Photo credits: Florian Wehde
According to Spotify, the distributor removed “Glory to Hong Kong” as the Chinese government cracked down on all forms of the protest song.
A pro-democracy protest anthem, “Glory to Hong Kong,” was pulled from Spotify and other streaming platforms by the distributor – according to Spotify – amid the Chinese government’s ongoing efforts to ban the protest song in all forms.
The song is associated with the protests and riots of 2019. It recently dominated Apple’s iTunes charts after a request from the Chinese government legal dispositions to banunlawful acts” in connection with the song, its melody, its lyrics and all derivatives.
On Monday, June 12, the Chinese government filed an executive order to authorize the “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, distributing, performing or reproducing” the song “Glory to Hong Kong.” ban online, for secessionist or seditious purposes, or with intent to violate the National Anthem Act. Furthermore, anyone who helps others to commit such acts related to the song would be criminal and would be sued by the CCP government.
On Wednesday, June 14, the song disappeared from Apple Music and Spotify, while some sources report versions on Facebook and Instagram have also disappeared. Meanwhile there are still some variations of the song on Soundcloud and YouTube.
The song had previously been banned in schools across China, but the government had refused to say whether the song itself was illegal until recent court injunctions.
After a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest, Beijing inserted national security laws into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020, bypassing the local legislature. The law criminalized subversion, secession, cooperation with foreign forces, and “acts of terrorism” — broadly defined as disrupting transportation and infrastructure.
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, along with Google, Apple, Soundcloud and other streaming platforms, have responded to media requests for comment.