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Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen host the council meeting at the main chamber of the Legislative Council during the third reading of debate ahead of the vote on the Chinese national anthem on June 4, 2020 in Hong Kong, China.(Photo: Getty Images)

The law is considered the latest effort by Beijing to assert its authority over the territory, according to Financial Times.

The vote coincided with Hong Kong bracing for activities across the territory to remember the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, when authorities crushed mass protests in Beijing, Financial Times said.

The move comes just days after Chinese authorities gave the green light to move ahead with a national security law, which the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada, as well as international human rights groups, say will erode freedoms in the global financial hub.

Open displays of defiance have become common in Hong Kong when the anthem is played at sporting and other public events, especially since mass pro-democracy protests erupted in the city last year.

Hong Kong is the last place on Chinese government-controlled territory where large-scale memorial activities can be openly held. Every June 4 since 1990, hundreds of thousands of people have gathered for a candlelit vigil.

Activists fear the recent decision by China’s parliament to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong, which may come into force by the end of this month, will make it illegal to hold open remembrances of Tiananmen.

Hong Kong pro-democracy activists take part in a rally on the eve of the Tiananmen Square anniversary. (Photo: Getty Images)

The National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp parliament, inserted the national anthem law into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, or Basic Law, three years ago. But it would only come into effect once Hong Kong lawmakers passed their own version of the legislation.

The national security law, by contrast, will be imposed on Hong Kong by promulgation, denying LegCo an opportunity to modify it.