Protest song played for Hong Kong rugby team in South Korea

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean organizers of a regional rugby tournament have apologized for mistakenly playing a song embraced by Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters as China’s national anthem. The song “Glory to Hong Kong” was played before the men’s finals between South Korea and Hong Kong in the second leg of the Asian Rugby Seven Series in Incheon on Sunday. The Korea Rugby Union says he mistake was a human error and wasn’t politically motivated. They also say the correct anthem was played at the awards ceremony later. The Hong Kong government issued a strongly worded statement expressing its dissatisfaction over the incident. Pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong also voiced their discontent, with some demanding an investigation to see whether it was a deliberate act.