China plans to ban “morally offensive” Clothing

Restricting expression is common practice in China. Now the government is also planning to criminalize the wearing of clothing that… “feelings of the people” injured. According to the draft law, someone could be fined or even jailed if they wear something on their person that… “harms the spirit of the Chinese people”.

Under a general law against causing trouble, China can already punish anyone who wears clothing or banners with controversial messages. The new law would also allow authorities to impose fines or even prison sentences on people whose clothing is said to violate morals.

Definitional sovereignty among China’s authorities

It remains unclear in the draft law which items of clothing this is the case for. The respective definition would therefore be left to the authorities. Several lawyers in the country have already expressed concern about the draft law.

What could be considered offensive was shown in videos circulating on Chinese online networks earlier this month. They showed a man being questioned by police in the metropolis of Shenzhen because he had filmed himself wearing a skirt. Some Internet users defended the police action, arguing that the man’s behavior embarrassed others. On the Chinese platform Weibo someone wrote: “This is hurtful to common morals.”

Lawyer Lao Dongyan from Tsinghua University warns that the draft law contains one “The penal norm is too vague, which opens the door to the arbitrary expansion of criminal prosecution”. Most citizens in Beijing interviewed by the AFP news agency expressed similar sentiments, but also said that the law was primarily aimed at preventing the wearing of Japanese clothing at historical dates or places.

The pro-state tabloid had 2021 “Global Times” reported an incident in which a woman wore a kimono in public on Memorial Day for the victims of Japanese war crimes. Last year, another woman reported being arrested while wearing a kimono for a photo shoot in the city of Suzhou.

The 23-year-old Beijinger He speaks of “special circumstances”which justified a restriction on the free choice of clothing, for example “offensive” Behavior in front of certain monuments or on certain days “is 100% intentional and must be punished”. However, from the young woman’s point of view, the determination is “more carefully thought out” Criteria necessary in the law. And the consultation period scheduled until September 30th might not be enough for that.

“Historical reasons”

25-year-old programmer Yang Shuo also says: “If someone wears a kimono at the memorial of the Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese invaders, I think it will cause serious psychological damage to the Chinese people.” Such behavior must be punished.

“There are historical reasons and I think that the feelings of the local population must be taken into account”35-year-old Gu also said. However, from his point of view, in most cases it is not necessary to punish the wearing of clothing, for example “if someone wears a kimono while shopping”.

Jeremy Daum of the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale University expects the bill to be even more tailored to clothing that is seen as an irritant in national commemoration of historical events. “It’s pretty clear that the language is still being changed a lot – based on all the public comments. It will likely focus on heroes, martyrs and party history.”