The obscene figure case tried by the Shanghai Baoshan District People’s Court in 2025 is the first case involving the crime of obscene items in relation to figures. Article 367 of the current Criminal Law adopts circular definitions and subjective terms, leading to judicial practice being highly dependent on the individual cognition of adjudicators and resulting in vague identification. Although the figures involved in the case had artistic authentication, they were included in the scope of regulation due to their design features, target consumers, and potential impact on minors – reflecting the importance of minor protection in judicial discretion. However, the current identification mechanism has many problems. Therefore, the identification mechanism for crimes involving obscene items should be improved to address the challenges posed by emerging carriers of obscene items, with figures as a representative example.
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Ding, K. (2025) On the Improvement of the Identification Standard Mechanism for Obscene Items. Journal of Social Development and History, 1(4), 11-20.