Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Tencent's Weixin Censors 1980's People's Daily Article on Cult of Personality

On September 3, 2023, an article titled "People's Daily: Exaggerating the Personal Role of Leaders to an Extreme Level will Lead to Superstitious Belief in the Individual" (人民日报:把领袖个人的作用夸大到极端的程度,就会出现对个人的迷信) was posted on the "The Reading Drawer" (抽屉读书) public Weixin account. It was censored within 24 hours and replaced with a notice saying: "This content cannot be viewed due to violations. Complaints were made by users and audited by the platform. This involves the use of words, pictures, videos, etc. that exaggerated, seduced and violated objective facts to maliciously incite, confuse and mislead users. Check the corresponding rules."

I checked, and the Weixin article is a word-for-word copy paste of the referenced People's Daily article, which was published on Page 2 of the July 4, 1980 edition, according to the copy I found here: https://cn.govopendata.com/renminribao/1980/7/4/2/#542014 - with one exception, which I don't this is material:
  • Weixin Article: 马克思主义者要承认个人权威,重视个人权威的,但是,我们首先要强调的还是集体的权威。
  • govopendata: 马克思主义者是承认个人权威,重视个人权威的,但是,我们首先要强调的还是集体的权威。

The only other difference is the addition of the photo at the top of the Weixin article. Based on some online research, this is a photo of Nikita Khrushchev during his trip to the United States in 1959. 

Below are selected translations from the article (emphasis added by me).

Deification of, and superstitious belief in, the individual begins with exaggerating the role of the individual. Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" engaged in modern superstition, not only taking advantage of people's simple feelings, but also taking advantage of these loopholes in people's understanding.

A Profound Lesson in Personal Deification

The communist movement and our own experience show that when the role of individual leaders is exaggerated to an extreme level, superstitious belief in individuals will emerge.

For many years, we have been accustomed to using superstition to explain the history of our struggles. Now, as Marx said, we should "use history to explain superstition." (The Complete Works of Marx and Engels, Vol. 1, p. 425) That is to say, we should take a look at history, how did a man become a "god"? How did people come to deify and superstitiously believe in individuals? In this way, the necessary lessons can be drawn. This is a rather complex and difficult task. Here are just a few examples, briefly.

. . . .

Our Party is organized according to the principle of democratic centralism. According to this principle, the Party line must be discussed and formulated by the Party's national congress or central authority. Although the Party's line is sometimes put forward by a certain person, once it is decided, it becomes the Party's line and cannot be attributed to an individual, it is called the line of so-and-so. Of course, when summing up historical experience, calling the opposing lines the lines of a certain person, and comparing and analyzing them will help distinguish right from wrong and educate the entire Party. But this is a special situation. From the perspective of organizational principles, within the Party, all Party members must implement the Party's line, rather than the entire Party following the line of a certain individual.

However, for a period of time, people have often attributed the Party's line to individuals, and also promoted all the opinions and propositions of individual leaders as lines, or believed that they have the same authority as the Party's line, and the whole Party must unconditionally implement it. In this way, in the life of the Party, in fact, some abnormal practices gradually took shape: obeying the Party's leadership means listening to a certain person, implementing the Party's line means doing what a certain person says, and thinking that as long as you act "in accordance with every sentence," you will be invincible. This actually regards the individual as a sacred authority over the entire Party.

. . . .

We must be highly conscious and take various measures to prevent the situation where the top leaders look down at the masses from above, while the masses can only squint and look up at the leader from below, so as to prevent the leader from becoming a figure that ordinary people cannot approach. The guidelines for political life within the Party passed by the Fifth Plenum of the Party Central Committee have made a series of specific regulations to prevent leaders from becoming special in their political life and from praising leaders without principle. This is undoubtedly necessary. However, in order to achieve what Lenin said, to make the leaders and the class, and the leaders and the masses form a whole, we still need to make efforts in many aspects and have a series of effective methods. For example, restore the system that our Party advocates that senior leading cadres must spend a certain amount of time at the grassroots level in a year; establish a system for leaders to communicate directly with the people; put senior leaders in fixed electoral districts to maintain regular contact with voters and accept voter supervision; cancel all kinds of unreasonable regulations that completely separate senior leaders from ordinary cadres and the masses in daily life (such as housing, transportation, shopping, entertainment, etc.); and we must use newspapers and radio to exert the supervisory power of public opinion, etc. In short, we should continue to adhere to the methods that have worked well in the past, and at the same time, we should continue to adopt some new methods based on new situations. 

. . . .

To gather the experience and opinions of the broad masses and the entire Party and form correct leadership ideas and opinions, it is necessary to adopt democratic centralism and collective research and discussion. The view that "the first secretary has absolute truth, the second secretary has relative truth, and the others have no truth" is not in line with the facts.

. . . .

Second, we must treat the right of one vote correctly. In the leadership team, the top leader has more responsibilities but no greater power. He has only one vote in deciding major issues, while other members have the same vote. Why do some leadership groups form a "one-man-talk" situation? The first is that the top leader lacks a democratic style and engages in personal arbitrariness. At the same time, it is also an important reason why each leading member cannot exercise his right to vote seriously and responsibly. If every leading member can responsibly exercise his right to one vote, especially when some people put forward wrong propositions, everyone can stick to the principles and not support or veto them, then can "one word" be achieved? Can personal arbitrariness prevail unimpeded? Can those wrong and confusing decisions be made easily? Therefore, every leading member must exercise his right to vote with the utmost solemnity when deciding major issues.

. . . .

Marxists must recognize and value individual authority, but the first thing we must emphasize is collective authority. Only when personal authority is combined with collective authority can it play its role better.

神化个人、迷信个人,是从夸大个人的作用开始的。林彪、“四人帮”大搞现代迷信,除了利用人们的朴素感情外,也钻了人们在认识上的这些空子。

神化个人的深刻教训

共产主义运动和我们自己的经验说明,把领袖个人的作用夸大到极端的程度,就会出现对个人的迷信。

多年来,习惯于用迷信来说明我们的斗争历史,现在,应该象马克思说的那样,“用历史来说明迷信”。(《马克思恩格斯全集》第1卷第425页)这就是说,应当从历史上看一看,人是怎样成为“神”的?人们是怎样神化个人、迷信个人的?这样,才能得出必要的经验教训。这是一项相当复杂而艰巨的任务。这里仅举几个例子,简略地说一下。
. . . .
我们的党是按照民主集中制的原则组织起来的。根据这个原则,党的路线必须由党的全国代表大会或中央权力机构讨论制定。党的路线尽管有时是由某个人提出来的,但一经作出决定,就成了党的路线,而不能归之于个人,称为某某人的路线了。当然,在总结历史经验时,把对立的路线分别称之为某某人的路线,加以对比分析,这样做,有利于分清是非,教育全党。但这是一种特殊的情况,从组织原则说,在党内,所有党员必须执行党的路线,而不是全党执行某一个人的路线。

但是,一个时期以来,人们却常常把党的路线归之于个人,而且,又把领袖个人的一切意见主张都上升为路线,或认为具有党的路线那样的权威性,全党必须无条件地执行。这样,在党的生活中,实际上就逐渐形成了某些不正常的准则:服从党的领导就是听某一个人的话,执行党的路线就是照某一个人说的去干,而且认为,只要“句句照办”,就能无往而不胜。这实际上是把个人看成为凌驾于全党之上的神圣权威了。
. . . .
我们要以高度的自觉,采取各种措施,防止出现领导上层从上面向下看群众,而人民群众只能眯着眼睛从下面向上望领袖的状况,防止领袖成为普通群众无法接近的人物。党的五中全会通过的党内政治生活准则,对防止领导人政治上生活上的特殊化,防止对领导人无原则的歌功颂德,已经作了一系列具体的规定。这无疑是很必要的。但是,要做到列宁讲的,使领袖与阶级、领袖与群众结成一个整体,则还要作多方面的努力,还要有一系列有效的办法。比如,恢复我们党提倡的高级领导干部一年要有一定时间下基层的制度;建立领导者与人民群众直接对话的制度;把高级领导人放到固定选区保持与选民的经常联系并接受选民监督;取消在日常生活中(如住房、坐车、购物、娱乐等)把高级领导人与一般干部和群众完全分开的种种不合理规定;各种代表大会作为权力机构,要切实加强对领导工作人员的监督,并要利用报纸、广播,发挥舆论的监督力量,等等。总之,凡是过去行之有效的办法应当继续坚持,同时,要根据新的情况,不断采取一些新的办法。
. . . .
要把广大群众和全党的经验、意见集中起来,形成正确的领导思想和领导意见,就必须通过民主集中制,通过集体研究讨论。那种“第一书记有绝对真理,第二书记有相对真理,其他人没有真理”的看法,是不符合事实的。
. . . .
第二,要正确对待一票的权利。在领导班子中,第一把手负有更多的责任,但并没有更大的权力,在决定重大问题时,他只有一票的权利,而其他成员也有同样一票的权利。为什么有的领导班子形成“一言堂”的局面呢?首先是第一把手缺乏民主作风,搞个人专断。同时,各个领导成员不能严肃负责地行使自己一票的权利,也是一个重要原因。如果每一个领导成员都能负责地行使自己一票的权利,特别是在某些人提出错误的主张时,大家都能坚持原则,不予支持,或给以否决,“一言堂”能搞得起来吗?个人专断能畅行无阻吗?那些错误的、颠倒是非的决定,能够轻而易举地作出来吗?因此,每一个领导成员,在决定重大问题时,一定要以极其郑重的态度行使自己一票的权利。
. . . .

马克思主义者要承认个人权威,重视个人权威的,但是,我们首先要强调的还是集体的权威。个人权威只有与集体权威相结合,才能更好地发挥其作用。




Sunday, June 5, 2022

Censorship on the 33rd Anniversary of June 4, 1989



After 33 years PRC websites continue to censor information about what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989. Let's start with some obvious examples – censorship of the date. In English Baidu web search returns 2 results, in Chinese 6 results, all from PRC state-sponsored media.

Baidu's main social media product - "PostBar" (贴吧) has forums dedicated to "1988" and "1990," but searching for "1989" just yields a censorship notice "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, relevant results have not been displayed."
Baidu's Q&A product (知道) finds tens of thousands of results for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but zero results for "Tiananmen 1989."
Tencent-owned Sogou web search also censors information relating to what happened in Beijing in June, 1989. A search for "Tiananmen 1989" returns no results, but the same search for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990" returns thousands of results.
The same thing happens with Sogou's image search - Sogou has no trouble finding images for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but is unable to locate a single image for "Tiananmen 1989."
And again, the same thing happens with Sogou's WeChat search engine - plenty of results for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but a search for "Tiananmen 1989" yields no results.

