Hong Kong police investigate booing of China anthem at Olympics

The police of Hong Kong reported that it launched an investigation into the booing of the national anthem of China and the chants that were heard during the broadcast of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in a mall.

The Chinese international financial market has had its best games with the conquest of the gold medal in fencing by Edgar Cheung and the two silver in swimming that Siobhan Haughey won.

But sporting success coincides with troubled times for the former British colony that was returned to China in 1997 as China has waged a fierce crackdown on political dissidents in response to the gigantic and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations of two years ago.

Hundreds of fans gathered at a mall on Monday night to attend Cheung’s victory.

At the medal ceremony, some fans booed the Chinese national anthem and chanted “We are Hong Kong”, which was broadcast on television.

“We are Hong Kong” is a song commonly sung by Hong Kong football fans, many of whom identify with the Cantonese culture as opposed to the Mandarin spoken in mainland China.

Hong Kong authorities enacted new laws last year prohibiting any insult to the Chinese national anthem and flag.

On Friday, police confirmed that they are investigating whether fans of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics broke the law, and they arrested a 40-year-old man.

“The police have launched an investigation into the incident and are gathering relevant evidence.” A spokesman told AFP.