During the ceremony of the 20th anniversary of the handover of Macau in 2019, Lam was spotted not clapping and not singing during a group sing-along of the patriotic song "Ode to the Motherland" led by Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping. This was seen by some as a silent act of support for Hong Kong's pro democracy movement. An editorial compared Lam's behavior to August Landmesser's refusal to perform the Nazi salute with fellow workers during the reign of Nazi Germany.
