Hong Kong's appeal court on Wednesday banned the protest song "Glory to Hong Kong" — an anthem popularized during the territory's widespread democracy demonstrations in 2019.

The decision makes the song the first to be prohibited since Britain handed the former colony back to China in 1997.

Why has the song upset authorities?

Demonstrators often sang the anonymously written piece during their pro-democracy protests. 

Its lyrics include the slogan "Liberate Hong Kong; Revolution of our times," and it had already become dangerous to play or sing after authorities crushed the demonstrations.

Officials have lobbied Google to remove the song from search results and video platforms, although with little success.

In one mix-up that particularly embarrassed officials, the song was played as the city's anthem at an international sporting event instead of China's "March of the Volunteers."

In March 2023, tech giant Google said city authorities had urged it to remove two YouTube videos about that mistake. Although Hong Kong police said the content was a deliberate insult to China's national anthem, Google left the videos online.

What did the court say?

Hong Kong's High Court last year made a surprise ruling against the ban, which it said could have a "chilling effect" on innocent third parties.

However, Court of Appeal judge Jeremy Poon said the court was satisfied that an injunction should be granted to prevent acts including the broadcasting and performing of the song.

"The composer of the song has intended it to be a 'weapon' and so it had become," Poon wrote in his deliberation.

Poon said the injunction was needed as "criminal law alone would not achieve the public interest purpose of safeguarding national security."

In December, government lawyer Benjamin Yu had argued the song was akin to "misinformation and propaganda."

He maintained that the song was still "prevalent" and that it "remains highly effective in arousing emotions of the public."

Beijing's "one country, two systems" doctrine means that Hong Kong is governed under a judicial system of its own, separate from mainland courts.

Since the protests were quashed and Beijing's national security law enacted in 2020, public dissent has largely dissipated with most pro-democracy activists and opposition politicians either arrested, silenced, or living in self-imposed exile.

rc/nm (AFP, AP)