Shutting Down Historical Debate, China Makes It a Crime to Mock Heroes
The New York Times
Under a new law, China has zealously prosecuted even the perceived slander of Communist figures, broadening Xi Jinping’s campaign to dominate party orthodoxy.
The young woman in Beijing began her post complaining about mobs gathering online, where recluses vent misogynistic insecurities from the safety of desk chairs. As provocative as it was, it might have passed unnoticed except that she added another beat.
She mocked the toxic masculinity of users imagining themselves as Dong Cunrui, a textbook war hero who, according to Chinese Communist Party lore, died valiantly during the civil war that brought the party to power in 1949.
For that passing reference, the woman, 27 and identified in court only by her last name, Xu, was sentenced last month to seven months in prison.
