« Booing, changing the lyrics or disrespecting the song is now punishable with up to three years in prison… »
Today is the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, though the best known image from that event, of a man standing before a tank, happened on June 5. Despite the awkward anniversary, China’s crackdown on freedom in Hong Kong continues today. A new law was put in place which makes it a crime to mock or insult the Chinese national anthem.
Thursday marks 31 years since Chinese troops opened fire on June 4, 1989, to end student-led unrest around the square in Beijing. Rights groups say the enforcement action may have killed thousands of protesters, although the official government count was a few hundred.
Hong Kong also passed a law Thursday that criminalizes the insulting of China’s national anthem, amid chaotic scenes in the territory’s legislature.
The law, passed after three readings, makes it illegal to insult the “March of the Volunteers” anthem. Booing, changing the lyrics or disrespecting the song is now punishable with up to three years in prison or fines equal to about $6,450.
