Advertisement
China economy
OpinionComment
Zhou Xin
Zhou Xin

Opinion | China’s proposed ban on ‘hurtful’ clothing is a worrying sign of advancing intolerance in society

  • If the amendment to the public security law is passed, it will give police discretion to crack down on any types of dress they do not like
  • The change would undo progress from China’s reform period, when the state receded from daily life, freeing individuals to pursue happiness

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
49
A group of Chinese nationalists clad in traditional ‘Huafu’ costume celebrate the July 1st Hong Kong Handover anniversary outside in the Palace Museum in West Kowloon. Rising nationalism in China has spurred increasing interest in Han clothing styles amid rising intolerance for some other types of dress. Photo: SCMP / Xiaomei Chen
Zhou Xin

China’s proposed amendments to its public security administration punishments law are stirring heated debate among legal scholars about the consequences of expanding police powers and the possible erosion of personal freedom in the country.

Advertisement
One of the most controversial proposed changes is a clause stating that people garbed in clothing “detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese people and that hurts the feelings of the Chinese people” could be detained and fined. Legal scholars who published opinions opposing the law find it legally impossible to define the Chinese people’s “spirit” and “feelings”.

If the amendment becomes law, the power to define those terms falls to individual police officers. It is also likely to add unnecessary pressure on China’s frontline police, throwing them into endless controversy over law-enforcement activities.

For my generation, born after the Cultural Revolution and brought up amid China’s reform and opening up, the proposed law raises a red flag: it points to increasing intolerance that may sow division in Chinese society. It could also open a jar of worms in a country already facing rising nationalism, weakening economic growth, and polarisation among social groups.

China’s reform and opening up, started by former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s, is about not only economic liberalisation, but also the emancipation of thought and tolerance of personal choices. China’s economic boom has provided people greater freedom in their lifestyle choices, including where to dine out, where to travel and what clothes to wear.
Advertisement

The image of China as a country of blue ants has long gone the way of the Mao jacket – once the only acceptable men’s attire. In the early 1980s, Chinese society had a brief debate about whether young people should dye their hair or wear jeans and sunglasses, but fear of a “bourgeois lifestyle” quickly fizzled away.

Advertisement