They have completely failed and lost our trust. Now the only solution is to dissolve the Hong Kong rugby team.”