After an over 18-month hiatus, Standard Chartered’s flagship marathon in Hong Kong returned but the event was dominated by politics and reported accusations of censorship.
Several participants of the marathon over the weekend were reportedly told to cover up tattoos, logos and slogans on clothing with political connotations or be banned from the event, according to local media reports.
«The Standard Chartered Marathon is a sporting event, it should not have any political element,» said organizing committee chairman William Ko Wai-lam.
Slogan Approved
The actions and comments came as a surprise after Ko had made already comments last Monday with regards to politics and attire at the event.
According to a report by local media «The Standard», Ko had specifically singled out «Hong Kong add oil» – a common Cantonese phrase of encouragement, widely used throughout the Hong Kong protests of 2019-20 – as an acceptable slogan when asked by journalists while still recommending alternatives.
Ko also noted that runners were allowed to wear any color as long as it did not affect other runners – likely referring to black clothing, widely accepted as the color of choice to show solidarity with Hong Kong protestors.
U-Turn Decision
But on the day of the event, runners were asked to hide tattooed slogans or change related clothing.
For example, one of the male runners with a tattoo of the «Hong Kong add oil» slogan was reportedly asked to cover up the tattoo with a bandage before participating in the race.
Another woman also reportedly said she was stopped by police constables for donning shorts with a «Hong Kong add oil» logo.
«Hong Kong Add Oil»
«Hong Kong add oil» pertains not only to a widely used phrase but also to a logo that stands for solidarity with the city’s pro-democracy protestors.
The widely recognized icon is an ambigram that reads «Hong Kong» vertically (read from top to bottom) and «add oil» horizontally (read from left to right) when rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise.
