Chinese ‘Nazi soldier’ arrested for posing in German uniform at memorial park
- Man, 18, said he was just having fun, but police unimpressed and social media users outraged
- China introduced new legislation last year to protect national martyrs and heroes
An 18-year-old Chinese man has been detained for wearing a German military uniform at a park dedicated to war heroes in eastern China and posting images of his “offensive” behaviour on social media.
The incident happened on Sunday night in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, when the man, identified only as Li and said to be from the central Chinese province of Henan, visited Beiganshan Martyrs Memorial Park in the Xiaoshan district of the city, according to a police statement.
He was dressed in a military uniform from an indeterminable time period, but which appeared to be German in origin and had Nazi-style motifs.
After taking photographs of himself and a friend against the wintry backdrop, Li uploaded them to social media, along with the comment: “It’s freezing to death but I feel content”.
His post was spotted the following day by an angry internet user who shared it on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service, with the comment: “Taking pictures in military uniform with Nazi logos in a martyrs park??? If this is not defiling martyrs I don’t know what is.”
The response was seen by police in Xiaoshan who tracked Li down and arrested him on Monday afternoon for the crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.