‘BOSS LADY’

Hong Kong Harmonica Player Arrested at Queen Elizabeth Vigil for ‘Seditious Acts’

The musician played songs to a crowd gathered outside the British consulate, including a tune that gained traction as a pro-democracy protest anthem in 2019.

A man who played a harmonica to a crowd gathered outside Hong Kong’s British consulate during Elizabeth II’s funeral was arrested for “seditious acts” on Monday night, according to police and local media reports. The man, a 43-year-old identified only by the surname Pang, is reported to have played several songs, including “Glory to Hong Kong,” a tune that gained traction as a pro-democracy protest anthem in 2019. The mourners applauded the performance, some flashing their phone lights, singing along, or shouting the protest slogan: “Hongkongers add oil!” The man also played the British national anthem before police approached, questioned, and detained him on suspicion of carrying out an “act with seditious intent,” they said. The queen’s death has triggered colonial nostalgia for many Hong Kong residents, according to the Associated Press, with some still fondly referring to the late British monarch as “boss lady.” Hong Kong was returned by the British to Chinese rule in 1997.