The same kind of censorship occurs on PRC social media sites. For example, these screenshots show that Sina Weibo has no problem finding results for "32nd Anniversary" and "34th Anniversary," but finds none for "33rd Anniversary."

Now for a look at PRC censorship of the iconic "Tank Man" images. This screenshot shows a Baidu search for "Tank Man" in English returns no results.

While a search for "Tiananmen 1989 Block Tanks" in Chinese returns no results, Baidu says its has found 22,070 "relevant images"! Not surprisingly, however, clicking that Baidu Image link lands users on a page telling them that, in fact, Baidu cannot find any relevant images.
Other PRC-based image search engines, such those of Qihoo and Tencent-owned Sogou, are unable to find any image results for searches for "Block Tanks."


Even terms with no obvious connection to what occurred in Beijing in June 1989-like "Tiananmen Mothers"-are censored. In addition to a screenshot showing Baidu finds no results for that query, I've included a screenshot of a Yahoo SERP for the same query to show what Baidu is censoring.



The Wikis operated by PRC Internet companies take different approaches to censoring the history of what happened in Beijing in June 1989. Today, the "This Day In History" sections show:
  • Baidu: Khamenei elected supreme leader
  • Qihoo: Nothing for 1989
  • Sogou: Nothing for 1989


The top search results for "1988 year" and "1990 year" on Tencent-owned Sogou are Sogou's own Wiki articles about those years. The top result for "1989 year" is an article on Taylor Swift's album by that name. It appears Sogou simply has no article about the year 1989.


Sogou does have a Wiki article about "Tiananmen Square," but according to their article, nothing worth mentioning happened in Tiananmen Square between 1976 and 1997.


Qihoo does have a Wiki article about 1989, but unlike its Wiki articles about 1988 and 1990, Qihoo's article on 1989 has no section on "Major Events." So there's nothing to indicate anything noteworthy happened in/around Tiananmen Square (or anywhere else) that year.


Baidu has articles on 1989 and Tiananmen Square. But according to Baidu nothing happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and the only noteworthy events on June 4 were:
  • Walesa elected prime minister of Poland
  • Khamenei elected supreme leader of Iran


Here's another stark example of how PRC Internet companies treat modern Chinese history - this screenshot shows a search for "64 Remembrance" (六四 纪念) on Baidu returns ZERO results. Someone in the PRC would be better off using a Korean search engine like Naver. . .


Finally, it should be noted that people in the PRC haven't forgotten, and still get punished for peaceful attempts to commemorate, what happened in Beijing in June 1989. For example,  Jie Ruixue was jailed for wearing a t-shirt  in Tiananmen Square in 2019. According to the court judgment, the t-shirt Jie was jailed for wearing in Tiananmen Square in 2019 read "Freedom of Speech, Vindicate June Fourth, Oppose Repeating the Tragedy." The court judgment claimed this "caused severe chaos," but cited no evidence to support that claim.



There's an entire section of my casebook "State Prosecutions of Speech in the PRC" devoted to PRC government documents showing people getting punished for commemorating and discussing what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989.


You can download the casebook free at my website: https://feichangdao.com/publications/.

Friday, June 25, 2021

Translation: Judgment in Case of Man Jailed Seven Months for T-Shirt Commemorating Tiananmen

Details of this case, including photographs of Dong Zehua's activities in Tiananmen Square, can be found in this article from the Los Angles Times:  "He Tried to Commemorate Erased History. China Detained Him, Then Erased That Too" - https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-24/china-world-history-erasure-youth-censorship. 

See also: "Judgment in Case of Woman Jailed Six Months for T-Shirt Commemorating Tiananmen" - http://blog.feichangdao.com/2021/06/woman-jailed-commemorating-tiananmen-judgment.html.

People's Court of Dongcheng District, Beijing
Criminal Judgment
(2019) Jing 0101 Criminal First Instance No. 789


The public prosecution agency was the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng.

Defendant Dong Zehua, male, born May 7, 1991 in Xi'an, Shaanxi, Citizen ID No. XXX, Han ethnicity, undergraduate degree, unemployed, household registration location: Weiyang District, Xi'an, Shaanxi. On June 4, 2019, he was detained on suspicion of committing the crime of disturbing the peace. He was taken into custody on June 4, 2019, and was arrested on July 12 of the same year. He is currently being held in custody at the Beijing Dongcheng District Detention Center.

Defense counsel Qi Jie is a lawyer at the Beijing Weiheng Law Firm.

Defendant Yuan Shuai, male, born July 27, 1995 in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Citizen ID No. XXX, Han ethnicity, undergraduate degree, an employee of the Zhongshi Jinxin Advertising Co., Ltd. before the incident, household registration location: Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, now residing in Haidian District, Beijing. On June 4, 2019, he was detained on suspicion of committing the crime of disturbing the peace. He was taken into custody on June 4, 2019, and was arrested on July 12 of the same year. He is currently being held in custody at the Beijing Dongcheng District Detention Center.

Defense counsels Zhu Kefei and Rong Fangqing (trainee lawyer) are lawyers at the Beijing Contemporary Law Firm.

In the Jing Dong Procuratorate Public Criminal Prosecution (2019) No. 1698 indictment the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng charged defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai with committing the crime of disturbing the peace, and on October 11, 2019 filed a public prosecution with this Court. In accordance with the law this Court utilized simplified procedures, held a single trial, and tried the case in open court. The People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng assigned Procurator Tong Jie to appear in court in support of the public prosecution, and defendant Dong Zehua and his defense counsel Qi Jie and defendant Yuan Shuai and his defense counsels Zhu Kefei and Rong Fangqing appeared in court to participate in the litigation. The trial has now concluded.

The public prosecution agency charged:

At 9:00 am on June 4, 2019, defendant Dong Zehua was wearing a T-shirt with sensitive markings on it and took photos in Tiananmen Square and posted the photos online. Defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai interviewed foreigners in Tiananmen Square and made inquiries into sensitive topics. After being taken into police custody, he voluntarily and truthfully made a statement about his crimes.

The public prosecution agency applied the procedure of pleading guilty and accepting punishment in referring the case to this Court, and proposed in writing that defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai should be punished with a sentence of a fixed term imprisonment of six months to one year.

Defendant Dong Zehua and his defense counsel raised no objections to the aforementioned facts during hearings at trial. In addition, these facts were substantiated by the process of how the defendant came into police custody, stolen goods recovery reports, job descriptions, witness Gao Doe's testimony, identification transcripts, Seizure Decisions, seizure transcripts, seized items lists, search transcripts; forensic opinions, on-site inspection reports, drug test processing forms, audiovisual materials, and defendants Dong Zehua's and Yuan Shuai's statements and household registration materials, which are sufficient to reach a determination.

Dong Zehua's defense counsel's defense opinion: After being taken into police custody defendant Dong Zehua was able to make a truthful statement of the criminal facts and confess his crime in court. He is a penitent first-time offender, and it is recommended he be shown leniency.

Yuan Shuai's defense counsels' defense opinion; After being taken into police custody defendant Yuan Shuai was able to make a truthful statement of the criminal facts and confess his crime in court. He has adopted a good attitude and is a first-time offender and in the joint crime he played a subordinate role, and it is recommended he be shown leniency.

This Court finds defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai disregarded national law, caused a disturbing incident in a public venue, and created serious chaos in a public venue. Their actions disrupted normal social management order, and constitute the commission of the crime of disturbing the peace, and in accordance with the law shall be punished.

The facts charged by the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng are clear, the evidence it produced is reliable and copious, the offense charged is established, and the recommended sentence is appropriate.

With regards to defense counsel's defense opinion that defendant Yuan Shuai played a subordinate role in a joint crime, this Court finds that after the two defendants met they formed a joint criminal intent, the only distinction was a mere division of labor into different tasks, and they were both active participants in the commission of the joint crime. It would be inappropriate to distinguish between who was the leader and who was the subordinate, and that defense opinion is not accepted by this Court.

In view of the fact that after being taken into police custody the two defendants made truthful statements and voluntarily plead guilty in court, and that they are both first-time offenders, this Court will show leniency to the two defendants.

This Court accepts the public prosecution agency's leniency recommendation and the defense counsels' relevant defense opinions. Accordingly, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 293(1), 25(1), 67(3), and 64 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" and Article 5 of the "Supreme People's Court's Interpretation Regarding Certain Questions About the Specific Laws to be Used in Adjudicating Criminal Cases of Illegal Publications," this Court's judgment regarding defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai is as follows:

1. Defendant Dong Zehua committed the crime of disturbing the peace, and is sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment of seven months.

(The prison term is to be calculated starting on the day the judgment is executed, and each day in custody prior to the execution of the judgment shall count as one day of the prison term, that is from June 4, 2019 to January 3, 2020.)

2. Defendant Yuan Shuai committed the crime of disturbing the peace, and is sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment of six months.

(The prison term is to be calculated starting on the day the judgment is executed, and each day in custody prior to the execution of the judgment shall count as one day of the prison term, that is from June 4, 2019 to December 3, 2019.)

3. The tools used in the commission of the offense that were seized shall be confiscated by the agency responsible for seizing them in accordance with the law.

If any party does not accept this judgment, they may within 10 days after the second day after receiving this written judgment bring an appeal through this Court or directly to the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing. A written appeal should be submitted with one original and two copies of the appeal brief.

