What does curfew mean?

"Xiao" means night, and "ban" means prohibition. A curfew prohibits activities at night.

A curfew refers to an order issued by government or military agencies to prohibit civilians from going out at a specific time. It is usually used during a state of war, domestic emergency or martial law.

A curfew is a constitutional act that prohibits nighttime movements based on public security and order, decided by the legislative body, the government or the military, and implemented by the military and police. Generally used in states of war and national emergencies. During the curfew, some or all of the rights and freedoms of citizens stipulated in the constitution and laws will be restricted or suspended.

During the curfew period, when passing through streets or other public places in curfew areas, you must hold your identity document and a special pass issued by the curfew enforcement agency. Curfews can be for specific times (night only or 24 hours a day), for a specific period (days, months or longer), for specific persons (all persons or for specific genders and age groups) and for designated areas ( a few blocks or across the country). Curfew enforcement officers have the right to detain persons who violate the curfew provisions until the end of the curfew; they also have the right to search the persons of the detained persons and inspect the items they carry. Persons who resist the curfew may be detained or subject to other coercive measures, including the use of weapons.

China’s curfew system lasted for thousands of years and was not abolished until after the Revolution of 1911. The existence of the curfew system was the need of each dynasty to manage society, and it could indeed play a certain role in maintaining public order when wars were frequent. But when society progresses, this system also becomes a shackles that hinder progress.

Note:

Our country has had a curfew system in the past dynasties. Only on special days such as the Lantern Festival, ordinary people are allowed to go out at night. The main purpose of the curfew is to prevent thieves and cause chaos.

If it were a war, enemy spies or surprise troops outside the city would definitely enter the city at night. In addition, famine or war will produce a large number of refugees. If there is no one to guard the city at night, and the refugees flood in, the chaos of public security will be unimaginable. Having the officials responsible for the curfew checking in at all times can play a certain defensive role in the above situation.

The origin of the curfew system can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. Although the prosperous Tang Dynasty was grand, free and open, the curfew was not relaxed at all, but became more strict and systematic. The curfew system was relaxed in the late Tang and Five Dynasties. At the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, the "first watch" curfew of the curfew system was changed to the "third watch" curfew.

Implementation form

During the curfew period, when passing through streets or other public places in curfew areas, you must hold your identity document and a special certificate issued by the curfew enforcement agency. pass.

A curfew can be for a specific time (only at night or 24 hours a day), for a specific period (days, months or longer), for a specific audience (all persons or for a specific gender and age) segment) and a designated area (a few neighborhoods or a country).

The enforcement officers of the curfew have the right to detain those who violate the curfew regulations until the end of the curfew; they also have the right to search the persons of the detained persons and inspect the items they carry. Those who resist the curfew may be detained or subject to other coercive measures, including the use of weapons.

During the curfew, some or all of the citizens’ rights and freedoms stipulated in the constitution and laws will be restricted or suspended.

Implementation occasions

Military

During military exercises and wars, in order to prevent the people from suffering heavy casualties during wartime, the country usually promulgates curfew measures to keep the streets as safe as possible. Clear space for emergency evacuation and military march.

Public Security

While the police are arresting fugitives, in order to prevent people from being affected by stray bullets due to exchanges of fire between police and criminals, the police will also selectively implement curfews around the places where fugitives are suspected to be hiding. In addition, curfew measures are also implemented for specific individuals.

A curfew order is a community order that can apply to prisoners of any age. Curfew orders should not be confused with curfews attached to the grant of bail. A curfew is a final measure, not a pending trial or sentence. The curfew order may specify the location and time of the curfew, but the curfew order shall not be implemented for more than 6 months from the date of issuance; for prisoners under 16 years old, it shall not be more than 3 months.

During this period, the daily curfew cannot be less than 2 hours but cannot be more than 12 hours.

Curfew arrangements must not conflict with the prisoner's work or school hours, or with the prisoner's other community orders. Curfew orders must designate a person responsible for monitoring the inmate's whereabouts during the curfew period. With the development of modern technology, some people wear electronic tags on their hands to monitor the actions of the person being executed.

The court must use ordinary language to explain to the prisoner the effect of the curfew order and the consequences of failure to comply with the conditions specified. Curfew orders previously required the consent of prisoners, but this was abolished in 1997. The court must know the area where the prisoner's curfew order applies and the relevant circumstances of the prisoner's family. A pretrial report is generally not required for the application of a curfew order, but it is certainly preferable to have one.

