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Beijing drafts law to punish those who wear clothes 'detrimental' to others

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Manga-inspired cosplay fans attend a comics expo in Shanghai, China, July 11, 2013. [AFP]

In what appears to be the latest of Beijing's crackdowns on freedom of expression, China is circulating a draft version of a law that would punish people for wearing clothes that "are deemed detrimental or hurtful to China's spirit or sentiments."

Violators could be detained for five to 10 days and fined as much as 5,000 yuan, or $687.67, a significant amount in a nation where the per capita income hovers near 100,000 yuan, or just over $13,700, according to the International Monetary Fund. Online public response has been withering, calling the proposed law "overintervention" and "absurd."

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