China’s Parliament is considering imposing jail sentences of upto three years on people who disrespect the country’s national anthem, local media Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
The National Anthem Law, originally proposed in September, stipulated that those who maliciously modify the lyrics, or play or sing the national anthem in a distorted and disrespectful way in public, can be jailed for 15 days, and held criminally liable.
“March of the Volunteers”, with lyrics by poet Tian Han and music by Nie Er, was chosen as the national anthem in 1949.
An amendment seeking changes in this was submitted to the standing committee of the National People’s Congress for deliberation on Tuesday. “As the criminal law stipulates penalties for offences to national flag and national emblem, violations regarding national anthem should also be incorporated with the passing of the new law,” Wang Chaoying, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee’s Legislative Affairs Commission, was quoted as saying.
The draft amendment seeks that punishments for offences of national flag and emblem in public must also apply to the disrespect of the anthem. It proposes a punishment ranging from removal of political rights and public surveillance, to criminal detention and imprisonment of up to three years.
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