A special law aiming to protect the dignity and rights of military personnel in China was approved on Thursday at the 29th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).
No organization or individual may in any way slander or belittle the dignity of soldiers, insult or slander the honor of soldiers, and must not damage or defile the honors given to soldiers, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.
The law says that honors obtained by a soldier shall be enjoyed for life, and shall not be revoked except for statutory reasons or through statutory procedures.
China implemented an amendment to the Criminal Law on March 1, regulating that those who infringe on the reputation and honor of martyrs, severely damage the dignity of martyrs, and damage the image of soldiers on the national border, should be prosecuted according to law.
On May 31, Qiu Ziming, known as "Labixiaoqiu" online, who has more than 2.5 million followers, received a jail term of eight months for defaming martyrs. It was China's first such reported case since a new amendment was attached to the Criminal Law.
In September 2016, a blogger was asked to make a public apology after he challenged the story of Qiu Shaoyun, a soldier who was said to have chosen to burn to death rather than betray the positions of his fellow soldiers during the Korean War (1950-53).
