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Epoch Times: Mainland Banned “Politically Sensitive” Songs that Anti-Extradition Bill Protesters Sang in Hong Kong

The mainland banned a song a Hong Kong artist sang after he made a statement in support of the anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong. Well-known singer Lo Ta-yu, who was born in Taiwan and went to Hong Kong in order to advance his career, recently held a concert at the Taipei Arena. During the concert on June 16th, Lo sang the song “Queen’s Road East” which was co-produced with Lin Xi, Hong Kong lyricist, in 1991. Because this song reflects the Hong Kong people’s sense of uneasiness in the face of the transfer of sovereignty, Beijing considers it to be politically sensitive. During the concert, Lo said the following words three times: There are “certain things you can’t rush.” Lo told the media after the concert that he was expressing his view about the anti-extradition bill protests. He said that he felt disheartened when the Hong Kong government used tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and Bean bag rounds to target the protesters. On June 19, Chinese netizens noticed that the song “Queen’s Road East” was removed from among the major music sites in the mainland including QQ, NetEase Cloud Music, Kugou Music, and Xiami Music. In addition, the mainland removed “Pearl of the Orient,” another song that Lo produced and also, “Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies” by Beyond, which thousands of protesters sang during the anti-extradition bill protest.

According to hk01.com, Hong Kong’s online media, “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Misérables was a song widely sung during the protest but it was banned in China. After hearing protesters sing his song, Herbert Kretzmer, who wrote the lyrics of the song wrote to the Daily Mail saying how humbling that his Les Misérables hit has helped (the Hong Kong people) to fight for freedom.

Source:
1. Epoch Times, June 23, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/6/23/n11341454.htm
2. Daily Mail, June 19, 2019
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7160409/How-humbling-Les-Miserables-hit-helped-fight-freedom.html