National anthem row: Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association accuses sports federation of ‘threatening interrogation style’
- Association chairman Mike Kan releases 2,000-word rebuke saying he can no longer stay quiet
- Federation earlier accused association of providing inaccurate information about anthem mix-up in final report
A row between the Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association and the city’s sports federation has deepened after the former accused the latter of disrespecting athletes and adopting a “threatening interrogation style” when grilling them over a national anthem blunder.
Association chairman Mike Kan Yeung-kit said in a 2,000-word rebuke issued late on Friday night he could “no longer stay silent” after witnessing how Edgar Yang Joe-tsi, honorary secretary general of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, had handled the matter.
The federation had also said two earlier reports it received lacked details. But Kan pointed to the pressure placed on team leader Annie Kwan Yuen-yee over the past three months.
“If the federation did not interrogate her in a threatening manner like [authorities did] in the 1960s and instead focused on sorting out the incident with Kwan, she would have been able to recall the incident in detail,” he wrote.
He added that Yang, also the commandant of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force, should have been more aware of the information he needed.
Kan said he doubted whether the association’s full cooperation with the investigation could help clear its name. He accused Yang of explicitly stating during a meeting in late March that he would not believe what Kwan said. He still rejected the team’s explanations even after the event organisers had taken blame for the mistake.
Hong Kong sports federation says ice hockey body ‘inaccurate’ in anthem claims
Kan’s remarks were immediately deplored by the federation.
“It is regrettable that the association mixed up the secretary general’s role with his position as the commander of the Auxiliary Police Force and distorted the questioning process as an interrogation,” it said.
“If the federation made any false statements or threatened anyone in the meeting, the association’s representatives should have raised their objections at the meeting or even to the media.”
Regarding the conversation in which Yang allegedly disrespected the athletes’ efforts, the federation claimed the transcript did not present the whole picture.
Hong Kong ice hockey body advises other associations on how to avoid anthem blunders
It also said Kan did not answer any questions about the incident raised by the federation or speak to the public in his capacity as chairman before their meeting in late March and only responded one month later.
A letter submitted with the report said men’s hockey team leader Kwan had tried six times to give a USB drive with the anthem to the organisers but was unsuccessful.
But the federation insisted the explanation was inaccurate, as it was “understood” that the association did not have a USB drive, which was established at a recorded face-to-face meeting on March 23.
Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association hits back at sports federation in anthem row
The federation earlier threatened to suspend the association’s membership after ruling the sports team failed to take the proper steps to ensure the national anthem was played at an international match.
The dispute has prompted sports sector lawmaker Kenneth Fok Kai-fong, vice-president of the federation who also served as the honorary president of the ice hockey association, to weigh in on Saturday.
He noted discussions had deviated from the “original intention” of plugging the loopholes that led to the wrong song being played and become a matter of pointing fingers at organisations and individuals.
Fok said he would meet the relevant stakeholders, including the ice hockey association and the athletes, in the hope of settling the dispute.
