Why controversy marches to the tune of China’s national anthem

A proposed new law on the mainland to protect the song from abuse has sparked debate on its application in Hong Kong

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A flag-raising ceremony at the PLA garrison in Hong Kong to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the city's return to Chinese rule. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 1:00pm, 11 Jul 2017Updated: 2:42pm, 10 Jan 2019

A fresh round of debate has sprung up around the Chinese national anthem as mainland lawmakers work to introduce legislation to punish “abusers” of the March of the Volunteers. While the draft law would prevent use of the anthem in contexts such as advertising or background music for events, legal experts were divided on its application in Hong Kong, where soccer fans made international headlines for booing the anthem.

Controversy is nothing new in the zigzag course of the anthem’s history. Launched as a film song in 1935, the March of the Volunteers became a No 1 hit with its stirring rhythm and lyrics rallying a China at war with Japan.

But decades later, during the Cultural Revolution, the anthem fell from grace and was seldom played. On the rare occasion that it was sung, the words were changed as lyricist Tian Han was seen as a traitor.

It did not regain its united voice across and beyond the country until 1989, when singing crowds at Tiananmen Square were echoed by up to a million protesters in Hong Kong and Macau in support of the pro-democracy movement.

The song’s fortunes turned again as it became a staple of Hong Kong’s national education initiative in 2004, galvanising an increasingly mixed reception in society. On paper, the score takes up a mere 37 bars, but the debates it has triggered continue unabated.