BEIJING, July 20 -- A travel blogger posing for photos with the tombstones of martyrs was investigated by the Chinese police on suspicion of tarnishing the honor of the martyrs, and his account was permanently banned.
Recently, some netizens reported that a travel blogger took photos in various poses beside the tombstones of martyrs sacrificed for defending the Chinese border in the Kangxiwa Martyrs Cemetery, including stepping on pedestal and leaning on the monument with a smile, and posing a gun-like gesture beside the tombstone of martyr Chen Xiangrong, who lost his life defending the Chinese border in June 2020 at the age of 19. The blogger’s behaviors triggered public outrage on the Internet and attracted the attention of authorities.
On July 18, the procuratorate organ of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region stated, by its official account on China’s social media platform Weibo, that it had contacted cultural and tourism department and suggested to include the blogger in a tourist blacklist.
At the same time, Toutiao, the online media platform where the blogger posted selfies, issued an announcement stating that his account, Xiaoxian Jayson, will be permanently banned.
This morning, China Police Online, the Weibo account of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security posted that, according to Article 299 of the Criminal Law, the act of the blogger, named “Xiaoxian Jayson”, is suspected of infringing on the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs. It also stated that the Public Security Bureau of Pishan County in Xinjiang, where the Kangxiwa Martyrs Cemetery is located, has placed a case on file. At the same time, public security organ in Ngari prefecture in Tibet, where the blogger is currently staying, also participated in the case and urged the blogger to go to the Pishan Public Security Bureau for investigation as soon as possible.
The Kanxiwa Martyrs Cemetery is located between the snow-capped mountains at an elevation of 4,280 meters in Xinjiang. More than a hundred martyrs who sacrificed for defending the country are buried here, including the four martyrs Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan, and Wang Zhuoran who lost their lives in a border clash in June 2020.