The application of a curfew order is not intended to confine prisoners at home most of the time. Its main purpose is to enable prisoners to go to work, attend training courses, and participate in community service or receive drug abuse treatment. Curfew orders can help reduce some forms of crime, such as car theft or theft of property from cars. During the curfew, prisoners can be required not to enter a specific place, such as shopping malls, bars, etc., or they can be asked to stay at home in the evenings or weekends. For example, you can only stay at home from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekends and are not allowed to go out. For fans who cause trouble, if they are sentenced to this order, they will not be able to go out to watch football games at night, which is a good punishment measure.

Civil Aviation

In addition, due to noise control, some airports prohibit aircraft takeoffs and landings at night (usually from 0:00 to 6:00). This control measure is also called a curfew. This kind of Curfew measures are common in densely populated airports located in or around urban areas. Examples of airports that implement curfews are as follows: LaGuardia Airport in New York, Japan, Itami Airport in Osaka, Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, Fukuoka Airport in Fukuoka Prefecture, London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom, Songshan Airport in Taipei, China, Qingquangang Airport in Taichung, and Xiaogang Airport in Kaohsiung Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, Frankfurt International Airport in Germany

Airports that have implemented curfews but have now lifted them: Changi International Airport in Singapore Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan, China Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport

Airports with normal 24-hour operation: China Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shenzhen Baoan International Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Macau International Airport, New York JFK International Airport, the United States, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the Netherlands, Hokkaido New Chitose Airport, Japan, Osaka Kansai International Airport, Nagoya Chubu International Airport, Incheon International Airport, South Korea

Historical Evolution

Ancient Times

Curfew laws have been around since ancient times, especially in times of war and disasters. , or implemented in areas of special political and economic significance. Those who violate the curfew order may be detained at least, or punished on the spot at worst. It is an important governance measure in a special period and in a special region.

In Chapter 42 of the Ming Dynasty novel "Jin Ping Mei", "Fireworks are set off in front of the luxurious door to enjoy the Lantern Festival and the drunken lanterns are upstairs", it is written that Ximen Qing and Count Ying were waiting to watch the fireworks and asked two prostitutes to sing a song Add to the fun. After the two prostitutes arrived, Earl Ying asked them to come to see him first. However, both prostitutes knew who was the boss and did not buy his fault. They went back to pay their respects to Ximen Qing. When Earl Ying couldn't get off the stage, he said he would tell the night watchman, "Teach him to take you away at night and give you a good beating (a punishment of pinching your fingers with five wooden sticks)." The prostitutes were not afraid. They talked and laughed, enjoying themselves for Ximen Qing.

The traditional Peking Opera play "The Story of Two Bells" (also known as "Haihui Temple" and "Ma Siyuan") is said to be adapted from a true story in the early Qing Dynasty. It tells the story of a thief who broke into someone's house at night to steal, witnessed a murder, and fled in a hurry. As a result, he was caught on the road for committing a "night crime". He failed to testify in time, and almost caused the innocent person to be sentenced to death.

The "night crime" mentioned by Earl Ying and "The Story of Two Bells" is a traditional crime in ancient China. It turns out that in ancient times, all cities with government agencies had to implement curfews at night. This is a strict provision of the laws of the past dynasties. For example, the laws of the Tang Dynasty stipulated the crime of "breaking the night". The "Palace Guard Order" of the Tang Dynasty stipulates that every night when the "day time" of the yamen has been exhausted, the "closed door drum" will be beaten six hundred times; every morning after five o'clock in the morning, the "open door drum" will be beaten four hundred times. drum". Anyone who walks on the streets of the city for no reason after the "closed-door drum" or before the "open-door drum" will be guilty of "breaking the night" and will be whipped twenty times.

If it is official business such as delivering letters to the government, or private business such as buying medicine for weddings, funerals, or illnesses, you can only walk with the consent of the street patrol, but you are not allowed to leave the city.

The laws of the Ming and Qing Dynasties changed this article to "night prohibition". The regulations are more clear. The evening drum is sounded at 3 o'clock in the morning and travel is prohibited; the morning bell is rung at 3 o'clock in the morning and travel is prohibited. Those who walk on the street during the second, third, and fourth watches shall be whipped with forty lashes (fifty lashes in the capital city); those who break the night ban after the first watch and shortly before the ban is lifted at the fifth watch shall be whipped thirty times (forty lashes in the capital city). Down). Illness, childbirth, death and mourning can pass.

