A man in Northeast China's Jilin Province was detained early morning Monday by police for posting content insulting the Chinese national flag.
The 25-year-old man, surnamed Wang from Liaoyuan, Jilin, has been detained and put under further investigation, said a statement posted by Liaoyuan police at its official Sina Weibo account on 2:00 am on Monday.
According to the statement, the man, with a Sina Weibo username "Howard Wang Haoda," tweeted posts that included insults to the national flag.
The content in Wang's account had all been removed as of press time. His profile showed that he is an "original musician."
Screen captures by People's Daily on Weibo showed that Wang posted a photo of himself holding a Chinese national flag and lighter, saying, "I live and die with the team" and "Come and catch me."
Screen capture of post
In the photo, Wang was wearing a black cap and a mask, as well as a Houston Rockets shirt.
The NBA team Houston Rockets has met with a backlash in China after its general manager Daryl Morey posted "stand with Hong Kong" on Twitter.
The team has a huge number of fans and many cooperation partners and sponsors from China, and Chinese basketball star Yao Ming used to play in the team.
The Chinese Basketball Association, China Central Television and Li-Ning company have announced that they are ceasing cooperation with the Houston Rockets.
Morey backtracked on Monday morning by saying that he did not intend to offend Chinese fans, but this was barely accepted in China as people believed it was not a proper apology.
Meanwhile, net users applauded the Liaoyuan police's prompt action.
Screen shots of Wang's previous Weibo tweets showed that he was also suspected of taking drugs, which was posted by Weibo users under the post by Liaoyuan police.
According to China's Law on the National Flag, "whoever desecrates the National Flag of the People's Republic of China by publicly and wilfully burning, mutilating, scrawling on, defiling or trampling upon it shall be investigated for criminal responsibilities according to law."
Global Times