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An official from the public security bureau in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, told media on Thursday that the release of full names of individuals who have received administrative penalties conforms with regulations. The response came amid heated discussion on Chinese social media platforms regarding the matter.

According to the official, Zhejiang Province issued regulations on publicizing administrative punishments online in 2015. Per the regulations, it is compliant to publish the full text or part of the text of the written decisions, and the published parts should include the document number of the decisions, the title of the case, the names of the punished persons, institutes or the names of the legal representatives of punished companies.

"So releasing punished people's names conforms with the regulations," the official was quoted as saying by media.

Do you think it is appropriate for the Hangzhou authorities to release the full names of those found guilty of sexual harassment? On Wednesday, the poll attracted more than 650,000 Chinese netizens who debated the issue on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo after media reports said that the Hangzhou authorities had released the full names of people caught and punished for sexual harassment.

Discussions emerged after reports surfaced on Chinese social media platforms, stating that the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau in the capital of East China's Zhejiang Province had published the full names of individuals who had assaulted others in public spaces and violated others' privacy this year.

These violations include touching others' bodies with hands or private parts, urinating on people, and filming others' private areas. Most of these incidents occurred in public places like subways, buses, staircases, and escalators, according to the reports.

The Global Times searched for the punishments of the Hangzhou public security bureau this year on the website of the Hangzhou government on Wednesday night and received 21 results.

Of the 21 results, 16 are related to hooliganism, with 10 involving assault, one case of intentionally exposing one's naked body, and five cases of privacy violations.

The names of all 21 violators were provided.

The issue became a hot topic on Sina later Wednesday after media launched the abovementioned poll. Related hastags have been viewed more than 200 million times as of Wednesday night.

Nearly 640,000 respondents applauded the Hangzhou public bureau's actions, believing that publicizing the names would effectively deter potential offenders. Some referred to a recent case of a woman being assaulted and "mobbed" during water-splashing festivities in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, with some individuals even tearing her raincoat.

"They didn't consider whether their actions were appropriate, so why should we question whether it's appropriate to publish their names?" a Weibo user commented.

"Authorities should not only release their names but also set examples by publishing recidivists' photos and requiring them to issue public apologies," another user suggested.

However, approximately 200,000 respondents opposed this practice, insisting that even those punished for violations should have their lawful rights, including privacy, protected.

Fu Jian, a lawyer in Central China's Henan Province, told the media that the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau released the names to serve as a warning to others, and since they did not disclose any other personal information, they would not be suspected of infringing on people's privacy.