Govt Urged To Tread Carefully With Anthem Law

Pro-democracy parties on Friday called on the government to thoroughly consult the public about its proposals on a national anthem law in the city, warning of the dangers of ambiguous wording and a risk that the legislation could violate the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and the Basic Law.

A paper submitted to Legco sets out how altering, distorting or "insulting" the anthem could land offenders with fines of up to HK$50,000 or three years in prison.

It also says all those present at an event where the anthem is played must stand up and show respect, while the use of the anthem in commercial advertisements, at private funerals, or as background music in public venues, would be unlawful.

Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung said the government should make it very clear what sort of conduct would be considered to be disrespectful.

He also cautioned against following too closely the anthem law that was introduced on the mainland last year and later incorporated into Annex III of Hong Kong's Basic Law.

"Article 1 [of the mainland's national anthem law] states very clearly that the national anthem has to promote socialism. But then the gist of One Country, Two Systems is that we do not have socialism, we have capitalism here in Hong Kong," Yeung said.

"If that becomes part of the Hong Kong law, I have strong concerns that would clash with the principle of One Country, Two Systems and the foundation of the Basic Law."

The Democratic Party called on the government to consult the public on the anthem law in the form of a white paper. Party chairman Wu Chi-wai said this would allow people to digest all the details and provide feedback.

Wu warned that if this was not done, the legislation could be caught in gridlock, similar to current discussions on stationing mainland law enforcement officers at the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus.

The government has also said that it believes primary and secondary schools should be required to teach students the anthem – how to sing the "March of the Volunteers", the history behind it, as well as the "spirit" of the anthem.

But education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said it would not be necessary to write this requirement into law, because current guidelines are already sufficient.

"Schools nowadays are already teaching the national anthem. For the time being, we are using, for example, curriculum guidelines, the syllabus and other circulars issued by the Education Bureau or the Curriculum Development Council to inform the schools what to do in class. That is already very sufficient", Ip said.

Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker Priscilla Leung said schools should not worry too much about their proposed role in promoting the national anthem, as there would be no punishment for those who failed to teach it properly.

Leung also said that she was glad that the government does not intend to make the law retroactive, as some pro-Beijing figures had suggested should happen, and said she agrees with this as long as the legislation is passed within a reasonable time-frame.

Meanwhile, DAB chairwoman Starry Lee said any concerns the public have about the future legislation will be addressed during Legco discussions and there is still a long process to go before the new law is implemented.

"If during this period the general public have some concerns and questions they can raise them and I have full confidence that we as legislators, and the administration, will properly deal with them," Lee said.