"My grandmother was still alive at the time of this and was 98 years old. The family was afraid that she would be angry and sad, so they didn't tell the old man, but the grandmother didn't wait for the day of the trial......"
At the scene of the trial, the descendants of the founding major general He Kexi told Orange Persimmon Interactive.
He Kexi (January 20, 1906 – December 17, 1982) joined the Communist Party of China in 1929.
One of the founders and leaders of the anti-Japanese base area in eastern Zhejiang, the founding major general. He used to be the vice chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People' In 1955, he was awarded the rank of Major General and the Order of Independence and Freedom of the First Class and the Order of Liberation of the First Class.
At 18:30 on December 17, 1982, He Kexi died of a heart attack in Hangzhou at the age of 76.
This morning (December 21), the Hangzhou Internet Court formed a seven-member collegial panel, with President Chen Zengbao as the presiding judge, to hold an open trial of the public interest litigation plaintiff Hangzhou Xihu District People's Procuratorate v. Guo XX, He XX, and Fu XX.
The court ordered that the three defendants publicly apologize in the national media and pay a total of 150,000 yuan in compensation for public welfare damages, which will be used for social welfare matters such as the commemoration, remembrance, promotion and protection of He Kexi's heroes and martyrs.
In August this year, the family of General He Kexi, the founding major general of the People's Republic of China, discovered that some short video self-media used Comrade He Kexi's photos in the video and maliciously misinterpreted his image, and the relevant videos were forwarded in large numbers.
Subsequently, the family of General He Kexi reported the above situation to the public interest litigation prosecutor.
After investigation, the public interest litigation prosecutor found that between October 2022 and July 2023, Guo Moumou (account followers of 28,000), He Moumou (account followers of 3.56 million), and Fu Moumou (account followers of about 5,000) produced and published short videos involved in the case through their respective self-media accounts.
The short video involved in the case used a photo of Comrade He Kexi as a profile picture of a negative historical figure. The video was heavily reposted on the internet after it was posted.
The public interest litigation plaintiff believes that the three defendants, as online self-media bloggers, should ensure the objectivity and truthfulness of the information they publish, and must not publish false online information that infringes on the lawful rights and interests of others.
The three defendants failed to fulfill their obligation to release and verify information, and used the portrait of Comrade He Kexi to refer to the heads of historical figures with negative images.
As a revolutionary pioneer, Comrade He Kexi made important contributions to the struggle for national independence and the people's liberation, and belonged to the category of heroes stipulated by law.
The actions of the three defendants not only hurt the feelings of the relatives of the revolutionary heroes, but also undermined the social atmosphere and public morality of respecting heroes and martyrs, which is not conducive to the continuous inheritance of the common interests of the nation, and harms the public interest, and they should bear civil tort liability in accordance with the law.
During the trial, the three defendants made it clear that they had realized their mistakes, apologized to He Kexi's family and the public, and were willing to bear the responsibility for public interest damages.
After trial, the Hangzhou Internet Court held that, according to Article 185 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, those who infringe upon the names, likenesses, reputations, and honors of heroes and martyrs, and harm the public interest, shall bear civil liability.
1. The conduct involved in the case infringes upon the personality interests of revolutionary heroes.
As a revolutionary pioneer who made outstanding contributions to the struggle for national independence and the people's liberation, Comrade He Kexi was awarded the "Medal of Independence and Freedom of the First Class" and the "Liberation Medal of the First Class", which belong to the protection scope of heroes and martyrs stipulated in Article 185 of the Civil Code.
2. The conduct involved in the case infringed upon the three personality interests of the revolutionary hero's portrait, reputation, and honor.
The three defendants secretly stole and forwarded Comrade He Kexi's portrait photos on the Internet, infringing on his portrait.
In the video introducing a historical figure with a negative image, the three defendants used a photo of Comrade He Kexi to refer to a certain historical figure with a negative image, and also called him a "traitor", further lowering the social evaluation of Comrade He Kexi and infringing on his reputation.
As a revolutionary pioneer, Comrade He Kexi made important contributions to the struggle for national independence and freedom and the people's liberation, and he was the recipient of the "Medal of Independence and Freedom of the First Class" and the "Liberation Medal of the First Class." His heroic deeds are admirable and moving, and his heroic honor has won the respect and admiration of the people of the whole country.
The three defendants slandered and desecrated the honor that Comrade He Kexi had received for his outstanding contributions to national independence, freedom, and the people's liberation, and infringed upon his honor.
As self-media bloggers with a large number of followers and a certain degree of social influence, the three defendants should strictly check the authenticity and objectivity of the video content.
Moreover, the content of the video involved in the case involves "traitors", and once the information is wrong, it is very easy to cause damage to the personality rights and interests of others. However, the three defendants were subjectively at fault for failing to prudently verify the content of the video in order to earn network traffic.
3. The conduct involved in the case harmed the public interest.
The core essence of Article 185 of the Civil Code is to safeguard the public interest, and its connotation refers to: the common memory, common sentiment and national spirit of the nation, the core values of socialism, and the social atmosphere of respecting heroes and martyrs, promoting good and suppressing evil.
Comrade He Kexi's heroic deeds are the epitome of the people's army's sworn defense of national independence and the people's liberation, and have established for the broad masses of the people the spiritual guidance of fighting and sacrificing for the country and the people without fear of hardships and difficulties, and are one of the cores of the Chinese nation's spirit and an important embodiment of the core values of socialism.
The three defendants erroneously used Comrade He Kexi's portrait to refer to historical figures with negative images, which was a serious insult, slander, derogation, and desecration of Comrade He Kexi's portrait, reputation, and honor, and harmed the common feelings and national spirit of the people in society, and was also a distortion of the history of the War of Resistance and Liberation represented by heroic deeds, which was not conducive to the continuation and inheritance of the common memory of the nation and the country, and was also a serious departure from the core values of socialism, and their behavior constituted an infringement of the public interest.
The court held that the public interest litigation plaintiff's request to order the three defendants to publicly apologize to the public in the national news media, eliminate the impact, and bear the liability for public interest damages for their respective acts was in accordance with the law and should be supported in accordance with the law, so it made the above judgment and pronounced the judgment in court.
Chen Zengbao, President of the Hangzhou Internet Court, believes that -
The deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs are the common memory of the Chinese nation and an important embodiment of the core values of socialism.
The personal reputation and honor of heroes are always related to a certain historical background, and are also closely related to the history of modern China, and more importantly, to the social consensus and mainstream values of the mainland.
The Internet is not a place outside the law! Smearing these heroic groups and representatives of martyrs on the Internet is not only a negation and disintegration of the core socialist values and the spirit of revolutionary heroism, but also an elimination of national beliefs and the erosion of national foundations, and is likely to have a bad impact on the value orientation of the masses, especially young people.
At the trial, He Moumou, a big V who once had more than 3 million fans, said, "I am also very patriotic, and I was very sorry that I did not review it when I released it......
In this trial, the relatives of the founding major general He Kexi also came to attend the trial.
He Kexi's granddaughter, Ms. Shi, told Orange Persimmon Interactive that when she was born, her grandfather was no longer there, and her brother was very young at the time.
In August this year, after the family found out about this, they were very angry, and immediately launched various evidence collections, and also reported to the Hangzhou police.
"This matter is no longer just my family affair, but no Chinese with a conscience will let the revolutionary ancestors suffer humiliation......"