Adjudicator        Bai Chongwei

October 30, 2019

Clerk            Luo Yejun

北京市东城区人民法院
刑事判决书
(2019)京0101刑初789号


公诉机关北京市东城区人民检察院。

被告人董泽华,男,1991年5月7日出生于陕西省西安市,公民身份号码:XXX,汉族,大学本科文化,无业,户籍所在地:陕西省西安市未央区。因涉嫌犯寻衅滋事罪,于2019年6月4日被羁押,同年7月12日被逮捕,
现羁押在北京市东城区看守所。

辩护人齐捷,北京市炜衡律师事务所律师。

被告人原帅,男,1995年7月27日出生于内蒙古自治区满洲里市,公民身份号码:XXX,汉族,大学本科文化,案发前系中视金鑫广告有限公司员工,户籍所在地:内蒙古自治区满洲里市,现住北京市海淀区。因涉嫌犯寻衅滋事罪,于2019年6月4日被羁押,同年7月12日被逮捕,现羁押在北京市东城区看守所。辩护人朱克非、荣方情(实习律师),北京市当代律师事务所律师。

北京市东城区人民检察院以京东检公诉刑诉[2019]698号起诉书指控被告人董泽华、原帅犯寻衅滋事罪,于2019年10月11日向本院提起公诉。本院依法适用简易程序,实行独任审判,公开开庭审理了本案。北京市东城区人民检察院指派检察员佟捷出庭支持公诉,被告人董泽华及其辩护人齐捷、被告人原帅及其辩护人朱克非、荣方情到庭参加了诉讼。现已审理终结。

公诉机关指控:

2019年6月4日9时许,被告人董泽华身穿带有敏感标志的T恤衫,在天安门广场拍摄照片,并将照片发到网上。被告人董泽华、原帅在天安门广场,采访外国人询问敏感话题,并拍摄视频,后被民警抓获。二被告人到案后自愿如实供述自己的罪行。

公诉机关适用认罪认罚程序将本案诉至本院,并书面建议对被告人董泽华、原帅在有期徒刑六个月至一年幅度内判处刑罚。

上述事实,被告人董泽华及其辩护人在开庭审理过程中无异议,并有到案经过,起赃报告;工作说明;证人高某的证言;辨认笔录;扣押决定书、扣押笔录、扣押物品清单、搜查笔录;鉴定意见;现场检测报告书、毒检流程表;视听资料;被告人董泽华、原帅的供述及户籍材料予以证实,足以认定。

董泽华辩护人的辩护意见:被告人董泽华到案后能够如实供述犯罪事实,当庭认罪、悔罪且系初犯;建议法庭对其从轻处罚。

原帅辩护人的辩护意见;被告人原帅到案后能够如实供述犯罪事实认罪态度良好且系初犯,在共同犯罪中起辅助作用;建议法庭对其从轻处罚。

本院认为,被告人董泽华、原帅无视国法,在公共场所制造事端起哄闹事,造成公共场所秩序严重混乱,其行为妨害了正常的社会管理秩序,均已构成寻衅滋事罪,依法应予惩处。北京市东城区人民检察院指控的事实清楚,举证确实、充分,指控的罪名成立,量刑建议适当。辩护人关于被告人原帅在共同犯罪中起辅助作用的辩护意见,本院认为二被告人见面后产生共同犯意,只是分工不同,在共同犯罪中均积极主动,不宜区分主从,此点辩护意见本院不予采纳。鉴于二被告人到案后均能如实供述,当庭自愿认罪,均系初犯,本院对二被告人从轻处罚。公诉机关的量刑建议及辩护人相关辩护意见,本院予以采纳。据此,本院对被告人董泽华、原帅依照《中华人民共和国刑法》第二百九十三条第一款第(四)项,第二十五条第一款,第六十七条第三款,第六十四条及最高人民法院、最高人民检察院《关于办理寻衅滋事刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释》第五条之规定,判决如下:

一、被告人董泽华犯寻衅滋事罪,判处有期徒刑七个月。
(刑期从判决执行之日起计算。判决执行以前先行羁押的,羁押一日折抵刑期一日。即自2019年6月4日起至2020年1月3日止。)

二、被告人原帅犯寻衅滋事罪,判处有期徒刑六个月。
(刑期从判决执行之日起计算。判决执行以前先行羁押的,羁押一日折抵刑期一日。即自2019年6月4日起至2019年12月3日止。)

三、在案扣押的作案工具,由扣押机关依法没收。

如不服本判决,可在接到判决书的第二日起十日内,通过本院或者直接向北京市第二中级人民法院提出上诉。书面上诉的,应当提交上诉状正本一份,副本二份。

审判员        白崇伟

二0一九年十月三十日

书记员        罗也君

 

Friday, June 4, 2021

Hu Xijin Says "Chinese Won't Forget About Tiananmen" - Even Though China's Internet Services Have

On June 3, 2021, Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state sponsored "Global Times" posted the following on Twitter:

Chinese won't forget about Tiananmen incident.On the contrary, we'll constantly reflect on it in light of China’s development path since then as well as situation in many countries after color revolutions. It's futile for West to provoke Chinese society by commemorating the event

Source: https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1400336409324523520. This appears to becoming an annual tradition, as Hu posted something similar last year.

It is true that an Internet user in China can immediately find the PRC government's official version of the events by searching Baidu for "Tiananmen Incident" ("天安门事件") - the first result is from the Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, which provides this summary:

  • May 20th, China Central Television broadcasts Li Peng and Yang Shangkun’s statements at the meeting of Party, government, and military cadres in the capital. Li Peng signed the State Council’s
    Order to implement martial law in different regions.
  • June 4th, the "Liberation Army Daily" published an editorial with the title "Resolutely Support the Party Central Committee's Policy Decisions, Resolutely Suppress the Counter-revolutionary Riots." 
  • 5月20日 中央电视台播放了李鹏、杨尚昆在首都党政军干部大会上的讲话。李鹏签署国务院关于在北京市部分地区实行戒严的命令。
  • 6月4日 《解放军报》发表题为“坚决拥护党中央决策,坚决镇压反革命暴乱”的社论。

Source: http://www.people.com.cn/item/20years/newfiles/c1120.html.

But most search results are about another "Tiananmen Incident," which occurred in 1976. So an Internet user wanting more information so that they could "constantly reflect on" the 1989 Tiananmen Incident would need to specifically include search terms relating to "1989." Below are some examples of what users of PRC Internet services see when searching for information about what happened in and around Tiananmen Square in early June 1989.

A user of visiting Baidu's and Sogou's wikipedia articles for "1989" would find that nothing noteworthy happened in or around Tiananmen Square in June of that year. Sogou has no entry for "June 4th," and  Baidu's entry for "June 4th" reads:

  • June 4th-Poland held its first democratic elections, and the collective election for Walesa was held.
  • June 4th-Iranian President Khamenei was elected as the supreme leader of Iran.


 A user submitting the query "'1989 year' 'Tiananmen Incident''" ("1989年" "天安门事件") to Baidu's web search product would get no results (a query without the quotes will retrieve results, but only from websites under the direct control of the PRC government and the Communist Party of China - for example, People's Daily, Xinhua, and China Youth Daily).

 A user submitting the query "1989 year 'Tiananmen Incident''" (1989年 "天安门事件") to Baidu's image search product would get no results.


A user submitting the query "1989 year" (1989年) to Baidu's "Zhidao" Q&A product would get no results.

A user submitting the query "1989" to Baidu's "Tieba" PostBar forum product would get censorship notice that states: "Apologies, in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, relevant results have not been displayed." ( 抱歉,根据相关法律法规和政策,相关结果不予展现。).


 

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Translation: Judgment in Case of Woman Jailed Six Months for T-Shirt Commemorating Tiananmen

Summary: A court found Jie guilty on the grounds that she "stood in an area crowded with tourists in the vicinity of the national flag pole in Tiananmen Square wearing a white t-shirt upon which was written 'Freedom of Speech, Vindicate June Fourth, Oppose Repeating the Tragedy.'" The court said that it showed leniency in sentencing Jie to six months imprisonment on the grounds that Jie "made a truthful confession of her crime."


People's Court of Dongcheng, Beijing


Criminal Judgment


(2019) Jing 0101 Criminal First Instance No. 9461


The public prosecution agency was the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng, Beijing.

Defendant Jie Ruixue, female, born [INTENTIONALLY OMITTED], 1987 in Linkou County, Heilongjiang, Citizen ID No. XXX, Han ethnicity, college education, unemployed, household registration address: Linkou County, Heilongjiang. On August 22, 2019, she was taken into custody on suspicion of committing the crime of disturbing the peace, and was arrested on September 26 of the same year. She is currently being held in custody at the Dongcheng Detention Center in Beijing.

Defense counsel Lin Shan is a lawyer at the Heilongjiang Guo Sheng Law Firm.

In the Jing Dong Procuratorate First Criminal Indictment (2019) No. 975 indictment the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng, Beijing charged defendant Jie Ruixue with committing the crime of disturbing the peace, and on November 21, 2019 filed a public prosecution with this Court. This Court utilized simplified procedures in accordance with the law, implemented a single judge trial, and tried this case in open court. The People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng, Beijing assigned Procurator Tong Jie to appear in court in support of the public prosecution, and defendant Jie Ruixue and her defense counsel Lin Shan appeared in court to participate in the proceedings. The trial has now concluded.

The public prosecution agency charged:

At about 10:00 am on August 22, 2019, defendant Jie Ruixue, in an expression of her personal will, stood in an area crowded with tourists in the vicinity of the national flag pole in Tiananmen Square wearing a white t-shirt upon which was written "Freedom of Speech, Vindicate June Fourth, Oppose Repeating the Tragedy." She was subsequently apprehended at the scene by civil police.

After being taken into police custody defendant Jie Ruixue made a voluntary truthful confession of her crime.

The public prosecution agency utilized plea bargaining procedures in submitting the case to this Court, and their written recommendation is that defendant Jie Ruixue be given a criminal punishment of a sentence of fixed term imprisonment of six months to one year.

The aforementioned facts were not objected to by defendant Jie Ruixue and her defense counsel during the process of holding hearings at trial, and were deemed substantiated and sufficient to reach a determination based on the process of how the defendant came into police custody, work descriptions, testimony of witnesses Zhang Doe and Song Doe, identification records, forensic opinions, seizure judgments, seizure records, lists of seized materials, photographic production explanations, photographs of materials implicated in the case, audio-visual materials, defendant Jie Ruixue's statement, hotel accommodation records, and household registration and identification materials.

The defense counsel's defense opinion believes that defendant Jie Ruixue's crime is relatively minor, there was no subjective malice, the duration of the crime was short, and it did not cause serious social harm. This was her first offense, she was able to make a truthful confession after being taken into police custody, and is in fact a person with a certain degree of mental impairment. They recommend that the court show her leniency.

This Court finds that defendant Jie Ruixue ignored the nation's laws and intentionally created an incident in sensitive places such as Tiananmen Square, causing severe disorder in a public venue. Her actions disrupted the normal administration of social order, constitutes the commission of the crime of disturbing the peace, and shall be punished in accordance with the law.

With respect to the charges of the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng, Beijing, the facts are clear, the evidence produced is reliable and copious, the offense charged is established, and the sentencing proposal is appropriate.

