Recently, a circulating online administrative penalty notice from the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Administration revealed that a company in Beijing engaged in organizing study trips to the United States was penalized. The reason for the penalty was that the company’s advertising copy praised the solemnity and authority of the American democratic system when mentioning the U.S. Capitol Building.
On September 7th, former Chinese lawyer and citizen journalist Chen Qiushi (@chenqiushi404) posted a screenshot of the aforementioned penalty on social platform X, stating, “A company in Beijing conducting American study tours was penalized because a sentence in its advertising copy mentioned ‘the Capitol Building… embodies the solemnity and authority of the American democratic system.’ This WeChat advert had only been viewed 186 times even after deletion. The Beijing Market Supervision Administration issued a penalty notice, considering the advertisement to be ‘misleading… against social decency’, and proposed a fine ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 RMB.”
The screenshot of the administrative penalty notice from the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Administration indicated that the case involving Da Yong International Cultural Development (Beijing) Co., Ltd. in publishing an advertising campaign that “contravened social decency” had been concluded.
According to the notice, the company on April 21st this year posted an advertising promotion titled “Eagle’s Path – Summer Study Camp at American Universities Fine Arts Museums” in the form of a push article through their WeChat official account “Da Yong International Culture.” The advertisement copy included statements like “As the political heart of America, the White House and Capitol Building are must-visit attractions… The Capitol Building is the location of the American legislative body, with its magnificent architecture and exquisite interior decorations, embodying the solemnity and authority of the American democratic system.”
The advertisement copy was deleted on July 4th after being viewed a total of 186 times during the publication period. The Market Supervision Administration stated that through the investigation, it was determined that the company’s advertising promotion with statements like “reflecting the solemnity and authority of the American democratic system” for promoting study programs to the U.S. constituted a “misleading” act, violating Article 9, Section 7 of the Advertising Law, and “constitutes the illegal act of publishing advertisements that contravene social decency.”
The notice mentioned that for the first violation of Article 9, a fine ranging from over 200,000 to below 400,000 RMB would be imposed. Considering the company’s push article had a total of 186 views and a short duration, without actually enrolling students or collecting fees, taking into account the facts, nature, circumstances, and social harm of the violation, they planned to “relatively lightly penalize your company for this behavior.”
The circulated notice consisted of only one page, without detailing how the lighter penalty would be implemented.
When contacted by the Hong Kong media “Sing Tao Daily,” a female staff member of the company mentioned that there was indeed promotion material for the “Summer Study Camp at American University Art Museums” but it was quickly taken down, claiming not to be very familiar with its content and unaware of any penalties.
Users on social platform X commented, “People with weaker inner feelings are often more sensitive.” “How afraid must one be of the truth being understood by the common people within the country. Once the people know the rights of democracy, the Communist regime will collapse.” “The Communist Party fears enlightening the universal values to the Chinese people, and the awakening of the people’s human rights consciousness is what they fear the most. Democracy is a political system that stands in opposition to the CCP’s terroristic dictatorship, and freedom is the expression of a democratic system.”
Shortly before this summer vacation, several regions including Henan, Shenyang, and Gansu issued urgent notifications to investigate the participation of primary and secondary school students in overseas study groups, emphasizing a comprehensive check on the “hidden ideological risks” associated with such projects, focusing on rectifying contents that “promote Western political systems and glorify Western civilization.”