Honk Kong citizens have raised a strong protest against the Hong Kong government’s recent requirement that television stations broadcast the Chinese national anthem every evening. The citizens apparently view the broadcasts as a sign of increasing Chinese Communist Party control.

Since the beginning of October, before daily evening newscasts, television stations in Hong Kong have been required to air 40 seconds of the Chinese national anthem while showing patriotic background scenes.

Many people in Hong Kong have expressed disgust by this intrusion, which reminds them of the Cultural Revolution and the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. A woman working at a Hong Kong company said she changes the channel as soon as she hears the anthem.

Resistance to the Chinese national anthem does not imply that Hong Kong People are unpatriotic, as the Chinese government has complained. According to The Associated Press, many people in Hong Kong see Mainland China as their homeland. This feeling, however, does not translate into support for the Chinese Communist Party.