Given that defendant Jie Ruixue was able to make a truthful confession of her crime after being taken into police custody and made a voluntary truthful confession of her crime in court, therefore this Court will show her lenience. The sentencing proposal of the public prosecution agency and defense counsel's related defense opinion is accepted by this Court.

Accordingly, with respect to defendant Jie Ruixue and in accordance with the provisions of Articles 293(1)(iv), 67(3), and 64 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" and Article 5 of the "Supreme People’s Court Supreme and People’s Procuratorate Interpretation on Issues Concerning the Application of Law for Criminal Cases of Disturbing the Peace," the judgment of this Court is as follows:

1. Defendant Jie Ruixue committed the crime of disturbing the peace and is sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment six months.

(The prison term is to be calculated starting on the day the judgment is executed, and each day in custody prior to the execution of the judgment shall count as one day of the prison term, that is, from August 22, 2019 to February 21, 2020.)

2. The tools seized in the process of this case are confiscated by the seizing agency in accordance with the law.

If any party does not accept this judgment, they may within 10 days after the second day after receiving this written judgment bring an appeal through this Court or directly to the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing. A written appeal should be submitted with one original and two copies of the appeal brief

Adjudicator        Bai Chongwei

December 10, 2019

Clerk            Luo Yejun

北京市东城区人民法院


刑事判决书


(2019)京0101刑初946号


公诉机关北京市东城区人民检察院。

被告人解瑞雪,女,1987年4月5日出生于黑龙江省林口县,公民身份号码:×××,汉族,大学本科文化,无业,户籍所在地:黑龙江省林口县。因涉嫌犯寻衅滋事罪,于2019年8月22日被羁押,同年9月26日被逮捕,现羁押在北京市东城区看守所。

辩护人林山,黑龙江国盛律师事务所律师。

北京市东城区人民检察院以京东检一部刑诉[2019]975号起诉书指控被告人解瑞雪犯寻衅滋事罪,于2019年11月21日向本院提起公诉。本院依法适用简易程序,实行独任审判,公开开庭审理了本案。北京市东城区人民检察院指派检察员佟捷出庭支持公诉,被告人解瑞雪及其辩护人林山到庭参加了诉讼。现已审理终结。

公诉机关指控:

2019年8月22日10时许,被告人解瑞雪在天安门广场国旗杆附近,为表达个人意愿,身穿写有“言论自由、平反六四、反对悲剧再次发生”等内容的白色T恤在游客密集地区站立,后被民警当场抓获。

被告人解瑞雪到案后自愿如实供述自己的罪行。

公诉机关适用认罪认罚程序将本案诉至本院,并书面建议对被告人解瑞雪在有期徒刑六个月至一年幅度内判处刑罚。

上述事实,被告人解瑞雪及其辩护人在开庭审理过程中无异议,并有到案经过;工作说明;证人张某、宋某的证言;辨认笔录;鉴定意见;扣押决定书、扣押笔录、扣押物品清单;照片制作说明、涉案物品照片;视听资料;被告人解瑞雪的供述、住宿记录及户籍身份材料予以证实,足以认定。

辩护人的辩护意见认为,被告人解瑞雪此次犯罪情节较轻、主观恶性不大,犯罪持续时间短、未造成严重的社会危害,其此次犯罪系初犯、到案后能够如实供述,且其确系具有一定精神缺陷的人。建议法庭对其从轻处罚。

本院认为,被告人解瑞雪无视国法,故意在天安门广场等敏感地带制造事端,造成公共场所秩序严重混乱,其行为妨害了正常的社会管理秩序,已构成寻衅滋事罪,依法应予以惩处。北京市东城区人民检察院指控的事实清楚,举证确实、充分,指控的罪名成立,量刑建议适当。鉴于被告人解瑞雪到案后能够如实供述所犯罪行,当庭自愿认罪,故本院对其从轻处罚。公诉机关的量刑建议及辩护人相关辩护意见,本院予以采纳。据此,本院对被告人解瑞雪依照《中华人民共和国刑法》第二百九十三条第一款第(四)项,第六十七条第三款,第六十四条及最高人民法院、最高人民检察院《关于办理寻衅滋事刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释》第五条之规定,判决如下:

一、被告人解瑞雪犯寻衅滋事罪,判处有期徒刑六个月。
(刑期从判决执行之日起计算。判决执行以前先行羁押的,羁押一日折抵刑期一日。即自2019年8月22日起至2020年2月21日止。)

二、在案扣押的作案工具,由扣押机关依法没收。
如不服本判决,可在接到判决书的第二日起十日内,通过本院或者直接向北京市第二中级人民法院提出上诉。书面上诉的,应当提交上诉状正本一份,副本二份。

审判员  白崇伟

二〇一九年十二月十日

书记员  罗也君

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

An Early Precedent for Prosecuting "Historical Nihilists"

 For more information about how this case shaped the future of China's jurisprudence around people's expressions of views relating to deceased individuals and historical events deemed by the Communist Party of China to be beyond reproach, see "Supreme People's Court Website Explains Why Courts Found Author Guilty of Defaming Dead Heroes " http://blog.feichangdao.com/2016/11/supreme-peoples-court-website-explains.html.

Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou
Administrative Judgment
(2011) Sui Intermediate Judicial Administrative Final No. 570


Appellant (the plaintiff in the original trial ): Zhang Guanghong, residing in Guangzhou.

Entrusted Counsel: Zhang Peng, Beijing Zhongyingkai Law Firm.

Entrusted Counsel: Ge Yongxi, Guangdong Anguo Law Firm.

Appellee (the defendant in the original trial): The Yuexiu precinct of the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou. Location: Guangzhou.

Legal representative: Cai Wei, Position: Director.

Entrusted Counsel: Hu Jiaqiang and Zhou Peixin are both civilian police officers of the precinct.

In connection with an administrative punishment case, appellant Zhang Guanghong did not accept the People's Court of Yuexiu's (2013) Sui Yue Judicial Administrative First Instance No. 368 administrative judgment, and raised an appeal with this Court. This Courtformed a collegial panel in accordance with the law and tried this case. The trial in this case has now concluded.

The case was tried by the original court which found: At about 12:15 am on August 27, 2013, the plaintiff in the original trial Zhang Guanghong was in Room 103, No. 1, Wenhuali, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, and used his laptop to post a microblog on Sina Weibo (screen name: Nianhuaxiaofo223, address: http://weibo.com/lianhuaxiaofo223) with this content: "Teacher Yuan Tengfei was filming the movie 'The Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain' and went to the local area to learn the truth, and the villagers said: These five people are just a few stragglers traveling bravely along with the militia. After they came to the village, they called for food and drink, and they would beat people at the slightest provocation. Because several of them had guns in their hands, the villagers did not dare to provoke them. Later, someone figured out a way to secretly tell the Japanese their whereabouts. The Japanese came to surround them and put them down. The villagers deliberately led the five men to an escape route that would leave them cornered." After that, the plaintiff in the original trial pasted the content of the microblog into his Tencent Weibo (screen name: Nianhuashiping23_833, address: http://t.qq.com/lianhuaxiaoofo23). As of August 29, 2013, the content of the  Sina Weibo of the plaintiff in the original trial had been forwarded more than 2,000 times with more than 300 comments, while the content of the Tencent Weibo has been forwarded many times with more comments.

At about 8:00 pm on August 29, 2013, defendant the Yuexiu precinct of the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou apprehended the plaintiff in the original trial and seized a laptop computer at the scene. The defendant investigated the aforementioned facts and investigated the verified Sina Weibo "YuanTengfeiV" (URL: http://weibo.com/yuantengfei). No relevant remarks involving the "The Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain" were found, so it was determined that the plaintiff in the original trial was spreading rumors about the "The Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain," and that fictitious facts were disrupting public order, and informed the plaintiff in the original trial of the facts, reasons, and basis of the punishment decision that would be made, as well as his right to make a statement and defense.

On the 30th of the same month, on the basis of the provisions of Articles 25(1) and 11(1) of the "Public Security Administrative Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China," the defendant decided to impose a punishment of seven days administrative detention on the plaintiff in the original trial and confiscate the laptop computer used in this case. The plaintiff in the original trial did not accept the aforementioned punishment decision, and applied to the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou for administrative reconsideration. That bureau issued the Sui Public Reconsideration Decision (2013) No. 154 "Administrative Reconsideration Decision" on October 30, 2013, and decided to sustain the aforementioned penalty decision made by the defendant.

The plaintiff in the original trial again did not accept this, and thereupon filed the lawsuit in this case.

The court in the original trial held that Article 25 of the "Public Security Administrative Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China" provides: "A person who commits one of the following acts shall be detained for not less than 5 days but not more than 10 days and may, in addition, be fined not more than 500 yuan; and if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be detained for not more than 5 days or be fined not more than 500 yuan: (1) intentionally disturbing public order by spreading rumors, making false reports of dangerous situations and epidemic situations or raising false alarms or by other means . . . " And Article 11(1) provides: "Contraband seized in dealing with cases of public security such as drugs and pornographic objects, gambling devices, money for gambling, devices used for ingesting or injecting drugs, and the instruments owned and directly used by the persons in their acts against the administration of public security shall be taken over, and shall be disposed of according to relevant regulations." In this case the plaintiff in the original trial submitted that the microblog about "The Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain" originated from "Teacher Yuan Tengfei," the content had been spreading for many years, and did not originate with the plaintiff in the original trial. Even if the fictitious content was not made up by plaintiff in the original trial, the defendant's investigation of the verified Sina Weibo "YuanTengfeiV" found no relevant remarks involving The Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain. Therefore, the defendant determined that the plaintiff in the original trial made up fictitious facts on Weibo, and the facts were clear and the evidence was copious that he had produced and spread rumors. The aforementioned illegal actions of the plaintiff in the original trial caused adverse effects on the Internet and disrupted public order. Therefore, the defendant's punishment decision made after the illegal facts of the plaintiff in the original trial were uncovered was found to comply with the aforementioned provisions. The plaintiff in the original trial has insufficient basis to request that the penalty decision be revoked, his computer be returned, and he receive compensation, and his requests should not be granted.

In summary, in accordance with the provisions of Article 56(4) of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the 'Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China'" and Article 33 of the "Supreme People's Court Provisions on Several Issues Concerning Trials of Administrative Compensation Cases" the judgment of the court in the original trial was as follows: 1. The claims of the plaintiff in the original trial Zhang Guanghong were rejected; 2. The request for compensation of the plaintiff in the original trial Zhang Guanghong was rejected.

