-Director of the State Law Office of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC)
Nandu News The 29th session of the 12th the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) closed in the Great Hall of the People on the afternoon of the 1st. The meeting voted and passed eight laws, including the Nuclear Safety Law, the newly revised SME Promotion Law, the National Anthem Law, and the decision on amending the Judges Law. The National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) held a special press conference on the above laws yesterday.
what is the crime of insulting the national anthem?
Only when it constitutes a crime stipulated in the Criminal Law can criminal responsibility be investigated
The newly adopted National Anthem Law will come into effect on October 1st this year. The law stipulates the occasions where the national anthem should be sung, etiquette norms, etc., and at the same time clarifies the occasions where the national anthem should not be sung, that is, the national anthem should not be used for trademarks and commercial advertisements, private funeral activities and other inappropriate occasions, and should not be used as background music in public places.
There are also media concerns, such as using mobile phones to download the national anthem as a ringtone or as a wake-up call service. Is this illegal?
In this regard, Wu Zeng, director of the State Law Office of the Legal Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), said that she had never encountered such a situation. However, it is common for some people to choose the military songs of China People's Liberation Army (PLA) as ringtones. The National Anthem Law stipulates that the national anthem shall not be sung, used or played on inappropriate occasions, and the dignity of the national anthem must be guaranteed and maintained. Maintaining the dignity of the national anthem is the duty of every citizen.
The National Anthem Law also stipulates that if insulting the national anthem constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law. So, what does "constitute a crime" mean?
according to the principle of China's criminal law, it must constitute a crime stipulated in the criminal law before criminal responsibility can be investigated. In China, there are very few cases of insulting the national anthem, and it is difficult to make inferences. However, considering that there may be a very serious situation of insulting the national anthem in public, this provision is pretended. When the national flag law was applied, some people insulted the national flag in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and were punished by law.