Avoid insulting legally protected heroes, martyrs, and national symbols in posts or group chats

Nothing. The original’s cautious practical rule is to avoid insulting comments, altered images, or reposts involving heroes and martyrs or China’s flag, emblem, and anthem. Resist joining in merely because others in a group are joking.

Insulting or fabricating claims that infringe protected heroes’ or martyrs’ names, likenesses, reputation, or honor and harm the public interest can bring five to ten days’ detention or a RMB 1,000–3,000 fine. The same administrative range covers specified desecration or denial of their deeds or spirit, and production or dissemination of material glorifying wars of aggression that disrupts public order. More serious circumstances bring ten to 15 days and an optional fine up to RMB 5,000. Serious criminal infringement carries up to three years. Publicly insulting the national flag or emblem, or deliberately distorting the anthem’s words, music, or performance in a degrading way, can also carry up to three years where the statutory seriousness threshold is met. In official cases, Xiao posted two messages insulting Yuan Longping in a 499-person village group and received six months of public surveillance. Qiu posted two distortions of border-defense soldiers’ deeds to a Weibo account with more than 2.5 million followers and received eight months’ imprisonment plus a public apology in national media.

The specific public-security provision was added in the 2025 revision. The original contrasts it with the earlier criminal-law and civil public-interest-litigation routes. A WeChat group containing hundreds of people can be treated as a public setting; do not assume the platform’s group format makes a post private.

Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (2025). Revised Public Security Administration Punishments Law, Article 35. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml; Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (2018). Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law, Articles 22 and 26. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/gyssshmhsh/201912/t20191202_440079.shtml; Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (2020). Criminal Law Amendment XI, Article 35, adding Article 299-1. https://www.spp.gov.cn/zdgz/202012/t20201227_503682.shtml; National People’s Congress (2020). Criminal Law consolidated through Amendment XI, Articles 299 and 299-1. https://jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925/index.html; Supreme People’s Court (2022). Ten typical cases protecting heroes’ and martyrs’ rights, Cases 2 and 3. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/382301.html.