Who Is Luo Changping? Ex-Chinese Journalist Arrested For ‘Martyrs’ War Comment

Ex-Chinese Journalist Luo Changping was arrested for a “martyrs” comment on the new government-sponsored blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin.”

The police in the island province of Hainan detained Luo, 40, on Thursday for "infringing on the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs," according to a notice by the official CCTV. The detention came two days after Luo posted on social media criticizing the film’s portrayal of China’s role in the war.

“Half a century later, few Chinese people have reflected on the justifiability of the war,” he wrote on China’s social platform Weibo. Adding that the military unit “did not doubt the ‘wise decision’ of the top.”

According to CCTV, Luo confessed to the crime of questioning the legal justification of China’s role in the war.

"Public security organs will severely investigate and punish" Luo’s infringements, the police notice said.

“Battle at Lake Changjin” was released on Sept. 30 and has already grossed $552 million, The New York Times reported. The film, which is now the eighth-most-successful film in China’s history, depicted the successes of Chinese soldiers fighting American forces during the Korean War.

Reuters noted that in one recent case, a defendant was sentenced to eight months in prison for a similar offense.

Luo was forced out of the journalism industry in 2014 for his reform-minded investigative work questioning and exposing the Chinese government. In 2013, he received an award from Transparency International for his work.