China News Service, Beijing, October 17 (Huang Yuqin) The 22nd meeting of the 13th National People’s Congress Standing Committee voted on the 17th to amend the National Flag Law and the National Emblem Law, which will be implemented on January 1, 2021. .
The revised National Flag Law and National Emblem Law make further prohibitive provisions on acts that damage the dignity of the national flag and national emblem.
For example, it is stipulated that the national flag shall not be hung upside down, inserted upside down, or displayed or used in other ways that damage the dignity of the national flag, and the national flag shall not be discarded at will. After a large-scale mass event is over, the event organizer shall retract or properly dispose of the national flag used on site.
According to the new law, anyone who intentionally insults the national flag or the national emblem by burning, damaging, defaceting, tarnishing, or trampling in public places shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law; if the circumstances are less serious, the public security organs shall detain them for less than 15 days.
In addition, the new law also adds occasions for the national flag and national emblem.
For example, it is added that the relevant agencies of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions shall display the national flag and national emblem on working days.
In this regard, Tong Weidong, director of the National Law Office of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, said that the original National Flag Law and National Emblem Law did not clearly stipulate, but in practice, relevant agencies of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions follow the spirit of the National Flag Law and National Emblem Law. The national flag and the national emblem are displayed.
The amendments to the National Flag Law and the National Emblem Law clarify the issue of the display of the national flag and the national emblem in the relevant institutions of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, so as to facilitate the better implementation of the National Flag Law and the National Emblem Law.
In response to concerns about why the new law does not require relevant institutions in Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions to display the national flag or national emblem, Tong Weidong said that in accordance with the provisions of the Hong Kong Basic Law and Macau Basic Law, national laws must be implemented in the Special Administrative Region and need to be included in Annex III of the Basic Law. .
The original National Flag Law and the National Emblem Law have been included in Annex III of the Hong Kong Basic Law and Macau Basic Law, and have been implemented in Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions.
Therefore, this revision of the National Flag Law and the National Emblem Law does not need to be relisted in Annex III of the two Basic Laws.
"Considering that both Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions have passed local legislation to implement the National Emblem Law, the Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress recommends that the Special Administrative Region Government make corresponding amendments to the local legislation in accordance with the principles and spirit of the revised National Emblem Law." Tong Weidong Say.
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