Houston Rockets Fan Jailed In China After Threatening To Burn Flag Over NBA Blackout

CHINA. (THECOUNT) — Howard Wang, of China, has been arrested after he threatened to burn the national flag on social media while wearing a Houston Rockets jersey, according to reports.

Wang, 25, was taken into custody Tuesday and is accused of publishing “insults directed against the national flag” on Weibo, which is China’s version of Twitter, on Sunday, cited authorities.

The arrest comes amid a week of fractured relations between the NBA and China, due to a tweet from Rockets general manager Daryl Morey that expressed support for human rights protests in Hong Kong, which are considered anti-government. (Morey later deleted the tweet and offered an apology).

The post includes Wang with a photo of himself appearing on the verge of burning the flag, with the caption “I live and die with the team.” According to CNN, Wang told police to “come and arrest him.”

Flag desecration is illegal in China and violators could face up to three years in prison. Comments reacting to his post included, “He has committed crime of splitting the state, he deserves a life sentence, he will keep creating troubles to society,” reports USAToday.

Xiamen is a port city on China’s southeast coast, across a strait from Taiwan. It encompasses 2 main islands and a region on the mainland. Formerly known as Amoy, it was a British-run treaty port from 1842 to 1912. Many Europeans and Japanese lived on Gulangyu, today a vehicle-free island with beaches and meandering streets lined with old colonial villas, source wikipedia.