Hong Kong mulls three years' jail for disrespect to Chinese national anthem

HONG KONG - Hong Kong announced plans on Friday (March 16) to punish anyone who disrespects the Chinese national anthem with up to three years' imprisonment as Beijing ups pressure on the semi-autonomous city to fall into line.

Hong Kong has been preparing to introduce the controversial law since China fine-tuned legislation last year on the proper way and place to sing the anthem, tightening rules that already bar people from performing it at parties, weddings and funerals.

Changes to China's criminal law made in November last year (2017) increased the punishment for disrespecting the song from a jail term of 15 days to three years in serious cases.

Defiant Hong Kong football fans have booed the anthem at matches for years as concerns grow that Hong Kong's liberties are under threat.

Fans have also previously turned their backs and displayed Hong Kong independence banners during matches as some activists call for the city to split with the mainland, a notion that infuriates Beijing.

The city is expected to enact a local version of the mainland's anthem law after China in November inserted the legislation into Hong Kong's mini-constitution.

The proposal, submitted by the Hong Kong government to the city's legislature for advice on Friday, mirrors Beijing's penalty of prison time along with a fine of HK$50,000 (S$8,370).

Critics say this is further evidence of a clampdown on the city's freedom of expression, after a raft of imprisonment of democracy activists and the disqualification of rebel lawmakers from the city's legislature.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo described the push as a "psychological weapon to dare (the crowds) to boo the national anthem" and to make residents "feel more Chinese rather than being (from) Hong Kong".

The fine and three-year jail term could apply to anyone who alters the lyrics of the anthem or who is judged to insult it, according to the proposal.

The city's leader "shall prescribe the occasions where the national anthem must be performed and sung", the proposal said.

Secondary and primary schools would also be required to teach students to sing the anthem and to "understand the history and spirit" of the song.

The law, which is expected to pass, would only need a simple majority in the city's legislature, which is weighted towards the pro-Beijing establishment.

Lawmakers will meet to discuss the proposal on March 23.