People's Republic of China Law on Protection of Heroes and Martyrs

Title: People's Republic of China Law on Protection of Heroes and Martyrs
Promulgating Entities: Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Reference number: 
Promulgation Date: 2018-4-27
Expiration date: 
Source of text: http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/2018-04/27/content_2053975.htm

People's Republic of China Law on Protection of Heroes and Martyrs

(Adopted by the 2nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on April 27, 2018)

Article 1: This law is formulated on the basis of the Constitution so as to strengthen protections of heroes and martyrs; to preserve the societal public interest, to pass on and carry forward the spirit of heroes and martyrs and the spirit patriotism; to cultivate and practice the core socialist values, and to inspire the glorious spiritual force of the realization of the China dream of the great renewal of the Chinese nation.

Article 2: The State and people will always revere and honor the memory of the sacrifices and contributions that heroes and martyrs made for the nation, the people and our ethnicity.

The spirit of the heroes and martyrs in modern times who bravely gave their lives in lifelong struggle and made history with their achievements, to struggle for ethnic independence and the people's liberation, to bring about the prosperity of the nation and the happiness of the people, to promote world peace and the advancement of humanity, is eternal.

Article 3: The deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs are an important manifestation of the common historical memory and core socialist values ​​of the Chinese ethnicity.

The State protects heroes and martyrs and commends and commemorates heroes and martyrs, strengthening publicity and education on the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs, and preserving the dignity and lawful rights and interests of heroes and martyrs.

The entire society shall honor, study, and champion the heroes and martyrs.

Article 4: All levels of people's government shall strengthen the protection of heroes and martyrs and make publicity and promotion of the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs an important part of the establishment socialist spiritual civilization.

The departments of people's governments at the county level or above responsible for efforts to protect heroes and martyrs and other relevant departments shall lawfully perform their duties,to do a good job in efforts to protect heroes and martyrs.

In accordance with the provisions of the State Council and the Central Military Commission, the relevant military departments are to do a good job in the protection of heroes and martyrs.

People's government at the county level or above shall include funding for efforts to protect heroes and martyrs in the budget for that level.

Article 5: On September 30 of each year is to be the Martyrs' Day of Rememberance, and the State is to hold a commemorative ceremony before the People's Heroes' Memorial in the Capital, Beijing's Tiananmen Square, to cherish the memory of the heroes and martyrs.

Local people's governments at the county level or above and relevant military departments shall hold commemorative activities on the Martyrs' Day of Remembrance.

Survivor representatives are to be invited to participate when holding activities to commemorate heroes and martyrs.

Article 6: On Tomb Sweeping day and on important anniversaries, state organs, groups, villages, communities, schools, enterprises and public institutions, and relevant military units, are to organize commemorative activities for heroes and martyrs according to actual conditions.

Article 7: The State is to establish and protect memorial facilities to commemorate and cherish the memory of heroes and martyrs.

The People's Heroes' Memorial in the capital Beijing's Tiananmen Square is a symbol of the Chinese people and the Chinese ethnicity's modern struggle for independence and liberation, of the spirit of freedom and happiness, and of the nations' prosperity and strength, and is a permanent memorial facility for the people and nation to celebrate the memory of heroes and martyrs.

Monuments to the people's heroes, and their names, titles, inscriptions, reliefs, graphics, logos and so forth, are to receive legal protection.

Article 8: People's governments at the county level or above shall include the establishment and protection of memorial facilities for heroes and martyrs in the economic and social development plans and urban and rural planning; shall strengthen protection and management of memorials for heroes and martyrs; and shall approve and announce cultural relic protection units on the basis of the "People's Republic of China Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics" for heroes and martyrs' memorial facilities that have important memorial or educational meaning.

Central finance is to provide subsidies for the upkeep and protection of heroes and martyrs' memorial facilities in the old revolutionary base areas, minority regions, border regions, and impoverished areas, in accordance with national provisions.

Article 9: Heroes and martyrs' memorial facilities shall be open to the public free of charge for the people to pay respects and mourn heroes and martyrs, carry out memorial educational activities, and comfort the departed heroes.

