Google has refused to alter its search outcomes to show China’s nationwide anthem, reasonably than a protest track, when customers seek for Hong Kong’s nationwide anthem, town’s safety chief mentioned on Monday, expressing “nice remorse” on the resolution.

Google’s father or mother firm, Alphabet Inc, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The row comes after Hong Kong police mentioned they’d examine the taking part in of “Glory to Hong Kong” – the unofficial anthem of Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests, on the males’s last of a sevens rugby event in South Korea in November.

“Glory to Hong Kong” was written in 2019, simply as Hong Kong’s protests erupted towards China’s tightening management over town, and was thought-about by many demonstrators within the former British colony to be their nationwide anthem.

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The track was banned in 2020 after China imposed a sweeping nationwide safety legislation on the monetary hub to punish what Beijing defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with overseas forces with as much as life in jail.

The Asia Rugby Affiliation blamed “a easy human error” of taking part in a track downloaded from the web as an alternative of the right anthem. The highest search time period on Google for Hong Kong’s anthem is “Glory to Hong Kong”.

Hong Kong’s safety secretary Chris Tang mentioned a request for Google to exchange the protest anthem with China’s nationwide anthem as the highest search time period was denied, as Google mentioned such outcomes have been generated by an algorithm with no human enter.

“We have approached Google to request that they put the right nationwide anthem on the high of their search outcomes, however sadly Google refused.”

“We felt nice remorse and this has damage the sentiments of Hong Kong folks,” Tang added.