'Glory' remains top Google search result

Glory to Hong Kong remains the top search result when googling "Hong Kong anthem," sparking discussions about what action local authorities should take in the face of this glaring reality.

Apart from Google, the song is also shown as the top search result on South Korean search engines Naver and Daum.

The real national anthem - March of the Volunteers - only appears when googling "Hong Kong China National Anthem."

Legislator Vincent Cheng Wing-shun of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said the administration should initiate a probe in the SAR to check if anyone on the home front had responsibilities for the blunder at the Asian Rugby Sevens at Incheon on Sunday.

"Regardless of whether the blunder is a careless mistake or if there was a misunderstanding, it's quite disappointing as it was an international match," Cheng said.

"The Korean organizers said they relied on results from search engines.

"This is a low-level error, which has shown that they were not professional at all. It is also not the usual way organizers collect national anthem files."

Duncan Chiu, the technology and innovation sector representative in the legislature, said search engine operators have the responsibility to provide accurate information.

He added that search engines should also explain that Hong Kong is a part of China and should put national anthems that are recognized by specific countries as top results.

Meanwhile, Wong Ho-wa, convener of the Internet Society Hong Kong's Open Data Committee, explained that the order of results shown on Google is based on content on news websites or Wikipedia.

Wong said that since Glory to Hong Kong is described as "the national anthem of Hong Kong" by some protesters on Wikipedia, it is also available on various music streaming platforms, which made Google recognize the song as the anthem for the SAR. Theoretically, in order to separate the search "Hong Kong anthem" from the song, content related to the song may have to be taken down from Google, he said.

As stated on Google's support website, users can file a request if they see content that may violate laws or rights.