After several unsuccessful attempts to ask Google to stop people from referencing the protest song when searching for Hong Kong’s national anthem, China’s special administrative region launched its own search engine optimisation. Decided to take action.
A Google search for Hong Kong’s national anthem shows “Glory to Hong Kong” at the top. It is a Cantonese song and was released in August 2019 amid protests against a law allowing the extradition of Hong Kong residents to China. The song defends independence from China and is often sung along with the revolutionary-themed classic “Can You Hear the People’s Song?” at demonstrations.from the musical Les Miserables.
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The song’s top spot on Google means organizers have mistaken it for the official song of multiple global sporting events.
Professor Sun Dong, Hong Kong’s innovation, technology and industry secretary, said Wednesday that he met with Google in November 2022 on the issue.
“During the conference, we learned that the false information generated by Internet searches not only serves as an excuse for some people with ulterior motives to misbehave, but also misleads domestic and foreign netizens, causing serious harm to our country and Hong Kong. We have clearly stated that we will cause harm to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR),” Sun said. He added that the government has asked his Google to remove misinformation from its search results and rank China’s national anthem as a top answer to queries.
Hong Kong does not have a separate official anthem as it is considered part of China.
Google denied the request, stating that search results are based on a fully automated algorithm. The company only removes content that it deems illegal.
“We believe that all Internet search engine service providers must take a corporate responsibility to provide correct online content to users of their services. there is,” said Sun.
His office met again with Google on the matter, and the two sides “agreed to maintain ongoing communication and identify appropriate ways to resolve the issue. Search engine.”
The secretary said the territorial government monitors search results for the symbol of Hong Kong and “optimized the content of government web pages related to the national anthem from a technical perspective to improve the ranking of web pages in search results.” I am doing,” he said.
Other measures have been implemented to promote the use of the Chinese national anthem in Hong Kong, such as public education through broadcasts and other patriotic propaganda activities, often aimed at young people.®