Appellant Zhang Guanghong did not accept this judgment in the original trial and appealed to this court as follows:
1. The trial of first instance ignored the facts of the case and hastily dismissed the appellant’s petition, and a correction is in order.

(i)  In this case, the appellant was sentenced to seven days administrative detention on the grounds that the appellant spread rumors that violated historical facts. The court of first instance should find out what the historical facts involved in the case are, and if the facts underlying the history involved in this case cannot be determined, it is impossible to determine whether the content of the microblog posted by the appellant is a rumor. Since it cannot be judged whether the content of the microblog posted by the appellant is a rumor, the punishment decision imposed on the appellant is incorrect.

(ii) The appellant’s actions on Weibo did not cause any socially harmful consequences. The appellee believed that the appellant’s microblog disturbed public order, but in fact there was no evidence to prove that social order was disrupted by the appellant’s actions on Weibo, or by the appellee’s microblog being reposted more than 2,000 times and commented on more than 300 times. As for the determination that the appellant’s actions vilified the shining image of revolutionary martyrs, the appellant believed that the number of times the microblog was reposted and commented on was not an actual socially harmful consequence. If the social public order is disturbed, it will definitely show specific harmful consequences, such as causing casualties, forced landings, road blockages, and soaring prices, but the appellee did not produce any evidence to prove it. If social public order is disrupted, it will definitely manifest in specific harmful consequences, such as causing casualties, forced landings for airplanes, road blockages, and soaring prices, but appellee did not provide any evidence to prove this.

(iii) The content of the microblog at issue in this case was not the appellant’s original content, but was what the appellant saw on a microblog called "Teacher Yuan Tengfei." This microblog was a Netease Weibo. The appellee took no steps whatsover to examine the "Teacher Yuan Tengfei" microblog and instead went and examined a microblog called "Yuan Tengfei V." With respect to this, the appellant's entrust counsel repeatedly emphasized in the trial of first instance that "Teacher Yuan Tengfei" microblog and the "Yuan Tengfei V" microblog are two fundamentally different microblogs.

(iv) In posting the microblog the appellant did not deliberately disturb public order. When the appellant was questioned by the appellee, he made it very clear that he posted the microblog because he believed that the content of the microblog might be true, and had not desire to disturb the social order.

(v) The administrative punishment decision made by the appellee has the following problems: the case acceptance procedure, the summoning procedure, the inspection procedure, and the seizure procedure were illegal, the time for interrogation and verification exceeded the time limit, the appellantwas not informed of his rights and obligations at the time of the summons or before the interrogation, the police handling the case did not sign the inquiry transcript.

(vi) The appellee seized the plaintiff’s laptop computer without any factual basis. Even if the appellant’s microblog posting was a violation of public security administration, when the appellee seized one of his laptop computers, it should also have checked whether the seized silver-white 14-inch Shenzhou laptop with the model EUS5 was the computer directly used to post the "Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain" microblog, and should have ascertained whether the computer was directly owned by Zhang Guanghong himself. The appellee did not do any of this.


2. The appellee applied the law incorrectly. The legal basis cited by the appellee and the court of first instance in this case was the provisions of Article 25(1) of the "Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People’s Republic of China." However, according to that article, "A person who commits one of the following acts shall be detained for not less than 5 days but not more than 10 days and may, in addition, be fined not more than 500 yuan; and if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be detained for not more than 5 days or be fined not more than 500 yuan: (1) intentionally disturbing public order by spreading rumors, making false reports of dangerous situations and epidemic situations or raising false alarms or by other means." The appellant believes that the following conditions must be met to apply the first clause of that law: (i) There must be evidence to prove that the punished person fabricated and spread rumors; (ii) The content of the rumors must be terrorist information that is capable of causing the public to panic as well as cause disruption in the social order; and (iii) The publisher of the rumors intended to disturb public order. In this case, these three conditions were not met. Obviously, the appellee's application of the law in the trial of first instance was entirely incorrect.

In summary, the judgment in the trial of first-instance was rendered without ascertaining the facts of the case and applying the law incorrectly. Therefore, the appeal requests: 1. Revoke the (2013) Sui Yue Judicial Criminal First No. 368 Administrative Judgment, and amend the judgment in accordance with the law to sustain the entiriety of the appellant's petition filed in the trial of first instance; 2. The litigation costs of the first and second instance trials of this case be borne by the defendant.

Appellee the Yuexiu precinct of the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou argues:

1. The facts of the appellee's administrative punishment decision on the appellant are clear and the evidence is conclusive. At 12:15 am on August 27, 2013, Appellant Zhang Guanghong was in Room 103, No. 1, Wenhuali, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, using his laptop computer to access Sina Weibo. He spread rumors about "The Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain" on the Internet, intentionally disrupted public order, and afterwards was taken into custody. The aforementioned facts were confirmed by relevant evidentiary materials such as the offender's statement and defenses, physical evidence, and inspection transcripts.

2. The punishment decision procedure made by the appellee was legal, the law was applied correctly, and the punishment was appropriate. Based on the aforementioned facts and evidence, the appellee believes that the deeds of the "Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain" are well-known historical facts. Appellant Zhang Guanghong nevertheless used his own Sina Weibo to spread rumors and posts about the "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain" and twisted the  image of those revolutionary martyrs. The rumors were reposted more than 2,500 times, and commented on more than 300 times, which caused a bad influence on the Internet and disrupted public order. Appellant Zhang Guanghong's actions violated Article 25 of the "Public Security Administrative Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China," constitute acts of spreading rumors that disturbed public order, and should be punished in accordance with the law.

Prior to rendering the administrative punishment decision, the appellee had notified appellant Zhang Guanghong of the facts, reasons, and basis for the administrative penalty decision, and informed him of his legal rights. On August 30, 2013, the appellee rendered the Sui Public Yue Administrative Punishment Decision (2013) No. 03759 "Administrative Punishment Decision" in accordance with Articles 25(1) and 11(1) of the "Public Security Administrative Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China" deciding to subject appellant Zhang Guanghong to seven days administrative detention and to confiscate a laptop computer used as a tool in commission of the offense. In summary, the Sui Public Yue Administrative Punishment Decision (2013) No. 03759 "Administrative Punishment Decision" rendered by the appellee was based clear facts, conclusive evidence, legal procedures, appropriate punishments, and correct application of laws. The facts determined in the judgment of the trial of first instance were clear, the procedures were legal, and the application of the law was correct. It is requested the court reject the appellant’s claims in accordance with the law.

It was ascertained at trial that, the facts determined in by the court in the original trial were clear and were substantiated by corresponding evidence, and are affirmed by this Court. Upon further examination, the appellant submitted two new items of evidence in the trial of second instance hearing proceedings:

1. A report from Caijing Net, to prove that even the appellee's claims about the Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain in elementary school textbooks are not consistent with the facts; and

2. The appellant's searches for comments about the Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain on Sina Weibo.

The appellee issued a cross-examination opinion in court, stating that according to the Supreme People’s Court's  "Regulations on Several Issues of Evidence in Administrative Litigation," the aforementioned evidence was not new evidence and should not be accepted, and the aforementioned  evidence could not be seen clearly, and could not be cross-examined by the appellee.

This Court finds that Article 25 of the "Public Security Administrative Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China" provides: "A person who commits one of the following acts shall be detained for not less than 5 days but not more than 10 days and may, in addition, be fined not more than 500 yuan; and if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be detained for not more than 5 days or be fined not more than 500 yuan: (1) intentionally disturbing public order by spreading rumors, making false reports of dangerous situations and epidemic situations or raising false alarms or by other means." Article 11(1) provides: "Contraband seized in dealing with cases of public security such as drugs and pornographic objects, gambling devices, money for gambling, devices used for ingesting or injecting drugs, and the instruments owned and directly used by the persons in their acts against the administration of public security shall be taken over, and shall be disposed of according to relevant regulations."

In this case, at 12:15 am on August 27, 2013, the appellant was in Room 103, No. 1, Wenhuali, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, and used his laptop computer to post a microblog on Sina Weibo (screen name: Nianhuaxiaofo223, address: http://weibo.com/lianhuaxiaofo223) to post a microblog about "The Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain." After that, he  pasted the content of the microblog into his Tencent Weibo (screen name: Nianhuashiping23_833, address: http://t.qq.com/lianhuaxiaoofo23). As of August 29, 2013, the content of the  Sina Weibo of the plaintiff in the original trial had been forwarded more than 2,000 times with more than 300 comments, while the content of the Tencent Weibo has been forwarded many times with more comments.

The appellee believes the appellant used the Internet to post a made up story about "The Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain," twisted the image of revolutionary martyrs, causing adverse effects online, and this constitutes an act of spreading rumors and disturbing public order, and should be punished for his involvement in the case in accordance with the aforementioned provisions. In addition, in accordance with the law before rendering the administrative punishment decision, the appellant notified appellant Zhang Guanghong of the facts, reasons, and basis for the administrative punishment decision, and informed him of his legal rights in accordance with the law. Therefore, the court in the original trial was justified in finding insufficient basis to grant the appellant's request to revoke the administrative punishment, return the computer and provide compensation, and this is sustained by this Court.

Regarding the issue of the appellant’s claim that the seizure of his laptop computer was without factual basis, an investigation found that the appellant had stated in the questioning transcript that he used his own laptop computer to go online and post the microblog in question and that he was the only person to use that laptop computer in his home. This Court does not sustain the appellant’s afformentioned claims. Regarding the appellant’s opinion that the appellee violated relevant regulations in the process of receiving the case, summons, inspection, seizure, inquiry and verification, etc., an investigation found that the appellee had submitted relevant evidence to prove the legality of the administrative punishment involved in the case, whereas the appellant did not provide sufficient evidence to substantiate his claim, and this Court does not accept it.

As regards the two new pieces of evidence submitted by the appellant in the trial of second instance, Article 7 of the "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning Evidence in Administrative Litigation" provides: "A plaintiff or a third party shall provide evidence before the hearing or on the day of the exchange of evidence designated by the People's Court. Those who apply for an extension for providing evidence due to legitimate reasons may be granted permission by the People’s Court in court investigations. If evidence is provided after the deadline, the right to submit evidence is deemed to have been waieved. Where a plaintiff or the third party in the first trial proceedings submits evidence in the second trial proceedings which was not submitted in the first trial without legitimate reason, the People's Court will not admit it." An investigation found that the appellant in the trial of second instance submitted new evidence. That evidence existed prio to the proceeding in the trial of first instance, and the appellant did not submit the aforementioned evidence udring the trial of first instance and did not have any justification. Therefore, the two pieces of aforementioned evidence are not deemed to be new evidence, and in accordance with the law this this Court does not accept them.

