TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Video surfaced on Monday (Nov. 28) showing a driver defiantly blaring out the banned song "Do you hear the people sing?" on a busy street in Hangzhou, China.
As anti-lockdown and anti-government protests spread across China, a video surfaced on Monday showing a driver loudly playing the Les Miserables song "Do you hear the people sing?" Since its release in 1980, the song has been adopted by many protests and movements over the years, including in the 2019 Hong Kong protests.
On Monday, Twitter user Teacher Li is not Your Teacher (李老师不是你老师), posted a video showing a silver car loudly blasting the tune while stopped at a crosswalk outside the Hubin Yintai In77 shopping mall in Hangzhou. In the video, the first lyrics audible are "Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?"
Much of the lyrics of the song can then be heard before the light turns green and the verses "Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people..." are played as it drives away. A crowd of onlookers can then be heard loudly clapping in approval.
Amid its extensive use by Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters, the Chinese government removed the song from every platform on July 27, 2019.
杭州21:20分左右，湖滨银泰in77十字路口
一辆车沿街放Do you hear the people sing，现场居民鼓掌欢送其离开。
据悉，这首歌于2019年7月27日在国内下架 pic.twitter.com/hiGrmd84qy
— 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele) November 28, 2022
