Beijing is deviate from a law This would have punished the wearing of clothing that “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people” and subsequently provoked a public response.
In September, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress published a draft law that might, amongst other things, ban speech and clothing which are considered to be critical of the Chinese nation or people. Anyone found guilty could withstand 15 days in prison or a high-quality of 5,000 yuan ($688). The law was passed amid a increased emphasis to the patriotism of the Chinese government.
The proposal sparked a public outcry because it was unclear what it would mean by hurting “the feelings of the Chinese people.” Just per week after the draft law was released, 90,000 people had submitted nearly 110,000 suggestions, in line with state media. China Daily. Legal experts quoted within the Global times, Another state-owned media company called for a legal clarification of those terms.
Beijing is now able to revise the law, reports say LegalDaily, a Chinese-language media outlet affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party. The outlet acknowledged that hurting “the feelings of the Chinese people” was subjective and feared that law enforcement could abuse such a rule.
Experts pointed to a case in August 2022 by which Chinese police briefly detained a girl for wearing a kimono, a standard Japanese garment. She was accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and later apologized for “hurting the feelings of our nation,” in line with the South China Morning Post.
Last September, uniformed officers ordered a girl to go away a park in Wuhan after her clothes were unsuitable for a Japanese kimono.
Nationalism in China
Analysts have previously noted that younger Chinese are more nationalistic than their predecessors and more willing to defend the country against perceived insults. Consumers are increasingly turning to domestic brands and rejecting foreign brands which have allegedly insulted China through their actions.
However, not all Chinese firms profit from more patriotic buyers.
Earlier this yr, nationalists accused Chinese mineral water maker Nongfu Spring of using Japanese symbols on its products. Convenience stores pulled Nongfu’s products from shelves and social media users urged customers to purchase from a rival brand as an alternative. Nongfu lost around HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) in market value in only two weeks.
Even Huawei, China’s technology world champion, isn’t immune. Nationalists attacked the corporate’s decision to call its domestic processor “Kirin,” the Japanese name for a mythical creature.
