National anthem blunder: Hong Kong top sports body to issue written reprimand to city’s ice hockey association
- ‘After discussion, the board came to the conclusion that the punishment for the association should be relevant to the severity of the incident,’ top sports body says
- Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China to amend guidelines, require athletes skip ceremonies if correct anthem not confirmed
Announcing the decision on Thursday, the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China also said it would modify the current guidelines to require sports teams not to attend award ceremonies if organisers had not confirmed they had the correct anthem beforehand.
“After discussion, the board came to the conclusion that the punishment for the [Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association] should be relevant to the severity of the incident and apply sufficient deterrent effect as the association had neither handled the situation well nor paid enough regard to the incident after it happened,” federation honorary secretary general Edgar Yang Joe-tsi said.
“So we decided to issue a stern written reprimand, instead of a general written warning, to the association,” he added, characterising the move as an end note to the months-long row between the federation and the association.
Yang also said the top sports body would notify the government of its decision, but stressed the reprimand did not equate to any move to cut the association’s funding.
The association in May submitted an 11-page report to the federation, explaining how a protest song was played instead of the national anthem after Hong Kong beat Iran in the Ice Hockey World Championship’s third division in Bosnia and Herzegovina in February.
The document also included a road map for improving the association’s corporate governance in the wake of the incident.
End row over Hong Kong national anthem fiasco and improve, minister warns
The ice hockey body was also required to submit an additional report on Thursday, which would outline measures for improving its corporate governance, integrity management and membership system within 14 days.
Yang announced the federation would also refine its national anthem guidelines to prevent future incidents, with all sports associations required to obtain a toolkit bag containing two USB drives with copies of the song and two of the city’s flags.
Teams would be required to bring their toolkit bags to overseas sports events to give to organisers, who must provide a written receipt.
Athletes must also refrain from attending awards ceremonies if event hosts refused to allow team leaders to double-check they had the correct anthem and flag beforehand.
Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association accuses sports federation of ‘interrogation’
In a statement, the ice hockey association offered an apology for the anthem mix-up, and appealed for “forgiveness” over what it called an independent and unfortunate event. The association said it would expedite improvements to its corporate governance.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said he was “very much” in favour of the federation’s decision to issue a written reprimand.
Such a decision had a correlation with the long-term development of sports, athletes’ training and government spending, he added.
“I think the federation’s handling of the situation is rational and reasonable. And I hope the association can continue to cooperate with the federation to enhance its future work,” Yeung said.
“Our goal is to keep up the good work in promoting ice hockey while the athletes can have arenas to show off.”
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department backed the federation’s decision to issue a written reprimand to the association, urging the latter to learn from the incident and make improvements as soon as possible.
It added that the department was further reviewing the use of government funding by the association and would identify where improvements were needed and also ensure the proper use of public resources.
