BEIJING, July 22 -- A travel blogger, named "Xiaoxian Jayson," published photos on social media that infringed on the reputation and honor of the martyrs in front of their monuments at the Kangxiwa Martyrs Cemetery, which has triggered widespread public anger recently.
The official Weibo account of the Cyber Security Detachment of the Hotan District Public Security Bureau in China’s Xinjiang issued a police information report at 19:34 on July 21, stating that the person involved, who is surnamed Li, had been arrested by the Pishan police in the Ali area of Tibet, and the investigation is underway.
Although the photos the travel blogger posted were captioned with Chinese characters meaning “respect", two of them still attracted an online backlash, as the blogger posed with a frivolous smile and gesture next to the tombstone on one of them and even leaned against it on another one.
The People's Procuratorate of Pishan County, Hotan, Xinjiang, stated that according to Article 299 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, the person involved is suspected of infringing the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, and has thus urged the Pishan Public Security Bureau to successfully file a case. In the future, the public interest litigation along with criminal proceedings will be carried out to pursue his civil liability.
The Pishan City Public Security Bureau has contacted the Ali public security agency where Li is currently located and urged him to go to the Pishan County Public Security Bureau for investigation as soon as possible.
The Toutiao News recently issued a notice, saying that the travel blogger’s account was "permanently banned" by the platform for posting the blog involving misconduct that disrespected martyrs.
As the People's Court Daily commented, today's stable and happy life in China is the result of sweat, blood and the lives of heroes and martyrs, and generation after generation of silent persistence and hard work. Insulting the heroes is to challenge the bottom line of public opinion, morality, and the law, and it hurts the conscience of human nature and the feelings of the nation.