Protect memory of martyrs and heroes

A travel blogger has triggered widespread public anger by allegedly insulting the martyrs of the June 2020 Galwan Valley clash on social media app Toutiao on Sunday.

The Toutiao user, who goes by the name of Xiaoxian Jayson, posted selfies standing at the base of the tombstone while leaning on it. In another selfie, he is seen resting his left hand on the tombstone, while making a gesture of pointing a gun at the tomb.

Although Xiaoxian wrote “respect” as the caption, the procuratorate in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was not impressed with his explanation, and asked its subordinate branch in Urumqi to tell the region’s tourism departments to put Xiaoxian on a blacklist, while urging subordinate branches to take action against the offender.

The procuratorate in Pishan county of Hotan prefecture, where the martyrs’ tombs are located, said they had already started legal proceedings against Xiaoxian. By Sunday afternoon, Toutiao had permanently blocked his account. Although he has not been arrested yet, he is unlikely to escape the law.

The action would not have been possible without a comprehensive law for protecting the memory of martyrs and heroes. In 2013, when Sun Jie, a micro blogger, joked about Qiu Shaoyun — a martyr who remained still and died so as not to give away his location after being struck by a fire bomb in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in October 1952 — there was no way to prosecute him. Qiu’s family took Sun to court but lost the case. That led to the enactment of the Law on Protecting Martyrs and Heroes.

This Jan 1, a civil code, which stipulates that those insulting martyrs and heroes must bear the consequences, came into effect. It was followed by the 11th amendment to the Criminal Law, which criminalizes insult to martyrs and heroes, on March 1.

The memory of martyrs and heroes who have defended the nation with their blood should be respected.