Chinese woman held for 'disrespecting' Communist scarf

Beijing: A woman in southwest China has been detained by the police after she posted a video online showing her catching fish while wearing a red scarf associated with the Young Pioneers of China, a Communist Party organization.

According to the state-run Global Times, the woman, with the surname Tang, had more than 3 million views on videos she posted to her profile on the TikTok-style short video streaming app Kuaishou.

In a statement earlier this week, the police said "doing so was disrespectful because the scarf represents a corner of the red flag and symbolizes the revolutionary tradition". In many of her videos posted since 2018, Tang wore a red scarf.

She was arrested on March 28 for 12 days and was also ordered to pay a fine of $150 and to delete the offending videos from her account.

"Tang's behaviour has seriously defiled patriotic heroes and martyrs, the glory of the Young Pioneers, and people's love for the country symbolized by the red scarf, causing a bad influence on society," the police said.

Police officials said that Tang filmed herself in farmlands and catching fish while wearing the red scarf on her neck in several videos since 2018 to attract more followers.

Tang fell afoul of the Law on Heroes and Martyrs Protection, enacted last year, which "bans activities that defame heroes and martyrs or distort and diminish their deeds", according to the report.