HONG KONG (AP) 鈥 A popular Hong Kong protest song was no longer available Wednesday on several major music streaming sites and social media platforms, after the government sought an injunction to ban the tune.
鈥淕lory to Hong Kong鈥 rose to popularity during the 2019 pro-democracy protests, and . In 2020, the government outlawed the protest slogan 鈥淟iberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times鈥 over secessionist and subversive connotations, and the song was widely considered to be banned in the city as its lyrics contained parts of the slogan.
Hong Kong, once a bastion of free speech and expression, has come under tighter scrutiny by Beijing after the unrest in 2019. Since then, its political system has undergone a major overhaul to ensure that only 鈥減atriots鈥 loyal to Beijing can hold office. More than 250 people have been arrested under a sweeping national security law passed in 2020 that critics say is aimed at suppressing dissent.
The song rose to the top of Apple iTunes鈥 charts last week after the Hong Kong government sought an injunction from the courts to ban 鈥渦nlawful acts鈥 related to the song and any derivatives of it, including the lyrics and melody.
But the song was no longer available on music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music on Wednesday. The original version of the tune was also not available on Facebook and Instagram鈥檚 Reels function.
Spotify said in an emailed statement that the song was pulled by its distributor and not the platform. Facebook, Instagram, and Apple Music did not immediately comment.
The song's creator, DGX Music, said in a post on their Facebook page that it was 鈥渄ealing with some technical issues related to streaming platforms鈥 and apologized for the 鈥渢emporary鈥 issue.
Versions of the song, including the one by the original creators, were still available on video-streaming site YouTube.
The Hong Kong government sought an injunction to ban the song after it was at several international sporting events in the past year, instead of China鈥檚 national anthem 鈥淢arch of the Volunteers.鈥
Court hearings in the case have been adjourned until July 21.
During a regular news briefing on Tuesday, Hong Kong鈥檚 leader John Lee said the song was 鈥渘ot compatible with national interest鈥 and that the city should 鈥減roactively and also preventively鈥 safeguard national security.
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