One-minute tune titled Hong Kong Our Home has been criticised by pro-democracy activists as ‘hypocritical’

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

If the mandarins in the Hong Kong government are to be believed, the city is “shining ever brighter… up on the world stage” and they are “astounding the world as we always have”.



But the overly sunny picture painted in a new song released by the government has been panned by critics, who say the authorities are whitewashing over deep societal problems as the city prepares to mark 20 years since the UK handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

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The one-minute tune titled Hong Kong Our Home is the official theme song to mark the occasion and reportedly cost about £20,000 to produce. But lines like “I admire Hong Kong, We love her with an eternal glowing flame, that grows as time goes by” strike a decidedly upbeat tone that many find is out of step with the mood of ordinary citizens.

Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy lawmaker, witnessed the handover and said the tune sounds like a commercial jingle, but rings hollow and the message of unity is “hardly memorable”.

“The song is phoney and it’s hypocritical,” said Mo. “To most Hong Kongers it’s been 20 years of things going downhill, at least in 1997 we were holding on to some hope.”

“Today most local young people have more of a Hong Kong identity, as opposed to feeling Chinese,” she added. “But Beijing keeps telling Hong Kong we should be grateful of their parental care.”

Hong Kong was returned to China after more than 150 years of colonial rule, and the city was allowed to maintain separate laws, government and financial system under a framework known as “one country, two systems”. But many pro-democracy activists say freedoms have eroded under Chinese rule, and Beijing is increasingly involved in the city’s politics.

The city is preparing for a series of celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover, including a rumored visit by Chinese president Xi Jinping. Security forces are preparing for mass protests that may coincide with Xi’s visit.

If Xi does travel to Hong Kong, he will swear in the city’s newly elected leader Carrie Lam. Lam is deeply unpopular, especially with the city’s youth, but the vast majority of Hong Kong people had no say in her election, as a committee of only 1,194 elites selected Lam after heavy lobbying by Beijing.

Lam and her predecessor, Leung Chun-ying, have been slammed for increasing divisions in society and not representing Hong Kong.

Joshua Wong, a 20-year-old protest leader born less than a year before Hong Kong was handed to China, said the anniversary is “not an occasion for celebration because we are facing the failure of ‘one country, two systems’”.

“The song is just trying to create false momentum with notions of harmony to solve the government’s legitimacy crisis,” Wong said. “But it will just make people keep an even further distance with the government.”

Wong and his political party are preparing to organize a series of protests to commemorate the handover in the hopes of raising awareness internationally.