Anyone who mocks China's national anthem faces up to 15 days in police detention after parliament criminalised such acts in a new law that covers Hong Kong and Macau.
Since taking over as president, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has ushered in new legislation aimed at securing the country from threats both within and outside its borders, besides presiding over a sweeping crackdown on dissent and free speech.
Protecting "the dignity of the national anthem" will help "promote patriotism and nurture socialist core values", says the new law passed by the National People's Congress (NPC).
It governs when, where and how the anthem, the "March of the Volunteers", can be played.
The law bans its use as background music and in advertisements, rules out playing it at funerals and on other "inappropriate occasions" and prescribes administrative detention for any "distorted" or "mocking" renditions.
Those attending public events must stand to attention and sing in a solemn manner when the anthem is played.
The new law brings treatment of the anthem into line with desecration of China's national flag, or its emblem, which has been a criminal offence punishable by up to 15 days' detention since the 1990s. Those laws also apply in Hong Kong and Macau.
