China
15:00, 18-Nov-2017
Restaurant owner detained for hanging national flag upside down
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A restaurant owner in northwest China was detained for 15 days as punishment for hanging the national flag upside down, the local authority said.
Qinghai's provincial committee on political and legal affairs said on Thursday that local police saw the photo of the flag posted online on October 22 and immediately carried out an investigation.
It found that the owner, surname Ma, bought two national flags in August to welcome an international road cycling race, then hung one correctly on the door of the restaurant in Menyuan County and the other on the kitchen door upside down.
Ma was detained for 15 days for "insulting the national flag" and "causing an adverse effect in society."
A national flag was hung upside down at the restaurant. /via Weibo
A national flag was hung upside down at the restaurant. /via Weibo
The punishment was given to "reduce the adverse impact and save the dignity of the national flag," the committee said.
China's newly modified Criminal Law states that those who intentionally burn, damage, tarnish or tread on the national flag in public may face three-year jail terms.