In today's social network world, due to the veil of the 'virtual network,' there are often some netizens who, either to 'seek attention' or to vent their dissatisfaction with reality, defame or even insult our heroic martyrs. Previously, because the Criminal Law did not have clear provisions for acts that seriously infringed upon the reputation and honor of heroic martyrs, these 'internet parasites' could not be held to precise legal accountability.Now, the Criminal Law Amendment (XI) has added Article 299-1 of the Criminal Law, 'Crime of Defaming Heroic Martyrs,' providing a protective shield for our heroic martyrs.What is the 'Crime of Defaming Heroic Martyrs'?Insulting, slandering, or otherwise defaming the reputation and honor of heroic martyrs, harming social public interests, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, control, or deprivation of political rights.

Case Analysis:The 'Crayon Little Ball' Case

In June 2020, foreign troops blatantly violated the consensus reached with our side and brazenly crossed the line for provocation. In accordance with the precedent for handling border incidents and the agreements previously reached, Commander Qi Fabao of a certain border defense regiment, in good faith for resolving the issue through negotiation, went to negotiate with only a few officers and soldiers, but was subjected to the enemy's premeditated violent attack. During the negotiation and fierce struggle, Commander Qi Fabao led from the front and was seriously injured; Company Commander Chen Hongjun and Soldier Chen Xiangrong broke through the encirclement to rescue [their comrades], fought back bravely, and made the ultimate sacrifice; Soldier Xiao Siyuan, after breaking through the encirclement, returned without hesitation to rescue his comrades-in-arms and fought until his last breath; Soldier Wang Zhuoran, while providing support crossing the river, struggled to help his scattered comrades escape danger, but was himself engulfed in the icy river.

After this incident was reported, the entire nation was filled with grief and paid the highest tribute to the border defense soldiers who resolutely defended the territory with their lives. However, at this very time, on the morning of February 19, 2021, the Sina Weibo account 'Crayon Little Ball' (with over 2.5 million followers), to attract attention and gain more followers, used network equipment at his residence to successively post two Weibo messages at 10:29 and 10:46, distorting the heroic deeds of the border defense soldiers and vilifying and disparaging the heroic spirit of the border defense soldiers, thereby defaming the reputation and honor of heroic martyrs. The above Weibo posts rapidly spread on the internet, triggering strong public outrage and causing恶劣社会影响. On February 20, the criminal suspect Qiu Moming was criminally detained by public security authorities, and the Nanjing Jianye District People's Procuratorate intervened in the investigation. On February 25, public security authorities submitted a request to the procuratorial authorities for arrest approval on suspicion of the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. After trial by the Nanjing Jianye District People's Court, the case was pronounced on the spot, finding the defendant Qiu Ziming guilty of the crime of defaming heroic martyrs' reputation and honor, and sentencing him to eight months of fixed-term imprisonment; and ordering him to issue a public apology through major domestic internet portals and national media within ten days from the effective date of the judgment to eliminate the effects.

This case is also the first case of the crime of defaming heroic martyrs' reputation and honor in China.

Lawyer Ouyang Chenpeng's Legal Analysis:

Regarding the specific determination of the 'Crime of Defaming Heroic Martyrs,' we should grasp the following key points:

I. Definition of 'Heroic Martyrs'

At present, China's laws and regulations do not have a clear definition of 'heroic martyrs.' From a practical perspective, the scope of 'heroic martyrs' should be guided by laws and policies while taking into account social realities. For now, when identifying 'heroic martyrs,' the following materials can be used as basis: First, heroic martyr figures reported in authoritative central-level newspapers or relevant heroic martyr registers compiled and published by people's governments at all levels, such as the 'Register of Anti-Japanese Heroes and Heroic Groups' published by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the 'Heroic Martyrs谱系' published in the People's Daily; second, martyr certificates issued by people's governments; third, commendation decisions made by the Party and government or honorary titles granted, meaning that for those advanced model figures who, although not yet receiving martyr certificates or being listed in the heroic martyrs register after their sacrifice, have had their advanced deeds recognized and positively evaluated and publicized by the Party and government through official documents or other official means (such as Party and government publications), and have been called upon to learn from their noble spirit, they can also be protected according to law as heroic martyrs.

II. Determination of 'Harming Social Public Interests'

Social public interests, as an indeterminate legal concept, refer to the satisfaction of the needs of an indeterminate majority of people. We tend to believe that in investigative practice, the understanding of 'harming public interests' should be objective. In cases of defaming the reputation and honor of heroic martyrs, although the insults or slanders may target specific heroic martyrs, they also hurt the emotions and memories of these heroes' relatives. On the surface, it may seem to infringe upon the personal emotional interests of the relatives around these heroic martyrs, but such emotional interests are by no means limited to specific close relatives. As heroic martyrs, their deeds and spirit have far transcended the individual, even becoming an integral part of the national spirit, which undoubtedly falls within the scope of public interests.

In this case, the perpetrator, through media and online platforms, published untrue statements with insulting nature, which exceeded the scope of freedom of speech, defamed the reputation of heroes and harmed social public interests, and since the Criminal Law Amendment XI had been promulgated and taken effect when the 'Crayon Little Ball Defaming Heroic Martyrs' case occurred, the perpetrator's act constituted a criminal offense and should bear criminal responsibility according to law.

III. Definition of 'Serious Circumstances'

Regarding the issue of how to determine 'serious circumstances,' there is currently no judicial interpretation for this crime. Other relevant laws, regulations, and judicial interpretations can be used as reference: (1) The 2009 Ministry of Public Security's Notice on Strictly Handling Insult and Slander Cases According to Law; (2) The 2013 'Two Highs' Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases Involving Defamation Using Information Networks and Other Criminal Cases. Specifically in the 'Crayon Little Ball Case,' the perpetrator Qiu Moming posted two pieces of online information defaming the reputation and honor of heroic martyrs, altogether vilifying five border defense hero soldiers. Considering that the statements were made in the virtual space of the internet where information spreads extremely quickly and freedom of speech is extremely broad, plus the fact that the perpetrator was formerly a journalist and has been active on Weibo and other forums for years after leaving his job, his statements have a certain influence. Taking all these factors into consideration, the perpetrator's posting of vilifying heroic martyr statements inevitably and indeed ultimately attracted countless netizens' outrage, greatly hurt the broad masses' simple emotions, and caused extremely恶劣社会影响. Therefore, it is entirely reasonable to determine that the perpetrator's act of defaming the reputation and honor of heroic martyrs constitutes 'serious circumstances.'