China mulls implementing national anthem law in Hong Kong, Macao

BEIJING -- China's top legislature on Tuesday heard draft decisions to apply the newly-adopted National Anthem Law in Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.

According to the bills, the National Anthem Law, taking effect on Oct 1, will be included in Annex III of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Annex III in the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, which regulates national laws to be applied in the two regions.

The bills were submitted to the bi-monthly legislative session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), which opened Monday.

"To safeguard the authority of the national anthem - one of the national symbols - is to safeguard the authority of the state, the people and the Chinese nation," said Zhang Rongshun, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee,

"In recent years, incidents of disrespecting the national anthem had occurred in Hong Kong, challenging the bottom line of the principle of 'one country, two systems' and social morality and triggering rage among Chinese including most Hong Kong residents," Zhang said. "It is urgent and important to apply the national anthem law in Hong Kong, in a bid to prevent and handle such offences."