Hong Kong athlete signals stop at Dubai powerlifting event following another anthem blunder
- ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ played instead of Chinese national anthem at powerlifting event; incident follows series of mix-ups at rugby matches
- Hong Kong government says in statement it ‘strongly deplores and opposes the incident’
A protest song from the anti-government unrest in 2019 was wrongly played yet again instead of the Chinese national anthem at an overseas sporting event, this time prompting the participating Hong Kong athlete to make a “T” hand gesture to alert the organiser to the blunder.
The Hong Kong government on Saturday said in a statement that it “strongly deplores and opposes the incident” which occurred at the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championship in Dubai on Friday, adding it had asked the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China to follow up “in a serious manner”.
A video online showed the song “Glory to Hong Kong” was broadcast at the powerlifting tournament during a medal ceremony for athlete Susanna Lin, who won gold. After the 15-second mark, Lin was seen making a “T” sign with her hands, with the Chinese national anthem “March of the Volunteers” being played soon after.
A statement from the Secretariat Press Office of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said that an initial report from the Olympic committee found that Lin and the team manager had followed guidelines and responded immediately. As a result, the organiser suspended the ceremony and made a correction, it added.
“The [government] recognises the action taken by the Hong Kong representatives on the spot which upheld national dignity,” the statement said.
“The [government] attaches great importance to the incident and has requested the [Olympic committee] to submit a report as soon as possible, and follow up on the incident in a serious manner.”
The committee said that the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Powerlifting Association had acted according to guidelines, and had provided a recording of “March of the Volunteers” on November 28 for use at the event.
