Imperative HK gets national anthem law

After the positive development on Monday enabling the legislature in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to resume its normal operations, the government has given priority to a second reading of the trademark amendment bill and national anthem bill.

The national anthem bill was gazetted on Jan 11 last year, but its legislative process was interrupted by filibustering which has delayed the electing of a new chairperson for the Legislative Council's House Committee, which scrutinizes bills and decides when they can be sent for a final vote.

With lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king having assumed the role of the House Committee's incumbent chairperson, the chief executive of the SAR, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, said in a statement on Tuesday that she expects the two bills to be given priority in the resumption of second readings by the Legislative Council.

The proposed national anthem law is aimed at ensuring that the residents of the SAR respect China's national anthem. Under the bill, those who publicly and intentionally insult the anthem face fines of up to 50,000 Hong Kong dollars ($6,450) and up to three years imprisonment.

Those who oppose the bill have listed quite a few excuses for their opposition to it, but none of them holds water. And they certainly cannot deny the fact that many Western countries have such laws.

The enactment of a national anthem law is increasingly imperative as there have been a number of occasions during the months of unrest in Hong Kong when the national flag and national emblem have been defaced in public and when the national anthem has been booed at important sports events, leading relevant international sport bodies to warn and fine the HKSAR for violating the rules prohibiting the events from being used to promote political views. Such unpatriotic behavior can only be seen as outburst of hatred harbored by anti-Beijing political zealots and misguided youths.

Those with anti-Beijing views are desperate to foil the SAR government's attempt to introduce a national anthem law, as it will contribute to the cultivation of a stronger sense of national identity and national pride among Hong Kong youth.

In another move intended for the same purpose, Lam has vowed to overhaul the city's education system, arguing that its liberal studies curriculum helped fuel last year's violent anti-extradition protests. On Monday, she described the current secondary school program as a "chicken coop without a roof" and said her government would soon unveil its plans, a move that those who oppose the national anthem bill were also quick to denounce.

But these political zealots are to be reminded that, although the SAR enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the policy of "one country, two systems", it is the former that takes precedence. The proposed national anthem law and the plans to regulate the liberal studies curriculum will help ensure that young people cannot be led astray on this.