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Explained: The row over China’s plans to ban speech, clothes that ‘hurt nation’s feelings’

FP Explainers September 8, 2023, 18:09:03 IST

The proposed ‘dress code’ law would ban clothing or behaviour that was seen as being ‘detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese people’. Many legal experts and netizens have denounced as it does not explicitly clarify which clothing or actions/words would be considered in violation of the prohibition

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Explained: The row over China’s plans to ban speech, clothes that ‘hurt nation’s feelings’

There has been a raging controversy about an unusual “dress code” law that has recently been proposed in China. The law, which is still in the drafting stage, would outlaw behaviour that was seen as being “detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese people,” according to The Guardian. People who are found guilty may face fines or jail time if the law is put into effect. Let’s take a closer look. Also read: Why China has banned government officials from using iPhone The “dress code” law in process As concerns grow over China’s president, Xi Jinping, who is becoming more authoritarian and nationalistic, the changes were first made public last week as part of a required “soliciting opinion” process, as per the report. The proposed law does not explicitly clarify what behaviours or words would be considered in violation of the prohibition. It also prohibits damage to their memorial statues and “insulting, slandering or otherwise infringing upon the names of local heroes and martyrs.” The first significant changes in decades are included in this draft bill, which is part of a larger package of planned modifications to China’s public security regulations. The 2005 Public Security Administration Punishment Law, which primarily addresses minor offences, is currently being updated to better reflect current societal realities, according to the state-owned Global Times newspaper, which did not provide further information. Also read: Revealed: Why China’s Xi Jinping is skipping the G20 meeting in Delhi Penalties The controversial provisions of the drafted law state that anybody who is found to be wearing clothes or symbols that “undermine the spirit or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation” may be subject to imprisonment for up to 15 days and fines of up to 5,000 yuan (Rs 79,002). The same punishment may be meted out to individuals who write or broadcast speeches or publications that fall into this category. Also read: How China is engaging ordinary citizens to fight spying The debate The public responded to the clothing law soon enough, with many online denouncing it as being excessive and absurd. People online questioned how law enforcement officials could decide on their own whether the country’s “feelings” are “hurt.” “Will wearing a suit and tie count? Marxism originated in the West. Would its presence in China also count as hurting national feelings,” according to BBC, one user posted on the Chinese Twitter-like platform Weibo. Several legal scholars and bloggers this week published editorials and social media posts urging the removal of certain clauses in the draft. The new draft law was condemned for its lack of legal clarity and the potential for misuse of public authority, according to Zhao Hong, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law. Zhao’s essay was withdrawn from the Paper, a state-run media outlet, on Wednesday, although other commentary is still available. “What if the law enforcer, usually a police officer, has a personal interpretation of the hurt and initiates moral judgment of others beyond the scope of law,” she wrote in the article, as per BBC. The Guardian reported that scholars and analysts have asked the general public to provide feedback on the proposed law, and as of yet, 39,000 people have done so via the National People’s Congress (NPC) website in China. Beijing News Radio, a state-run radio station, recognised there were “those who openly oppose the change” in a post with more than 40,000 likes and 4,000 comments and cited Zhao’s suppressed essay. It urged the NPC to “pay attention to the public’s concerns and safeguard the citizens’ rights.” Former editor of the newspaper Hu Xijin urged for the legal provisions to be clarified in an opinion piece. The “value orientation” of the law, on the other hand, was also supported by Hu, who asserted that “the spirit and sentiments of the Chinese nation should not be hurt.” Also read: Not just India: How China’s redrawing of maps is angering other Asian countries Xi Jinping’s “morality guidelines” The proposed regulation is an example of a wider pattern emerging in China under President Xi Jinping. Since taking office in 2012, the 70-year-old Chinese leader has worked to reexamine the ideal Chinese citizen. In 2019, “morality guidelines” will be released, highlighting adherence to Xi and the Communist Party while promoting actions like civility and ecologically friendly travel. Crackdowns have been seen in some instances. Earlier last month, people who wore rainbow print clothing were denied entry to a concert by Taiwanese singer Chang Hui-mei in Beijing, as per BBC. Police caught a woman in a replica Japanese military uniform in March of this year when she was shopping at a night market. In Suzhou, a city close to Shanghai, a woman was reportedly held last year for donning a kimono, a traditional Japanese garment, in public. “To wear a kimono is to hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation, to eat Japanese food is to jeopardise its spirit? When did the feelings and spirit of the time-tested Chinese nation become so fragile?” wrote one popular social commentator online, who writes under the pen name Wang Wusi. During the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong in 2019, Beijing banned the export of black clothes. A persistent effort to control cultural expressions and habits is shown in the draft law. With inputs from agencies

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