China has already banned its national anthem from being belted out at weddings and funerals – but now, even more restrictions are on the way. A law is being prepared to set the tempo at which the ballad should be played and sung, with consequences for those who put the anthem in a “damaging situation”.
Concerns have been growing that the patriotic number, called March Of Th e Volunteers, is “not universally respected and cherished”. State media has reported on recent “chaos” where people have laughed as the song was played, with others making a ruckus. “Due to a lack of legal constraints, the national anthem is casually used and sung in an unsolemn manner,” the Xinhua news agency claimed. China already has laws restricting the use of its national fl ag and national emblem, but aside from a ban in adverts there are no laws protecting the national anthem.
In 2014, Beijing set out regulations which allowed the song to only be used during major sporting events and formal diplomatic occasions – makingthe anthem off limits to various forms of “private entertainment”. Written in 1935, March Of Th e Volunteers was offi cially adopted as China’s national anthem in 1982. Th e buoyant, military-minded song calls on the Chinese people to “arise” and “march on” towards the establishment of a new nation. Th e draft bill is expected to be submitted for its fi rst reading next month.
Florida woman weathers traffi c jam with highway yoga A Florida woman stranded in traffi c by a morning crash passed the time by getting out her mat and practicing yoga in the middle of the highway. Kristin Bjornsen said a collision shut down the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 Wednesday morning, leaving her and several other drivers stranded until the road could be reopened. Bjornsen said she passed the time by getting out her yoga mat and practicing poses including Coba, Plow, and King Pigeon. A photo Bjornsen posted to Twitter shows her performing an Upward Facing Dog pose. “Cearing the traffi c in my mind #i95 #traffi c #miami #zen #sendwater,” she tweeted. Bjornsen said it was about two hours before the roadway was reopened and she could continue on her way around 11:30 a.m
