So far, the national flag in Tiananmen Square has been flown at half-mast more than 50 times, of which more than 30 times it was flown at half-mast for Chinese leaders, 17 times for foreign politicians, one time for journalists killed in the bombing of the Yugoslavia embassy, ​​a

Dressed in white and holding armor, he is a hero of the times. You acted upon hearing the order, marched thousands of miles backward, and risked your life resolutely. You will always be our heroes.

Tomorrow, the whole country and embassies and consulates abroad will fly flags at half mast for you.

So far, the national flag in Tiananmen Square has been flown at half-mast more than 50 times, of which more than 30 times were flown at half-mast for Chinese leaders, 17 times for foreign politicians, 1 time for journalists killed in the bombing of the Yugoslav Embassy, ​​and the other 3 times. National Day of Mourning for the Wenchuan Earthquake, Yushu Earthquake and Zhouqu Debris Flow.

What do we need to know about flying the flag at half-mast? What does the National Flag Law stipulate?

01

For whom is the flag flying at half-mast?

According to Article 14 of the "Flag Law of the People's Republic of China", the following people have passed away, and the flag is flown at half-mast in mourning:

(1) President of the People's Republic of China, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Premier of the State Council, Chairman of the Central Military Commission;

(2) Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference;

(3) People who have made outstanding contributions to the People's Republic of China;

(4) People who have made outstanding contributions to world peace or human progress. .

When an unfortunate event with particularly heavy casualties occurs or a serious natural disaster causes heavy casualties, the flag may be flown at half-mast to mourn. Flags flying at half-mast in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1 (3) (4) and 2 of this article shall be decided by the State Council. The date and place for flying the flag at half-mast in accordance with the provisions of this article shall be determined by the funeral organization established by the state or the State Council.

Therefore, the provisions of the National Flag Law only specify that the flag should be flown at half-mast when the current national leader dies. For outgoing national leaders, whether to fly the flag at half-mast will be decided separately by the State Council.

Due to the abolition of the lifetime tenure of leading cadres, since the implementation of the National Flag Law on October 1, 1990, no president of the country, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, premier of the State Council, or chairman of the Central Military Commission has died in office. Therefore, Article 14 of the National Flag Law Paragraph (1) of Article 14 has not been actually applied so far; Paragraph (2) of Article 14, regarding flying flags at half-mast when the Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference passes away, has only been applied once, that is, in 1992 when Li Xiannian, the then Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, died of illness. Other leaders who enjoy the honor of flying the flag at half-mast are entitled to this treatment in the name of "people who have made outstanding contributions to the People's Republic of China" in accordance with Article 14 (3).

Before the National Flag Law was passed in 1990, there were no clear legal regulations on the circumstances under which the national flag could be flown at half-mast. After 1990, the standard for flying flags at half-mast for national leaders actually became clearer.

The highest level of condolences expressed by the Republic to the deceased foreigners should be that of the former Soviet leader Stalin. Stalin passed away on March 5, 1953. On March 6, the Chinese government issued an announcement that flags would be flown at half-mast across the country from March 7 to March 9, 1953. During the mourning period, all industrial and mining enterprises, military units, government agencies, schools and people's organizations across the country will stop banquets and entertainment. Since then, starting from 1969, the frequency and scope of flags flying at half-mast in honor of deceased foreigners have changed significantly.

Before and after the flags were flown at half-mast for the deceased Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh on September 9, 1969, the flags were flown at half-mast more frequently. Starting from 1953, a total of 12 times occurred in 16 years; most of them were "flags at half-mast all over the country". Basically, flags are lowered in honor of deceased leaders of the socialist camp countries.

After 1969, the frequency of flying flags at half-mast in honor of dead foreign leaders in China was greatly reduced, and the scope was no longer "all over the country", but mainly Tiananmen Square, Xinhuamen and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Before the "Flag Law" was promulgated, the question of which foreigners were flown at half-mast in mourning was largely based on ideology and the international political environment. From Stalin to Ho Chi Minh, most of the people who received the treatment of flying the flag at half-mast were leaders of socialist countries close to China. As ideology recedes from national politics, flying flags at half-mast requires a clear legal system.

02

How to fly the flag at half-mast?

Lowering the flag to half-mast does not mean lowering the flag to half of the flagpole, nor does it directly raise the flag to half of the flagpole. So, how to fly the flag at half-mast?

The "Flag Law" stipulates that when raising or lowering the national flag on an upright flagpole, it should be raised and lowered slowly. When raising, the flag must be raised to the top of the pole; when lowering, the flag must not be allowed to fall to the ground.

When the flag is flown at half-mast, the flag should be raised to the top of the pole first, and then lowered to a point where the distance between the top of the flag and the top of the pole is one-third of the total length of the flagpole; when lowering, the flag should be raised to the top of the pole first, and then lowered. lower.

03

"To mourn" or "to express condolences"?

From a literal sense, "to" means to deliver, and "to express condolences" is to use language to convey one's sorrow for someone or something to others, and the target of the communication is determined. "Zhi" means to remember and engrave, and "Zhi" means to mourn in some way or activity. The object of mourning is uncertain, which is more serious than "to mourn", such as: flying the flag at half-mast to mourn.

From this, we can see that "to mourn" refers specifically to an individual act of mourning, while "to mourn" is a collective and large-scale way of expressing condolences.

04

The origin of the flag at half-mast

Having the flag at half-mast is a common way of mourning in the world today. When an important leader of a country dies, the flag is flown at half-mast to express condolences. This practice was first seen in 1612. One day, the captain of the British ship "Hazy Is" died while exploring the waterway leading to the Pacific Ocean from northern North America. The crew, as a mark of respect to the late captain, lowered the mast flag some distance from the top of the flagpole. When the ship sailed into the Thames, people saw the flag flying at half-mast on its mast, and they didn't know what it meant. Upon inquiry, it turned out that it was used to commemorate the deceased captain. By the second half of the 17th century, this mourning method spread to the mainland and was adopted by various countries. It is not difficult to see from this that the method of mourning with the flag at half-mast has been around since ancient times and has a history of nearly 400 years.

Note (text and pictures come from the Internet)