“Glory to Hong Kong” Re-Uploaded to Spotify, Apple Music Despite Chinese Ban

Photo Credit: DGX Music

Protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong” has re-appeared on music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. The song has returned just days after the distributor pulled the song from platforms following a court injunction.A Hong Kong appeals court ruled that “Glory to Hong Kong” has become a weapon to incite unrest in the city, overturning a decision by a lower court that cited free speech concerns. Now the team behind the song, DGX Music, has re-uploaded the song and issued a statement about its return.

“Unjustified repression will not silence the people, and even if we lose our instruments and our accompaniment, even if we lose a publisher, our pursuit of freedom and democracy will never end,” the statement in Chinese reads. The original distributor EmuBands removed the protest song to honor the court order. “It was our decision to remove the song and yes, this is because of the court order,” EmuBands said in a statement.

Following that removal, DGX Music took to social media to say it would get the song reinstated as soon as possible as the song was not banned. New uploads of the song from May 25 and May 26 on Spotify and Apple Music feature an acapella version released as a single, as well as a Permanent Edition EP with orchestral, instrument, music box, and English versions for streaming. The song also re-appeared on YouTube on May 27 with Distrokid listed as the music distributor. The Spotify and Apple Music uploads attribute recording rights to 7196175 Records DK.“Glory to Hong Kong” was first released in August 2019 as pro-democracy protests and unrest swept across the city. The song contains the lyrics “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” which the government has deemed pro-independence speech. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy. Advocating for Hong Kong independence from China became illegal after the Hong Kong national security law in 2020.