In summary, the facts found in the original judgment were clear, the law was applied correctly, the procedures were legal, and are sustained by this Court. The appellant’s reasons for appeal are not established and are rejected by this Court. In accordance with the provisions of Article 89(1) of the "Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China," and after discussion and decision by the adjudicative committee of this Court, the judgment is as follows:

The appeal is rejected, and the judgment in the original trial is sustained.

The trial of second instance case acceptance fee is 50 yuan, which shall be borne by appellant Zhang Guanghong.

This judgment shall be the final judgment.

Chief Adjudicator: Zhu Lin
Adjudicator: Xiao Xiaoli
Acting Adjudicator   Yao Wei

May 20, 2015

Clerk    Zhou Wenjing 



广东省广州市中级人民法院


行 政 判 决 书


(2011)穗中法行终字第570号


上诉人(原审原告):张广红,住广州市。


委托代理人:张鹏,北京众赢凯律师事务所律师。
委托代理人:葛永喜,广东安国律师事务所律师。


被上诉人(原审被告):广州市公安局越秀分局。住所地:广州市。


法定代表人:蔡巍,职务:局长。


委托代理人:胡佳强、周培新,均系该分局民警。


上诉人张广红因行政处罚一案,不服广州市越秀区人民法院(2013)穗越法行初字第368号行政判决,向本院提起上诉。本院依法组成合议庭,审理了本案。本案现已审理终结。


案经原审法院审理查明:2013年8月27日0时15分许,原告张广红在广州市越秀区文化里1号103房内,使用其本人笔记本电脑在新浪微博(网名:拈花笑评223,地址:http://weibo.com/lianhuaxiaofo223)上发布一篇微博,内容为:“老师袁腾飞拍‘狼牙山五壮士’电影编剧,邢某去当地了解实情,村民说:这五人只不过是几个散兵游勇土八路,来村里后要吃要喝,稍不如意就打人。由于几人手上有枪,村民们也不敢惹。后来有人想出了个办法,偷偷地把他们的行踪告诉日本人。日本人就来围剿了。村民故意引5人绝路逃跑。”之后,原告又将该微博内容粘贴至其腾讯微博(网名:拈花时评23_833,地址:http://t.qq.com/lianhuaxiaofo23)。至2013年8月29日止,原告的新浪微博中该条微博内容被转发二千多次,评论三百多条,其腾讯微博中该条微博内容被转发多次,评论多条。2013年8月29日22时许,被告广州市公安局越秀区分局将原告抓获,现场缴获笔记本电脑一台。被告经调查查明上述事实并查阅了新浪认证微博“袁腾飞V”(网址:http://weibo.com/yuantengfei),未有发现涉及狼牙山五壮士的相关言论,遂认定原告散布关于“狼牙山五壮士”的相关谣言,虚构事实扰乱公共秩序,告知原告拟作出处罚决定的事实、理由、依据及陈述和申辩的权利。同月30日,被告依据《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》第二十五条第(一)项及第十一条第一款之规定,作出穗公越行罚决字(2013)第03759号《行政处罚决定书》,决定对原告处以行政拘留七日,收缴作案工具笔记本电脑一台。原告对上述处罚决定不服,向广州市公安局申请行政复议。该局于2013年10月30日作出穗公复决字(2013)154号《行政复议决定书》,决定维持被告作出的上述处罚决定。原告仍不服,遂提起本案诉讼。


原审法院认为,《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》第二十五条规定:“有下列行为之一的,处五日以上十日以下拘留,可以并处五百元以下罚款;情节较轻的,处五日以下拘留或者五百元以下罚款:(一)散布谣言,谎报险情、疫情、警情或者以其他方法故意扰乱公共秩序的;……。”第十一条第一款规定:“办理治安案件所查获的毒品、淫秽物品等违禁品,赌具、赌资,吸食、注射毒品的用具以及直接用于实施违反治安管理行为的本人所有的工具,应当收缴,按照规定处理。”本案原告提出关于“狼牙山五壮士”的微博源自“老师袁腾飞”,内容已传播多年不是原告的原创,即使内容失实也不是原告虚构的,但经被告调查新浪认证微博“袁腾飞V”后未发现涉及狼牙山五壮士的相关言论,因此被告认定原告在微博中虚构事实,制作并发布谣言的事实清楚、证据充分。原告的上述违法行为在网络上造成了不良影响,扰乱了公共秩序,故被告查明原告该违法事实后作出的处罚决定符合上述有关规定,原告请求撤销该处罚决定并发还电脑及赔偿的理由不充分,应不予采纳。综上所述,依照《最高人民法院关于执行〈中华人民共和国行政诉讼法〉若干问题的解释》第五十六条第(四)项、《最高人民法院关于审理行政赔偿案件若干问题的规定》第三十三条的规定,原审法院判决如下:一、驳回原告张广红的诉讼请求;二、驳回原告张广红的赔偿请求。


上诉人张广红不服原审判决,上诉至本院称:一、一审罔顾本案事实,草率驳回上诉人的诉请,依法应当予以纠正。(一)本案中被上诉人以上诉人散布违背历史事实的谣言为由,对上诉人处以七日行政拘留,那么原审法院应当查明本案所涉的历史事实到底是什么,若不能查清本案所涉历史事实是什么,就无法判定上诉人所发的微博内容到底是谣言。既然不能判决上诉人所发的微博内容是不是谣言,那么对上诉人作出的处罚决定就是错误的。(二)上诉人发微博的行为,没有造成任何的社会危害后果。被上诉人认为上诉人发微博扰乱公共秩序,但实际上没有证据证明社会秩序因上诉人发微博的行为而产生混乱,被上诉人仅以上诉人的微博被转发了二千余次、评论三百多条,而认定上诉人的行为诋毁革命先烈的光辉形象,上诉人认为微博被转发、评论的次数不是实际的社会危害后果。若社会公共秩序被扰乱,那一定会表现出具体的危害后果,比如造成人员伤亡、飞机迫降、道路堵塞、物价飞涨等情形的发生,但被上诉人没有拿出任何的证据来予以证明。(三)本案所涉的微博内容不是上诉人的原创,而是上诉人在一个叫“老师袁腾飞,的微博上看到的,此微博是一个网易微博。被上诉人根本没有去查“老师袁腾飞”的微博,而去查一个叫“袁腾飞V”的微博,对此上诉人的代理人在一审时已经反复强调,“老师袁腾飞”与“袁腾飞V”,根本就是两个不同的微博。(四)上诉人在发该微博没有故意扰乱公共秩序的故意。上诉人在接受被上诉人询问时,已经说的很清楚,其发该微博的是因为其认为该微博的内容可能是真实的,而不是想扰乱社会秩序。(五)被上诉人作出的行政处罚决定存在以下问题:受案程序、传唤程序、检查程序、扣押程序违法,询问查证的时间超过了时限,未在传唤时或者询问前告知上诉人的权利义务,办案民警没有在询问笔录上签字。(六)被上诉人收缴原告的笔记本电脑一台没有任何的事实依据。即使上诉人发微博是违反治安管理的行为,被上诉人在收缴其笔记本电脑一台时,也应当查清楚被收缴的型号为EUS5的银白色14寸神舟笔记电脑是不是直接用于发有关于“狼牙山五壮士”微博的电脑,查明该电脑是不是直接为张广红本人所有,而被上诉人根本没有做这些。二、被上诉人适用法律错误。本案中被上诉人及一审引用的法律依据是《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》第25条第1款的规定,但根据该条规定“有下列行为之一的,处五日以上十日以下拘留,可以并处五百元以下罚款;情节较轻的,处五日以下拘留或者五百元以下罚款:(一)散布谣言,谎报险情、疫情、警情或者以其他方法故意扰乱公共秩序的”。上诉人认为,适用该法条第一项的规定,必须要具备以下条件:(1)、有证据证实被处罚人捏造、散布了谣言;(2)、谣言的内容必须是恐怖信息,能引起社会公众的恐慌,也能造成社会秩序的混乱。(3)、谣言的发布者有扰乱公共秩序的故意。而本案中根本不具备这三个条件,显然被上诉人及一审适用法律完全是错误的。综上,一审判决是在没有查明本案事实、适用法律错误的基础上作出的,故上诉请求:一、撤销(2013)穗越法行初字第368号行政判决书,依法改判支持上诉人在一审时提出的全部诉请;二、本案一、二审诉讼费由被告承担。
 

被上诉人广州市公安局越秀分局辩称:一、被上诉人对上诉人作出的行政处罚决定事实清楚,证据确凿。2013年8月27日0时15分许,上诉人张广红在广州市越秀区文化里1号103房内,使用其本人笔记本电脑在新浪微博上散布关于“狼牙山五壮士”的相关谣言,故意扰乱公共秩序,后被查获。上述事实有违法人的陈述和申辩、物证、检查笔录等相关证据材料予以证实。二、被上诉人做出的处罚决定程序合法、适用法律正确、处罚恰当。根据上述事实与证据,被上诉人认为“狼牙山五壮士”事迹是众所周知的历史事实,上诉人张广红却利用其本人的新浪微博,散布关于“狼牙山五壮士”的谣言帖子,歪曲革命先烈的形象。该谣言被转发两千五百余次,评论三百余条,在网络上造成了不良影响,扰乱了公共秩序。上诉人张广红的行为违反《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》第二十五的规定,构成散布谣言扰乱公共秩序的行为,依法应当受到处罚。在作出行政处罚决定前,被上诉人已依法向上诉人张广红告知拟作出行政处罚决定的事实、理由及依据,并告知其依法享有的权利。2013年8月30日,被上诉人根据《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》第二十五条第一项、第十一条第一款之规定,作出穗公越行罚决字(2013)第03759号《行政处罚决定书》,决定对上诉人张广红处以行政拘留七日,收缴作案工具笔记本电脑一台。综上所述,被上诉人做出的穗公越行罚决字(2013)第03759号《行政处罚决定书》事实清楚、证据确凿、程序合法、处罚适当、适用法律正确。一审判决认定事实清楚、程序合法、适用法律正确。请求法院依法驳回上诉人的诉讼请求。


