Hong Kong police fire tear gas, water cannon after protesters hurl petrol bombs: Live updates – CNN

In glitzy malls across Hong Kong, people are spontaneously breaking into a song. It’s not just any tune — it’s a rousing ballad that some are calling the city’s new, if unofficial “national anthem.”

On Wednesday and Thursday nights, large crowds in malls across the city broke into the anthem, which includes lyrics such as “For Hong Kong, may freedom reign.” Earlier in the week, football fans at a World Cup qualifier match between Hong Kong and Iran booed the Chinese national anthem, entitled “March of the Volunteers,” before singing the new protest tune. It could be heard again throughout today’s protest march.

Since the song was released on YouTube at the end of August, it has attracted over 1.6 million views. A video clip of the orchestral version of the song has over 1 million views, and features a choir and orchestra decked out in the unofficial protest uniform of hard hats and face masks, playing instruments as white fog — intended to symbolize tear gas — swirls around them.

Read more about the song, and the man who first composed it here