The Standing Committee of China’s congress passed amendments to a law which will criminalise insulting the national flag and emblem.
The amendment which will come into effect on January 1, 2021, will criminalise those who intentionally burn, paint, deface, discard or display the flag upside down and will be prone to investigation for criminal responsibility.
Amendments to the law were proposed after pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong last year desecrated the Chinese flag resulting in controversy in China.
In Tuen Mun, protestors asked for the reclamation of Hong Kong and some took down a Chinese flag from a pole outside a government office and burned it.
The protests in Hong Kong started over opposition to a proposed extradition law and have since expanded to include demands for greater democracy from China. At least three protesters in Hong Kong have since been sentenced for the desecration of the flag.
Read more here.
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