The memorial facilities provided for in the preceding paragraph are administered by the relevant units of the military and made open in accordance with the relevant provisions of the armed forces.

Article 10: Units for the protection of heroes and martyrs' memorial facilities shall improve the service and management work to facilitate paying respect and mourning of heroes and martyrs, maintaining a solemn, austere, and clean environment and atmosphere in heroes and martyrs's memorial facilities.

Activities that damage the environment and atmosphere for commemorating heroes and martyrs at memorial facilities must not be engaged in by any organization or individual, land and facilities in the scope of heroes and martyrs memorial facilities must not be encroached upon, and heroes and martyrs' memorials must not be damaged or defaced.

Article 11: When a martyr is to be buried, the people's government at the county level or above and the relevant military departments shall hold solemn, austere, civilized, and frugal reception and funeral rites.

Article 12: The state is to establish and complete systems for commemorating heroes and martyrs and norms of etiquette, to guide citizens to respectfully and orderly pay their respects.

Relevant departments of the people's government at the county level or above shall facilitate heroes and martyrs' descendants paying their respects.

Article 13: The relevant departments of people's governments at the county level or above shall guide citizens to remember the deeds of heroes and martyrs and pass on and carry forward their spirit, by paying respects at heroes and martyrs' memorial facilities, collective oaths, online memorial ceremonies and so forth.

Article 14: Where heroes and martyrs are buried abroad, the diplomatic or consular institution of the People's Republic of China that is stationed in that country shall organize the carrying out the memorial activities in light of the actual conditions of that country.

Through cooperation with relevant countries, the state is to search for and collect the remains, relics, and historic data on heroes and martyrs', and strengthen the upkeep and repair work for heroes and martyrs' memorial facilities located abroad.

Article 15: The state encourages and supports research on the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs, and uses dialectical materialism and historical materialism as guidance to understand and describe history.

Article 16: All levels of people's government and relevant military departments shall strengthen efforts to collect, protect, and display relics and historical materials on heroes and martyrs, and organize efforts to research, compile, and publicize historical materials on heroes and martyrs.

The state encourages and supports the old revolutionary bases giving full play to local resource advantages, and carries out research, publicity and education efforts on heroes and martyrs' deeds and spirit.

Article 17: Administrative departments for education shall include publicity and education on heroes and martyrs' deeds and spirit in the citizens education system, with an emphasis on young students.

Educational administrative departments and schools at all levels shall include the deeds and spirits of heroic martyrs in educational content, organize commemorative education activities, and strengthen education on patriotism, collectivism, and socialism for students.

Article 18: The departments of culture, press, radio and television, film, Internet information, and so forth, shall encourage and support the production and promotion of excellent literary and artistic works, and radio or television programs, and publications and with the subject of publicizing or carrying forward, the spirit of heroes and martyrs.

Article 19: Radio stations, television stations, newspaper and periodical publishing units, and Internet information service providers shall widely publicize the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs by playing or publishing works on the theme of heroes and martyrs, public service advertisements, and special columns.

Article 20: The state encourages and supports natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organizations to participate in the heroic martyrs' protection efforts by donating assets, obligatory lectures promoting heroes and martyrs' deeds and spirit, supporting the descendants of heroes and martyrs, and other such public interest activity.

Where natural persons, legal persons and other organizations donate assets for use in protecting heroes and martyrs, they are to enjoy tax benefits in accordance with law.

Article 21: The state implements a bereavement benefits preferential system for heroes and martyrs. The descendants of heroes and martyrs are to enjoy preferential treatment in education, employment, eldercare, housing, medical care, and other areas in accordance with state regulations. The level of bereavement benefits and preferential treatment shall be appropriate for the national economic and social development, and gradually increase.

The relevant departments of the State Council, the relevant military departments, and local people's governments shall be concerned about the living conditions of descendants of heroic martyrs; and are to regularly visit the heroes and martyrs' decendents each year.

Article 22: It is forbidden to distort, smear, desecrate, or deny the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs.

