美国国家公共电台 NPR In Hong Kong, Booing China's National Anthem Is About To Get More Risky

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Let's hear about a national anthem¹ protest that is playing out on the other side of the world. China passed a law last month. It says those who protest its national anthem can be criminally charged and sentenced up to three years in prison. China is demanding that Hong Kong, which is under its control, enforce the law there as well. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports that this is a problem in a city where free speech enjoys much broader protections.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) We are Hong Kong.

(SOUNDBITE OF CLAPPING)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) We are Hong Kong.

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE²: We are Hong Kong is the cheer tonight among thousands of red-shirted fans at the city stadium, tucked into the lush mountains and jagged skyscrapers³ of Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong's soccer team is playing Lebanon, and the audience quiets down for the visiting team's national anthem.

(SOUNDBITE OF WADIH SABRA'S "LEBANESE NATIONAL ANTHEM")

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Cheering).

(APPLAUSE)

SCHMITZ: The polite applause takes a turn, though, when the national anthem of China - technically⁴ Hong Kong's anthem too - begins.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Booing).

SCHMITZ: China's national anthem can barely be heard. Stadium personnel line the aisles⁵, waving their hands to discourage fans, but it only manages to make them boo louder.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Booing).

SCHMITZ: The booing has now become a regular part of international soccer matches in Hong Kong ever since 2014, when the city was embroiled⁶ in violent protests over China's refusal to allow residents to directly elect their leader. Soccer fan Rose Tse says it's a message to Beijing.

ROSE TSE: (Through interpreter) I don't think the song is worth our respect. You need to earn our respect. You can't force people to respect you.

SCHMITZ: When it comes to its national anthem, China begs to differ.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MARCH OF THE VOLUNTEERS")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing in Chinese).

SCHMITZ: Last month, China banned the use of this song in commercials and parodies⁷, promising⁸ to punish those who do not stand with respect and maintain a dignified⁹ bearing when the anthem is played. Beijing then inserted this law into Hong Kong's constitution. Now Hong Kong's legislature must enact¹⁰ and enforce its own version of the law. This has left Hong Kong legislators like Alvin Yeung scratching their heads.

ALVIN YEUNG NGOK-KIU: How are you going to enforce it? We're talking about stadium. We're talking about hundreds of people. If all these people boo, are you going to arrest all of them? Well, that is my concern. If a law is unenforceable, the law can hardly be respected.

SCHMITZ: But Yeung, a lawyer, says there's a bigger concern.

YEUNG: Some of the Hong Kongers, they are not happy with the Chinese rule, so they have their own way to express that. And I do have strong concerns that while the - this anthem law will - is another indication of China's encroachment¹¹ to Hong Kong's high autonomy.

SCHMITZ: Yeung says the new national anthem law will likely start to be enforced by next summer. Professor Chung Kim-wah, who teaches social sciences at Hong Kong Polytechnic¹² University, worries about what'll happen at the first soccer match after the law goes into effect.

CHUNG KIM-WAH: Well, I think the government, when it try to implement¹³ the legal requirement, it should be very careful. Otherwise, some confrontation¹⁴ or even violence is likely.

SCHMITZ: Back at Hong Kong Stadium, red-shirted soccer fans make it clear where their loyalties¹⁵ lie.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) We are Hong Kong.

(SOUNDBITE OF CLAPPING)

SCHMITZ: Soccer fan Rose Tse, who relishes¹⁶ in booing China's national anthem, hasn't yet thought about what he's going to do once the new law goes into effect.

TSE: (Through interpreter) Maybe I'll just stay home or I'll wait until the anthem's done before I enter the stadium or I'll just get up and go to the toilet as my own form of protest.

SCHMITZ: Tse says he's not interested in going to prison, but he will if he has to. After all, that's what happened to Tian Han, the poet who wrote the lyrics¹⁷ to China's national anthem. Three decades after writing the song, called "March Of The Volunteers," Tian was imprisoned¹⁸ in China as a counterrevolutionary. He died behind bars, but his lyrics, which call on all Chinese who refuse to be slaves to rise up, are now protected with the threat of prison.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MARCH OF THE VOLUNTEERS")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing in Chinese.)

SCHMITZ: Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Hong Kong.

(SOUNDBITE OF EMANCIPATOR'S "DAFFODIL PICKLES")

1 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

4 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

5 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

6 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 parodies   

n.拙劣的模仿( parody的名词复数 )；恶搞；滑稽的模仿诗文；表面上模仿得笨拙但充满了机智用来嘲弄别人作品的作品v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Later, however, they delight in parodies of nursery rhymes. 可要不了多久，他们便乐于对它进行窜改。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• Most parodies are little more than literary teases. 大多数讽刺的模仿诗文只能算上是文学上的揶揄。 来自辞典例句

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

10 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

11 encroachment   

n.侵入，蚕食

参考例句：

• I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
• The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方，继续强行入侵。

12 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

13 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

14 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

15 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 relishes   

n.滋味( relish的名词复数 )；乐趣；（大量的）享受；快乐v.欣赏( relish的第三人称单数 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The meat relishes of pork. 这肉有猪肉味。 来自辞典例句
• The biography relishes too much of romance. 这篇传记中传奇色彩太浓。 来自辞典例句

17 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

18 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。