Chinese court names and shames debtors in warm-up to Avengers movie
- Public service message played in cinemas reveals amounts owed by 60 people
- Short film is latest step in campaign that has been running for the past year
Audiences who gathered to watch the midnight premiere of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame at Xingxin Time Movie World in Lishui, Zhejiang province, on Tuesday were also shown a short film that included photos and names of 60 debtors and the amount of money they owed.
The information film, the idea of the Liandu District People’s Court, would be shown at cinemas in Lishui before the main feature, with the aim of reaching more than 2,000 people a day, the court said in a WeChat post on Wednesday.
The post detailed the consequences faced by debtors, such as travel restrictions, blacklisting and exposure by the media.
“By showing the video, people can learn the consequences of not fulfilling your responsibilities according to law,” the court said. “To those who have the ability to pay but refuse or falsely declare their property, the court will take steps such as freezing their property, detaining or fining them, and even holding them criminally responsible.”
The court has been showing lists of debtors’ names and other information in cinemas and on digital screens on buildings for a year to put pressure on them to pay up. It has named 5,478 people and prompted more than 80 to pay their debts in the knowledge their business might be made public.