Hong Kong Woman Jailed For Insulting Chinese National Anthem

A Hong Kong woman was jailed for insulting the Chinese national anthem after she waved a British colonial-era flag to celebrate Hong Kong winning the Olympic gold medal.

The 42-year-old online journalist Paula Leung admitted the charge and was sentenced to three months in jail on Thursday, November 10.

In June 2020, Hong Kong’s local authorities brought in legislation that made insulting the Chinese national anthem an offence. Insulting the national anthem is punishable by up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of 50,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately 510,000 rupees).

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Hong Kong Woman Jailed For Insulting National Anthem

The legislation required people to “stand solemnly and deport themselves with dignity” when the Chinese national anthem is played.

Leung said that she has autism and learning difficulties and waved the flag in a shopping mall where a screen was showing the medal ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. The screen was displaying Edgar Cheung’s medal ceremony after he won the gold.

Large crowds had gathered to celebrate Hong Kong’s second Olympic gold medal and its first gold medal in fencing. The celebrations took a turn when the Chinese national anthem was played for the award ceremony and people began booing.

Hong Kong is a former British colony that represents itself separately from mainland China at the Olympics despite being handed over to China in 1997.

Cheung’s victory was seen as a breakthrough for athletes in Hong Kong but the use of the Chinese national anthem “March of the Volunteers” drew controversy. It marked the first time the Chinese national anthem was played during the Olympic medal ceremony for an athlete from Hong Kong.

When Lee Lai-shan, the windsurfer took Hong Kong’s first gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the British colonial flag of Hong Kong was raised and God Save The Queen was played.

Pro-democracy protesters have occasionally used symbols from the British colonial era in defiance against mainland China. In the pro-democracy protests that took place across the city in 2019, demonstrators often waved the colonial-era flag.