GUANGZHOU, China -- At least two runners participating in the Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday were stopped by police and ordered to change clothes because their garments had a popular slogan printed on them, according to the online edition of the Mingpao local newspaper and other sources.
The slogan was "Hong Kong, add oil" in Chinese, an expression of encouragement to cheer someone on.
The phrase was frequently shouted during the 2019 protest rallies against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.
The Hong Kong police allegedly deemed that displaying the slogan constituted a demonstration of political messages, which was prohibited by the marathon's organizer.
Another runner had a tattoo of the phrase on their leg and was allowed to participate on condition that the slogan was covered with adhesive tape.
The marathon was canceled last year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. This year's event was held for the first time since a sweeping national security law was enacted in Hong Kong in June 2020.
About 15,000 people participated, and the authorities deployed about 2,000 police officers to the event under the reason of preventing terrorism.
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