China mulls law on protecting reputation of heroes, martyrs

China's top legislature Friday heard a report on the draft law protecting the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs.

A ceremony is held to present flowers to the people's heroes at the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, Sept. 30, 2016, to honor and remember deceased national heroes on the Martyrs' Day. [File photo: Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]

Departments including public security, culture, press and cyberspace have a responsibility to protect the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs in their supervision, according to the draft law.

It is a duty of Internet operators to timely handle online information that infringes on heroes and martyrs, the draft law reads.

The draft also features a public litigation system against cases of infringement.

The report was submitted for first review to the bi-monthly legislative session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), which opened Friday.

The draft law bans the illicit appropriation of land and facilities near memorials of heroes and martyrs, as well as any damage or contamination of such memorials.

"Those who appropriate, damage or contaminate memorials, and insult or slander heroes and martyrs, may receive administrative penalties from public security or even criminal sanctions," the draft reads.

The draft law also includes content on the protection of the Monument to the People's Heroes, which stands in Tian'anmen Square in the center of Beijing.

The monument is referred to by the draft law as "a symbol of the spirit of the Chinese people and nation, who strived for the independence and emancipation of the nation, the freedom and happiness of the people and the prosperity of the country in modern times."

As a perpetual memorial structure for people to pay tribute to heroes and martyrs, the monument has its structure, name, inscriptions, patterns and signs protected by law, according to the draft.

Calls for the legislative protection of the reputaton and honor of heroes and martyrs have grown in China in recent years. In March, 251 motions, bills and letters from the public on the issue were seen at the annual sessions of the NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's political advisory body.