Your right to insult the national anthem
The HK Government is preparing to ignite fresh protests by resuming the Second Reading of the Bill, which must occur by July, or the bill lapses. Last night, it ridiculously claimed that the Bill is not a restriction of free speech. Of course it is. The only question is whether that is constitutional.
The echoes of the Extradition Bill fiasco might conceivably be starting to fade, but the pro-democracy and freedom movement is alive and kicking. So to prevent any semblance of calm returning, the HK Government is igniting a new controversy by preparing to resume the Second Reading debate on the National Anthem Bill "at an appropriate time". The current 4-year legislative session ends in July, so the Second Reading would have to occur before that, otherwise the bill will lapse. The Bill has already passed through a Bills Committee. In a statement last night, the Government said:
"The main spirit of the National Anthem Bill (the Bill) is "respect", which bears absolutely no relations to "restricting freedom of speech" as claimed by certain members of the community and definitely not a so-called "evil law"."
Like it or not, the claim that the Bill would not restrict freedom of speech is false and nonsensical. Any restriction on what one can say or express is, by definition, a restriction on freedom of speech. The only question is whether the restriction is constitutional.
Section 7 of the Bill is titled "Offence of insulting behaviour" and provides that a person commits an offence, punishable by up to 3 years in jail, if he publicly and intentionally insults the national anthem in any way. That includes publishing altered lyrics or score, or playing or singing in a distorted or disrespectful way "with intent to insult".