经审理查明,原审法院认定事实清楚并有相应的证据予以证实,本院予以确认。另查,上诉人在二审审理过程中提交了两份新证据:一、财经网的报道,拟证明即使被上诉人主张小学课本的狼牙山五壮士也是与事实不符的;二、上诉人在新浪微博搜索狼牙山五壮士的评论。被上诉人当庭发表质证意见称,根据最高人民法院《关于行政诉讼证据若干问题的规定》,上述证据不属于新证据,应不予接纳,且上述证据无法看清,被上诉人不予质证。

本院认为,《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》第二十五条规定:“有下列行为之一的,处五日以上十日以下拘留,可以并处五百元以下罚款;情节较轻的,处五日以下拘留或者五百元以下罚款:(一)散布谣言,谎报险情、疫情、警情或者以其他方法故意扰乱公共秩序的;……。”第十一条第一款规定:“办理治安案件所查获的毒品、淫秽物品等违禁品,赌具、赌资,吸食、注射毒品的用具以及直接用于实施违反治安管理行为的本人所有的工具,应当收缴,按照规定处理。”本案中,上诉人于2013年8月27日0时15分许在广州市越秀区文化里1号103房内,使用其本人笔记本电脑在新浪微博(网名:拈花笑评223,地址:http://weibo.com/lianhuaxiaofo223)上发布一篇关于“狼牙山五壮士”的微博,后又将该微博内容粘贴至其腾讯微博上(网名:拈花时评23_833,地址:http://t.qq.com/lianhuaxiaofo23)。至2013年8月29日止,上诉人的新浪微博中该条微博内容被转发二千多次,评论三百多条,其腾讯微博中该条微博内容被转发多次,评论多条。被上诉人认为上诉人利用网络发布了虚构的“狼牙山五壮士”故事,歪曲革命烈士形象,在网络上造成了不良影响,构成散布谣言、扰乱公共秩序的行为,对其作出涉案处罚,符合上述规定。且被上诉人在作出行政处罚决定前,已依法向上诉人张广红告知拟作出行政处罚决定的事实、理由及依据,并告知其依法享有的权利。因此原审法院以上诉人主张撤销该行政处罚并发还电脑及赔偿的请求理据不足,并无不当,本院予以支持。对于上诉人主张收缴其笔记本电脑无事实依据的问题,经审查,上诉人在询问笔录中已陈述是用自己的笔记本电脑上网并发布涉案微博,该笔记本电脑在其家里只有其一人使用,故对于上诉人的上述主张,本院不予支持。对于上诉人认为被上诉人在受案、传唤、检查、扣押、询问查证等过程中违反相关规定的意见,经审查,被上诉人已提交相关证据证明其作出涉案行政处罚的合法性,而上诉人对其主张并未提供充分证据予以证实,对此,本院不予采纳。

关于上诉人二审提交的两份新证据,《最高人民法院关于行政诉讼证据若干问题的规定》第七条规定:“原告或者第三人应当在开庭审理前或者人民法院指定的交换证据之日提供证据。因正当事由申请延期提供证据的,经人民法院准许,可以在法庭调查中提供。逾期提供证据的,视为放弃举证权利。原告或者第三人在第一审程序中无正当事由未提供而在第二审程序中提供的证据,人民法院不予接纳。”经审查,上诉人二审提交的新证据,系一审诉讼之前形成,上诉人在一审期间并未提交上述证据,且无正当理由,因此,上述两份证据不属于新证据,本院依法不予采纳。

综上,原审判决认定事实清楚,适用法律正确,程序合法,本院予以支持;上诉人的上诉理由不成立,本院不予采纳。依照《中华人民共和国行政诉讼法》第八十九条第(一)项规定,并经本院审判委员会讨论决定,判决如下:


驳回上诉,维持原判。


二审案件受理费50元,由上诉人张广红负担。
 

本判决为终审判决。


审 判 长  朱 琳
审 判 员  肖晓丽
代理审判员  姚 伟
二〇一五年五月二十日
书 记 员  周文静

Thursday, February 9, 2017

China Professor Decries Political Censorship by "Foreign Company" Tencent

On July 18, 2016, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled "Scholar Wants Foreign Capital Expelled From China’s Social Media." Some excerpts:
Zhang Hongliang, a professor at Beijing's Minzu University of China, said on his WeChat account on Saturday that he is preparing to sue Chinese Internet titan Tencent for yielding to commercial pressure to "arbitrarily" block public WeChat posts. Tencent - WeChat's parent company, whose largest shareholder is MIH Group, a subsidiary of South African media group Naspers - recently threatened to shut down Zhang's public account when he released a post denouncing Chinese specialty beverage maker JDB Group Ltd for defaming war hero Qiu Shaoyun, Zhang said.
. . . .
Many people share Zhang's worries, especially after posts and comments criticizing actress-turned-director Zhao Wei for inviting a suspected Taiwan separatist to act in her new movie - including posts by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China - quickly disappeared from Weibo and major news portals, according to news site globalview.cn.  
"Netizens were shocked. Capital is so powerful that they can block any kind of voice they dislike," globalview.cn said in a commentary on Friday.
For background on the Qiu Shaoyun (邱少云) case referred to above, see Supreme People's Court Model Case: Joking About Dead Heroes Is Defamation.

Here are some excerpts from Zhang Hongliang's (张宏良) article published on the National Revival Web on July 16, 2016 entitled "Resolutely Defend Revolutionary Martyrs, Ban Foreign Enterprises From Regulating Citizens' Speech" (坚决捍卫革命烈士,严禁外企裁决公民言论):
Yesterday morning, July 15, the Beijing Daxing Court issued a judgment in the case of an ultra-rightist elitist and the Jia Duo Bao company smearing and vilifying Qiu Shaoyun. But it seemed as though the media maintained their silence. Previously myself and the National Revival Web had published articles appealing on this matter, appealing for everyone to defend the reputation of national heroes who became revolutionary martyrs by sacrificing their lives to give us the happy lives we enjoy today. But this article that called for the defense of the martyr Qiu Shaoyun did not get reposted on a single website other than National Revival Web. 
After Tencent saw this situation, they directly warned the author that they would completely shut down the Weixin public account of Zhang Hongliang if he published another article that was critical of Jia Duo Bao. I have already spoken with a lawyer, and I am preparing to sue Tencent. But while we were speaking, my feeling was that the most infuriating and tragic aspect of this was not the fact that an ultra-rightist had vilified a revolutionary martyr, nor was it the fact that Jia Duo Bao had offered a prize of 100,000 cans of tea to vilify a martyr, nor was it Tencent's high-handedness.  
Rather, it is the fact that China's government has handed over to a foreign invested company the power to make decisions about the rights of Chinese citizens to debate China's national affairs, and foreign invested companies get to decide what Chinese citizens can and cannot say.  
One can only say that this is China's greatest tragedy. 
To allow a foreign invested company to make determinations about the political speech of a a nation's citizens is something without precedent in human history for any independent country. No country, not even those so-called free and democratic Western countries, would permit private companies to interfere with, and make determinations about, citizens' speech. 
昨天7月15日上午,北京市大兴法院对极右精英和加多宝公司污蔑和妖魔化邱少云一案进行审判。可是几乎所有媒体都保持沉默,此前本人和民族复兴网曾经撰文呼吁,呼吁大家捍卫用生命换取了我们今天幸福生活的革命烈士的民族英雄的名誉。可是这篇呼吁捍卫邱少云烈士的文章,除了民族复兴网之外,没有一家网站给予转载。
   
腾讯见此情况后,直接警告作者,如果再发文批判加多宝,将彻底关闭张宏良的微信公众号。本人已与律师沟通,准备与腾讯打官司。只是在沟通期间感到,最为令人愤怒和悲哀的,还不是极右分子妖魔化革命烈士,也不是加多宝公司公开奖赏妖魔化烈士的人10万罐饮料,以及腾讯公司的霸道,而是中国政府居然把中国公民议论国家事务的权利,交给一家外资公司来裁决,由外资公司来裁决中国公民该说什么不该说什么。这不能不说是中国的最大悲哀。
由外资公司来裁决一个国家的公民的政治言论,这是人类历史上所有主权独立国家中前所未有的现象。包括在所谓自由民主的西方国家,都绝不允许私人公司干涉并裁决公民言论。

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Government Calls Out Sina Blogs for "Distorting Party History"

On January 7, 2017, the the Cyberspace Administration of China published a notice on its website entitled "Sina, Global Times, China.com, and Other Websites Post Harmful Information in Violation of Rules, Get Reported by China's Internet Users" (新浪网、环球网、中华网等网站违规刊载有害信息 受到网民集中举报). Some excerpts:
In 2016, the the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center (hereinafter "Reporting Center") received almost 1,000,000 reports from the public. These included reports that Sina, Global Times, Netease, China.com, Voice of China, Shangdu, Tom.com, and Chongqing Online were publishing harmful information in violation of rules, or were providing a platform for the publication of harmful information. There was a strong negative public reaction.
. . . .
Based on user reports and a selective examination by the Reporting Center, various channels on Sina included vulgar and revealing photos, text and information, and there was a relatively large quantity of posts on Sina blogs that distorted Party and national history, spread evil cults and promoted pornographic videos. 
Netease's "Headline Party" problem was particularly acute, and in an attempt to attract eyeballs it would maliciously distort headlines, publish articles selectively, exaggerate facts, and mislead the public. 
Some of the articles on the Global Times used vulgar and exotic language to attract readers, and had a harmful orientation. There was a lack of effective moderation of comments, and some comments were extremist and spread rumors.  
2016年,国家互联网信息办公室违法和不良信息举报中心(以下简称“举报中心”)共受理公众举报近百万件次,其中,新浪网、环球网、网易网、中华网、华声在线、商都网、TOM网、重庆热线8家网站违规刊载有害信息,或为有害信息传播提供平台,网民举报集中,社会反应强烈。
. . . .
根据公众举报及举报中心抽查,新浪个别频道存在低俗暴露图文信息,新浪博客中存在较多歪曲党史国史、宣扬邪教及推介色情AV的帖文。网易“标题党”问题突出,为博人眼球,恶意篡改标题、选择性报道,夸大事实,误导公众。环球网一些文章用低俗、猎奇字眼吸引读者,导向不良;跟帖评论缺乏有效管理,一些跟帖言论偏激、传播谣言。

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Supreme People's Court Model Case: Joking About Dead Heroes Is Defamation

According to the China.org.cn website (which is operated under the auspices of China’s State Council Information Office):
In March 1951 [Qiu Shaoyun] (邱少云) joined the Chinese People's Volunteers Army to fight against U.S. in Korea. Part of a squad sent to ambush enemy forces near Kimhwa, on October 11, 1952, Qiu Shaoyun edged close to the enemy defenses using grass and twigs as camouflage. At noon the enemy threw a fire bomb that set fire to the grass near Qiu's position. Realizing that any sound or movement would give away the position of his comrades, Qiu endured the agonizing pain in silence and was burnt to death.

