The men’s final of the second leg of the Asian Rugby Seven Series between Hong Kong and South Korea was held in Incheon, South Korea yesterday. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government strongly regrets and opposes the playing of a song closely associated with violent protests and the “independence” movement in 2019 as the National Anthem of the People’s Republic of China (November 13).
“Our nation is represented by the National Anthem. According to a government spokeswoman, the tournament’s organizer has a responsibility to see that the National Anthem is treated with the respect it deserves. “We already wrote to the Hong Kong Rugby Union last evening requesting that they deal with this situation seriously, undertake a thorough investigation, present a complete report, and transmit our severe concern to Asia Rugby, who is in charge of organizing the Series,” he said.
Asia Rugby has previously apologized to the Hong Kong Rugby Union for the incident based on the preliminary information supplied by the Hong Kong Rugby Union to the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau. A junior member of the local organizer’s staff made the error, according to Rugby Asia, which also verified that the audio of the national anthem supplied by the coach of the Hong Kong Team was the proper one. As soon as the incorrect anthem began playing in the stadium, the Hong Kong Team informed the organizer of the error. After the game, the organizer apologized publicly for the error. When the Hong Kong Team won the final and was awarded the trophy, the proper hong kong anthem of the People’s Republic of China was played.
The third leg of the Asian Rugby Seven Series will be placed in Dubai at the end of the month, and the Hong Kong Rugby Team will take part. The Hong Kong Rugby Union has previously been asked by the HKSAR Government to take precautions to prevent a repeat of the situation.