Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, confers the police flag on China's police force during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) rolled out Monday a new regulation on the police flag, stipulating that the illegal manufacture, sale, possession or use of the flag, as well as acts including deliberately damaging or insulting the flag will be punished in accordance with laws.

The special regulation on police flags was jointly released by the MPS, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Justice.

The MPS stressed during a press conference held on Monday in Beijing that the police flag is a key symbol of China's police force, and of the police force's honor, responsibility and duty. The police flag also plays a vital leading role in guiding the force in implementing its tasks in the new era. 

The police force and the whole of society should foster awareness of the police flag, and should respect, cherish and protect its dignity, the MPS noted.

No organization or individual should manufacture, trade, possess or use the police flag without prior permits by administrative agencies, and those who do will be sanctioned by laws, the new regulation says.

Acts including deliberately damaging, tarnishing, or burning the flag in a public setting will also incur punishments, it says.

President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, on August 26 conferred the police flag on China's police force, ordering them to be loyal to the Party, serve the people and be impartial in law enforcement and strict in discipline, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The original flag that Xi conferred has been displayed at the Chinese Police Museum in Beijing, media reported on Monday.

Global Times