Hong Kong student gets community service for insulting national anthem

A 19-year-old Hong Kong student has been sentenced to 180 hours of community service for insulting the national anthem by turning his back to the pitch when the song was played at a 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier match last year.

Eastern Court on Wednesday heard that Lau Pun-hei, a second-year political science student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, had shown “some remorse” and was unlikely to repeat the offence.

Lau, who promised in mitigation not to make the same mistake again, pleaded not guilty to insulting the national anthem.

Lau’s lawyer suggested a 160-hour community service order, saying the defendant was willing to give up his participation in his university’s debate club and other extracurricular activities to serve his sentence, despite the impact on his campus life.

The court earlier found that Lau’s conduct at Hong Kong Stadium was punishable by a catch-all clause of the National Anthem Ordinance and said it amounted to undermining the dignity of “March of the Volunteers” as a symbol of the People’s Republic of China.

The ordinance states that a person commits an offence if they publicly and intentionally insult the national anthem “in any way”.

Lau was among three spectators arrested for an alleged violation of the 2020 ordinance during the match between the city’s team and Iran on June 6, 2024.