The names, likenesses, reputation, and honor of heroes and martyrs are protected by law. The names, likenesses,reputations and honor of heroes and martyrs must not be insulted, defamed, or violated through other means by any person, either in public places, online, or through radio, television, film or publications. The names and likenesses of heroes and martyrs must not be used, or covertly used, by any organization or individual for trademarks or commercial advertisements, damaging the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs.

Where departments such as for public security, culture, news and publication, radio and television, Internet information, market oversight and regulation,and units responsible for efforts to protect heroes and martyrs discover the conduct provided for in the preceding paragraph, they shall promptly handle it in accordance with law.

Article 23: Where during work on the supervision and management of network information, Internet information departments, public security departments, and other relevant departments discover the publication or transmission of information that insults, defames, or otherwise violates heroes and martyrs' names, likenesses, reputations, or honor, they shall request that the network operators stop transmission and employ disposition measures such as elimination, and other necessary measures; where information described above is from sources outside the mainland People's Republic of China, the relevant institutions shall be contacted to employ technical measures and other necessary measures to block the transmission.

When a network operator discovers that its users have published the information specified in the preceding paragraph, they shall immediately stop transmitting the information and employ disposition measures such as elimination, prevent the information spreading, store relevant records, and report to the relevant competent departments. Where network operators fail to employ disposition measures such as stopping the transmission or elimination, punishment is to be given in accordance with the "Cyber ​​Security Law of the People's Republic of China".

Article 24: Any unit or individual has the right to report violations of heroes and martyrs' lawful rights and interests, and other conduct in violation of the provisions of this Law, to the departments responsible for efforts to protect heroes and martyrs, internet information offices, and public security departments and other such departments, and departments that receive these reports shall promptly handle the cases according to law.

Article 25: The close relatives of heroes and martyrs whose name, likeness, reputation, or honor is infringed upon may lawfully file suit in the people's court.

Where heroes and martyrs have no close relatives or where their close relatives do not initiate a lawsuit, the procuratorate is to lawfully bring lawsuits in the people's courts according to law over the conduct infringing on the heroes and martyrs' name, likeness, reputation, or honor that harms the societal public interest.

Where the departments responsible for efforts to protect heroes and martyrs and other relevant departments find the conduct prescribed in the first paragraph of this article in the course of performing their duties, and it is necessary for the procuratorate to initiate litigation, they shall report to the procuratorate.

Where the close relatives of heroes and martyrs file a lawsuit in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph, the legal aid institutions shall provide legal aid services in accordance with law.

Article 26: Civil liability is born in accordance with law for insulting, defaming or otherwise infringing on the names, likenesses, reputations, or honor of heroes and martyrs, that harm the societal public interest; where it constitute a public security administration violation, the public security organs will give public security administration punishment in accordance with law; where a crime is constituted, pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

Article 27: Where activities harmful to the environment and atmosphere for commemorating heroes and martyrs are engaged in within the scope of heroes and martyrs' commerative facilities, the comemorative facility protection unit shall promptly discourage it; where the discouragements are not heeded, the department responsible for efforts to protect heroes and martyrs of the people's government or the department for cultural relics at the county level or above are to give criticism and education and order corrections in accordance with their duties; where a violation of the administration of public security is constituted, the public security organs are to give public security administration punishments in accordance with law.

Where desecrating or negating the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs, or advocating or glorifying wars of aggression or aggressive conduct, or picking quarrels, or disrupting public order constitute a violation of public security administration, the public security organs will give public security administration punishments in accordance with law; where a crime is constituted, pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

Article 28: Those occupying, damaging, or vandalizing heroes and martyrs' memorial facilities are to be ordered to make corrections by the departments responsible for efforts to protect heroes and martyrs, and are to bear civil liability for restoring them to their original condition or paying for losses in accordance with law; and where the occupied, damaged, or vandalized memorial facility is a cultural preservation unit, punishment is in accordance with the "People's Republic of China Law on Protection of Cultural Artifacts"; and where a violation of public security administration is constituted, the public security organs are to give a public security administration punishment in accordance with law; and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 29: Where the staff of relevant departments of people's governments at the county level or above have abused their powers, derelicted their duty or twisted the law for personal gain, disciplinary action shall be lawfully taken against directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel; and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 30: This law begins implementation on May 1, 2018.