DoJ appeals High Court's refusal to grant injunction on 'Glory to Hong Kong'

The Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday appealed against the High Court's decision for not granting an interim injunction on banning the protest song "Glory to Hong Kong" after the court said earlier the prohibition could undermine freedom of expression and cause "chilling effects."

DoJ said Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok has decided to appeal, and the department has filed the relevant application to the court. 

The action came after the Court of First Instance of the High Court refused the government's application for an injunction for prohibiting four classes of unlawful acts relating to the song "Glory to Hong Kong" on July 28.

The song was mistakenly played instead of China's national anthem at several international sporting events, including rugby and ice hockey competitions.

The DoJ's spokesman added that the CFI refused to grant an injunction not because the acts in question are legal, "but because the court considered that such acts already constitute criminal offenses even without the injunction, and therefore was not satisfied that the injunction would be of real utility."

He said the court has such a decision as there could be a risk the enforcement of the injunction would conflict with the prosecution procedure of cases concerning offenses endangering national security. 

"The Secretary for Justice considered it necessary to appeal to put forward views and request the Court of Appeal to consider granting the interim injunction," the spokesman said.

The spokesman added that the court's judgment also pointed out that if the injunction had no conflict with the National Security Law, and the restriction imposed on freedom of expression is no more than necessary to safeguard national security, "(the court) would have held in favour of granting the interim injunction."