Posted on 03/13/2017 9:06:36 AM PDT by Petrosius
POLITICIANS introduced amendments to China's nascent civil code to make defaming “heroes and martyrs” of the ruling Communist Party a civil offence, as the leadership moves to strengthen its grasp on the history of the People's Republic.
China's ongoing National People's Congress (NPC), an annual meeting of some 3,000 delegates, is currently debating general rules for a civil code. The rules are expected to be passed by the event's close this Wednesday.
Delegates made 126 changes to the most recent draft of the rules, released on March 8, which will serve as a preamble to the final code, expected in 2020, state media said.
One addition is the line: “Encroaching upon the name, portrait, reputation and honour of heroes and martyrs harms the public interest, and should bear civil liability.”
The deeds of revolutionary heroes and sacrifices of military martyrs are central to the Party's legitimacy, much of which is based on claims of great historic achievements, such as defeating Japan during the Second World War.
Academics who offer different interpretations of history which downplay the role of the Party and its heroes are labelled “historical nihilists”.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has emphasised the need for the party to have faith in its own version of history, pointing to the Soviet Union's collapse as a warning to cadres about what happens if revolutionary leaders are denounced.
The Party warned last year that a flood of online information is causing people to doubt the party and urged that the party do more to rebut “wrong” points of view.
“In modern life, some people use distorted facts and discrediting libel to maliciously slander and insult the honour and reputation of heroes and martyrs... the social impact is very bad, rules should be imposed in response,” the NPC's legal committee said on Sunday, according to a report today by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Politicians also amended the previous draft so that the age at which a child is considered to be capable of civil actions is now 8 years old instead of 6 years old and moved to further protect “good Samaritans” who help in an emergency from liability if they accidentally cause harm.
The ongoing compilation of the civil code, which will form the basis of all China's future private law once passed, is seen by some legal reformers as a test of how far China will go in allowing civil liberties that might impinge upon state power.
Lawyers have said that previous drafts of the preamble fail to make significant progress on protecting individuals from state encroachment for long-standing issues like property rights and the right to personal freedoms.
The Party warned last year that a flood of online information is causing people to doubt the party and urged that the party do more to rebut “wrong” points of view.
Mao was a stinky, murderous pig.
There, I said it.
It’s amazing how much the Rat policies mirror the communist policies.
You have been warned. If you go to China do NOT insult McCain or Obama or anyone in the Democrat party.
Kill all cats!
Could you imagine an EO making it illegal to insult Civil War heroes, Northern OR Southern?
It’s bizarre really. In China it’s illegal to slander their communist heroes. But here you can slander people like Washington, Jefferson, etc., all day long. But don’t do that with people like Martin Luther King, or real enemies of the country. And whatever you do, do not praise a true patriot like Donald Trump.
Off to the Re-Education camp with you!
Isn’t it great that we spent the last 25 years building up this nightmare tyrannocracy?
So now the Chinese can’t make fun of Obama or Hillary? What kind
of world are we living in??!!
They cannibalized their countrymen previously, and God willing, they’ll do it again!
Reminds me of the Firesign Theater and “Commie Martyrs High”.
“That’s Communist Martyrs High School”...
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