Photo: Sina Weibo

Authorities in Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region recently cracked down and fined a company for illegally selling alcohol in the name of special supply to the Chinese military. 

Office of the Ningxia provincial military command (garrison command) discovered a private vehicle with both sides printed with marks of the Chinese military arm-badge and rear window printed with Chinese characters of “sales of special supply of alcohol for military,” according to a China Central Television (CCTV) report. 

The authorities later found the company which the vehicle belonged to and found out that the company was selling alcohol and other items in over 40 categories which they claimed to be special supply to the Chinese military. 

Further investigation shows the company was responsible for delivering alcohol and found the supplier of the alcohol is surnamed Li. Li sniffed the so-called business opportunity under the encouragement of his friend and began in 2020 to engage in selling alcohol claimed to be “special supply to Chinese military.” 

A joint crackdown by the garrison command office, the public security bureau and the market supervision and management bureau in Yinchuan city was conducted on the stores and warehouse of the company, sealing over 3,500 bottles of alcohol of 12 brands suspected of falsely using names related to the military. 

The company was fined 30,000 yuan ($4,198) and its alcohol with no production location marked were confiscated, followed with an immediate rectification order. 

In recent years, some business operators have openly or covertly misused the name of the military, using specific military terms and symbols to produce and sell counterfeit and inferior goods such as “military Moutai” and “specially supply to the military,” which has seriously damaged the reputation and image of the Chinese military and affected the governance of the national economic environment. 

In order to maintain the good image of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), safeguard public interests and regulate market operations, six departments including the Logistic Support Department of the Central Military Commission jointly issued in July of 2022 the “Notice on Prohibiting the Sale of Goods with the Word ‘Military’ on Tobacco and Alcohol Products.”

According to the notice, either characters or signs and pictures related to the military that can mislead consumers and lead to negative influence related to the military are prohibited in commercial marketing. 

Those who refuse to rectify or violate laws and regulations will be investigated and severely punished in accordance with the laws.

Global Times