Hong Kong seeks law banning booing of China's national anthem

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong will try to enact a law penalizing people who boo the Chinese national anthem “as soon as possible”, an official said on Wednesday, in a move that critics say undermines the Chinese-ruled city’s autonomy and freedoms.

In the past few years, some Hong Kong football fans have booed the national anthem during World Cup qualifiers and other games, mirroring a more recent protest in the United States with football players kneeling during the national anthem, a practice denounced by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Asian Football Confederation warned the Hong Kong Football Association on Tuesday over the conduct of fans who booed the Chinese national anthem in a match in October.

China has passed a law stating that disrespecting the anthem could result in imprisonment. The law has come into force in China but has yet to be extended to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Patrick Nip said the city had a constitutional obligation to follow up the move by China’s largely rubber-stamp parliament.

FILE PHOTO: Football Soccer - Hong Kong v Malaysia - AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers - Hong Kong, China October 10, 2017 - Hong Kong fans turn their backs during Chinese national anthem. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo

The law will now be added to the annex of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and put to the city’s 70-strong legislature.

“We will do it as soon as possible,” Nip told lawmakers, while saying there would be a consultation process.

Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a so-called “one country, two systems” formula that promises the city a high degree of autonomy, including an independent judiciary.