Thanks to his sacrifice, his squad won the ensuing battle.
Source: http://www.china.org.cn/china/60th_anniversary_people/2009-09/17/content_18547200.htm

According to the same website:
On March 13, 1988, a major forest fire broke out in Shimian County and [Lai Ning] (赖宁) and his classmates went to help with the fire-fighting efforts. The students were passing a still-smoldering area of forest on the way home that evening when a gust of wind rekindled the flames. Lai, who was at the back of the group was caught in the blaze and died.
Source: http://www.china.org.cn/china/60th_anniversary_people/2009-09/17/content_18547259.htm


On May 22, 2013, Sun Jie (孙杰) posted the following on his "Exercise Book" (Zuoyeben - 作业本) Sina Weibo account :
Because Qiu Shaoyun lay on a bonfire without moving, in the end the restaurant customers refused to pay the bill for something only cooked on one side. They all said that Lai Ning's barbecue was better.
由于邱少云趴在火堆里一动不动最终食客们拒绝为半面熟买单,他们纷纷表示还是赖宁的烤肉较好
Sun was well known blogger on Sina Weibo (known in Chinese parlance as a “Big V,” and at the time of the post he had over 6,030,000 followers. Before being deleted the following day, Sun’s post was reposted 662 times, liked 78 times, and commented on 884 times.

In April, 2015, beverage maker Jia Duo Bao (加多宝) was holding an "appreciation" event at its "Jia Duo Bao Cold Tea 2014 Sales Team Awards" it posted over 300 "Thank You" posters on the "Jia Duo Bao Campaign" weibo, thanking others including the news media, commercial partners, consumers, and certain famous figures, including Sun. Jia Duo Bao’s “Thank You” to Sun was posted on April 16 and read as follows:
Many thanks @ExerciseBook, congratulations on the popularity of your barbecue. As makers of cold tea, we support you becoming the CEO of a barbecue stand, 100,000 bottles to open shop, walk the talk ^_^#ManyThanksCampaign#.
多谢@作业本,恭喜你与烧烤齐名。作为凉茶,我们力挺你成为烧烤摊CEO,开店十万罐,说到做到^_^#多谢行动#
That same day Sun posted a public response on his "Exercise Book" account:
Many thanks for the 100,000 bottles, I will certainly open the barbecue shop, only I haven't fixed which day. But regardless, everyone who leaves a message here will get a free drink when they enter the store!!!
多谢你这十万罐,我一定会开烧烤店,只是没定哪天,反正在此留言者,进店就是免费喝!!!
According to the state sponsored Global Times, Jia Duo Bao posted an apology on April 17 and Sun posted an apology on his “Exercise Book” account on April 25.

In June 2015, Qiu Shaoyun’s brother Qiu Shaohua (邱少华) filed separate lawsuits against Sun and Jia Duo Bao in the Beijing Daxing District People's Court claiming that Sun’s post insulted and defamed Qiu Shaoyun, and that Jia Duo Bao “violated social ethics in debasing the image of martyr by in a vulgar marketing campaign, thereby having an extremely malicious impact on society.” He asked that the two defendants be ordered to immediately cease and desist, eliminate all impact, formally apologize, and pay 1 yuan in mental suffering.

On October 19, 2016, China's Supreme People's Court published a piece on its website entitled "People's Courts Come to the Defense of the 'Five Heroes of Wolf Tooth Mountain' and Other Model Cases Involving the Right of Human Dignity of Heroic Figures" (人民法院依法保护“狼牙山五壮士”等英雄人物人格权益典型案例). The Supreme People’s Court summarized the outcome of the lawsuits as follows:
In the first instance judgment the Beijing Daxing District People's Court held that, according to the provisions of Article 2 of the "Tort Law of the People's Republic of China" and Article 69 of the "Supreme People's Court Explanation Regarding Applying the 'Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China'," and Article 3 of the "Supreme People's Court Explanation Regarding Certain Issues  Relating to the Determining Compensation Responsibility for Mental Suffering in Civil Infringement," the interest in personal dignity that the martyr Qiu Shaoyun accrued during his life will continue to receive legal protection. As a close relative of Qiu Shaoyun, Que Shaohua had the right to file a lawsuit. the statements published by Sun Jie equated "the martyr Qiu Shaoyun bravely sacrificing his life on the fire" to "barbecue only cooked on one side," and this derogated and insulted the personal dignity of the martyr Qiu Shaoyun. This constituted an intentional tort, and as the statements were rapidly spread through a public Internet platform, it created a severe social impact, simultaneously damaging the public's nationalist and historical sentiments and harming the public interest. It also caused emotional harm to the relatives of the martyr Qiu Shaoyun.

Although the infringing statements published by Sun Jie in the original weibo text have already been deleted and Sun Jie apologized through a weibo, nevertheless the infringing statements had already been widely reposted through weibo, and had spread broadly online, creating a severe social impact. Therefore, he should make a formal public apology in a national media publication to eliminate the harmful social influence caused by the infringing statements.

Jia Duo Bao’s statements issue in this case were objectively made in relation to the infringing statements made by Sun Jie and were spread rapidly, causing a relatively significant negative impact. Subjectively, Jia Duo Bao had a duty of care to be cautious in planning their commercial campaign, and should have, but failed to, screened out Sun Jie's somewhat influential and inappropriate statements. In this they were at fault and therefore should bear responsibility in tort.

However, because Sun Jie and Jia Duo Bao proactively deleted the original statements, and therefore could only eliminate the impact of the consequences caused by their infringement by formally apologizing and eliminating the influence. It was held: Sun Jie and Jia Duo Bao shall publicly issue a notice of formal apology within three days of the judgment becoming effective, said notice to be published for five days. Sun Jie and Jia Duo Bao shall bear joint liability to compensate Qiu Shaohua for one yuan for emotional suffering. After the first instance judgment neither party appealed. 
北京市大兴区人民法院一审认为,根据《中华人民共和国侵权责任法》第三条、《最高人民法院关于适用<中华人民共和国民事诉讼法>的解释》第六十九条以及《最高人民法院关于确定民事侵权精神损害赔偿责任若干问题的解释》第三条之规定,邱少云烈士生前的人格利益仍受法律保护,邱少华作为邱少云的近亲属,有权提起本案诉讼。孙杰发表的言论将“邱少云烈士在烈火中英勇献身”比作“半边熟的烤肉”,是对邱少云烈士的人格贬损和侮辱,属于故意的侵权行为,且该言论通过公众网络平台快速传播,已经造成了严重的社会影响,伤害了社会公众的民族和历史感情,同时损害了公共利益,也给邱少云烈士的亲属带来了精神伤害。虽然孙杰发表的侵权言论的原始微博文章已经删除且孙杰通过微博予以致歉,但侵权言论通过微博已经被大量转载,在网络上广泛流传,已经造成了严重的社会影响,因此,应在全国性媒体刊物上予以正式公开道歉,消除侵权言论造成的不良社会影响。加多宝公司发表的案涉言论在客观方面系与孙杰的侵权言论相互呼应且传播迅速,产生较大负面影响;主观上,加多宝公司在其策划的商业活动中应尽到审慎的注意义务,加多宝公司应当对孙杰发表的影响较大的不当言论进行审查而未审查,存有过错,因此,亦应承担侵权责任。但是,由于孙杰和加多宝公司已经主动删除原始侵权言论,因此只能通过赔礼道歉、消除影响的方式消除侵权所造成的后果,判决:孙杰、加多宝公司于判决生效后三日内公开发布赔礼道歉公告,公告须连续刊登五日;孙杰、加多宝公司连带赔偿邱少华精神损害抚慰金1元。一审判决后,双方当事人均未上诉。
The Supreme People’s Court website went on to explain why this was a “Model Case”:
This is a model case of malicious defamation and insult of a national hero and revolutionary martyr and harming their interests in personal dignity. What makes this case special is that first a famous Internet user maliciously insulted and defamed a national hero, and then a commercial company made use of the unlawful statements to maliciously drive up the efficacy of a commercial promotion. The combination of these two actions formed a single damaging outcome.

The judgment in this case is worthy of praise in the following ways: 
First, in its analysis of the infringing statements, it linked the context in which they were made to the publication and public reaction to them, and recognized that the infringing parties were objectively malicious and the harmful consequences.  
Second, in grasping collective infringement of multiple parties, it focused its analysis on the connections between the multiple statements and their interaction, correctly grasping the commonality between the subjective relationship among the parties and the harmful consequences.
Third, in terms of the nature of the liability, it recognized the joint liability between multiple infringing parties. 
Fourth, in terms of the form of the liability, based on the fact that the infringing parties had  deleted the infringing statements, it held they bore a responsibility to formally apologize and provide compensation for emotional suffering, and this form of liability was appropriate.

This judgment safeguarded the legal rights and interests of a national hero and revolutionary martyr, and serves as a clear warning that it is a tortious act to insult and defame the personal dignity of a national hero and revolutionary martyr and engage in malicious commercial speculation to obtain unlawful benefits. 
本案是恶意诋毁、侮辱民族英雄和革命先烈,侵害其人格利益的典型案件。本案的特点是,先有网络名人恶意侮辱、诋毁民族英雄,再有商业公司借助不法言论恶意炒作获得商业推广效果,两者行为的结合造成了同一损害后果。本案判决在如下方面值得赞同:一是对侵权言论的分析上,结合其语境及侵权言论的传播和舆论反应,认定侵权人的主观恶意和损害后果;二是对多个行为人共同侵权的把握上,注意分析多个言论的关联性及互动性,准确把握多个行为人的主观关联性及损害后果的同一性;三是在责任形态上,认定多个侵权人之间的连带责任;四是在责任方式上,根据侵权人事后删除侵权言论的事实,判决其承担赔礼道歉、消除影响和精神损害抚慰金的责任,责任形式妥当。这一判决,维护了民族英雄和革命先烈的合法权益,对于以侮辱、诋毁民族英雄和革命先烈的人格为手段,恶意商业炒作获得不法利益的侵权行为,具有鲜明的警示意义。

Translation: Sun Daluo's Court Judgment for Sharing Books and Articles

The PRC government sentenced Sun Zhiming (孙志明, who wrote under the alias Sun Daluo (孙大骆)) to one year imprisonment for the crime of "di...