The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR on Thursday said banning illegal use of the protest song Glory to Hong Kong is a justified and necessary act to safeguard the city’s stability and prosperity.

The slanders of some US politicians cannot shake the resolve of Hong Kong people to safeguard national security, a spokesperson for the office said.

The ban is a legitimate move taken by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the High Court to safeguard national security, the spokesperson said

The Hong Kong Court of Appeal granted an interim injunction on Wednesday prohibiting the use in specific acts of a song played during social turbulence in 2019, including broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing the song in any form. Using the song for news and academic purposes is still allowed.

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Following the granting of an injunction, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that the ban was “the latest blow” to the city’s international reputation. Some organizations and members of the State’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee also questioned the ban using baseless accusations.

In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, the Office’s spokesperson said the song aims at inciting secession, stirring up hatred and advocating violent resistance, in violation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, which was enacted on June 30, 2020.

The ban is a legitimate move taken by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the High Court to safeguard national security, the spokesperson said.

Prohibition on the spreading of the song, which has been incorrectly presented on some online platforms as the national anthem of the Hong Kong SAR, is in line with the city’s constitutional duty to preserve the dignity of the national anthem, the spokesperson continued.

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The spokesperson said that the slanderous remarks of some US officials and lawmakers reflect their double standards, urging them to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs.

No external political maneuvering or intervention can shake the determination of Hong Kong people to safeguard national security, nor be an obstacle in the city’s historic advance from stability to prosperity, the spokesperson said.