HONG KONG: A Hong Konger who played a harmonica to a crowd outside the British consulate during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral was arrested for sedition, police and local media said on Tuesday (Sep 20).
Crowds of Hong Kongers have queued to pay tribute to Britain’s late monarch this week, some expressing nostalgia for the city’s colonial past at a time when Beijing is seeking to purge dissent.
Hundreds gathered outside the consulate on Monday evening as Britain was holding a state funeral, sharing livestreams on phones as well as laying candles and flowers.
At one point, a man started to play songs on a harmonica, according to an AFP reporter on the scene, including the British national anthem and Glory To Hong Kong, a popular song during huge, sometimes violent protests three years ago.
The mourners outside the consulate applauded the performance and shone their phone lights, with many later shouting the protest chant “Hong Kongers add oil” and singing Glory To Hong Kong.
Local reporters later photographed the harmonica player being questioned by police and detained.
On Tuesday, police said a 43-year-old man surnamed Pang was arrested outside the consulate for “seditious acts”.
A police source confirmed to AFP that the man arrested was the harmonica player.