Man Jailed for Insulting Hong Kong's National Anthem

A Hong Kong court has sentenced a man to three months in jail for insulting China's national anthem by replacing it with a protest song in a video clip. The court stated that a deterrent sentence was necessary as the anthem represents a country's dignity and territorial integrity. The defendant, a photographer, had uploaded the video on YouTube during a gold medal presentation ceremony for a Hong Kong athlete at the Tokyo Olympics. This is the first case tried under the national anthem law passed in 2020, which criminalizes disrespect of China's national anthem with imprisonment or fines. The legality of the protest song, "Glory to Hong Kong," is also being determined by a Hong Kong court.