In order to implement a curfew, every city with government offices must lock the city gates at night and prohibit entry and exit from the city. The keys to the city gates had to be handed over to the local magistrate's office. In the Qing Dynasty, they had to be handed over to the local garrison chief. Even the most senior civil servant in the city had to leave the city on urgent business at night and had to apply for the key from the garrison chief. . At the same time, fences should also be put up at street intersections. The fences have doors, and there are checkpoints at the door. There are "card rooms" similar to modern sentry boxes, which are guarded by government officials and no passage is allowed.

The night-time curfew does not have a great impact on people's lives, but it is a big problem for some illegal industries that can only operate under the cover of darkness. For example, if a prostitute goes out to sing in the evening, she will be in trouble when she returns home (this problem does not exist in the story of "Jin Ping Mei", because Ximen Qing himself is an official in charge of public security). In addition, gambling has been strictly prohibited by law throughout the ages, so gamblers mostly gather to gamble at night in order to avoid being noticed. Often when gambling is late at night, gamblers who have lost all their money have to go home. However, the roads in the city have been blocked by fences and are not allowed to pass. Gamblers had no choice but to take detours, walk into smelly ponds, or cross into wilderness. Even if you do this, you will be stopped and questioned by the night watchman or the officer who leads the patrol, which will inevitably expose the secret.

The Qing Dynasty novel "Qilu Deng" tells the story of gambling that harms children. So this book talks about many ways gamblers can avoid curfew. For example, powerful gamblers take advantage of their power. For example, Sheng Xiqiao, whose father was the Chief Secretary, said carelessly: "It's late at night, even if I light up my lantern (Chief Secretary), no one will dare to stop me on the fence; even if I lock the fence, they won't dare not open it." ”

The powerless gambler relies on slickness. For example, Xia Fengruo brought the protagonist Tan Shaowen home for a night gambling, and happened to encounter the county magistrate on patrol at night. "I saw a lantern with the word 'Zhengtang' written on it in big words at the mouth of the bowl. Four or five people followed, and a gentleman was riding a horse." . The two were stopped for questioning, and Xia Fengruo said calmly: "It's to get medicine." The county magistrate riding on the horse immediately said: "Get the medicine for testing!" Xia Fengruo took out a packet of medicine from his sleeve, and there was Make a prescription. When the servant picked up the lantern, the county magistrate took a look at it and asked, "Who are you that is sick? What's the disease?" Xia Fengruo replied, "It's the villain's mother who is causing heartache." The magistrate smiled and said, Said: "This doctor deserves to die." Then he handed the medicine to Xia Fengruo and asked: "Where is that person?" Xia Fengruo said: "It's a villain brother." The county magistrate let them pass the fence level. Tan Shaowen was frightened to death. Xia Fengruo told him with a smile: "When I walk on the street at night, I won't stay late if I say I want to get medicine. I have used this bun of honeysuckle three times." He bought the honeysuckle for five cents of silver. It was used as a pass for walking around at night. He also stole the prescription from the drug store, so the officer saw the flaw, but he didn't want to go into detail.

The purpose of such regulations in the past dynasties is of course to maintain public order, but the effect is highly doubtful. Matteo Ricci, an Italian missionary who entered China in the late Ming Dynasty, wrote in his book "Matteo Ricci's Notes on China" that in China, "every city has hundreds of watchmen patrolling the streets at night, beating gongs at prescribed intervals. Despite this, and the streets were gated and locked, houses were often robbed by burglars. This may be because the watchman himself was a thief, or he was in partnership with thieves, and as a result, he needed to be monitored. Watchmen. The Chinese were really surprised to hear that in densely populated European cities, guards were not used to prevent domestic theft, but to protect citizens from invaders."

Contemporary

Today, curfews imposed on the public are often parallel to martial law. They refer to national or local emergency control measures implemented by the government using military force, including prohibiting citizens from entering. The most stringent military or quasi-military control measures include entering public places, implementing a pass system, cutting off traffic, etc., which are stipulated in the laws of various countries around the world.

my country's Shenzhen Shatoujiao Border Special Management Zone did not officially cancel the curfew system that had been in operation for more than 20 years until 2 a.m. on May 29, 2003. Residents in the zone can move freely 24 hours a day.

Main Cases

Iraq

On February 5, 2015, the Iraqi government issued an announcement stating that it had decided to lift the curfew in Baghdad that had been in place for several years. Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi met with many senior commanders of the command and decided to lift the curfew in Baghdad and simultaneously disarm neighborhoods including Karada, Kazimiyeh and Mansour.

The disarmament measures include removing checkpoints inside neighborhoods, leaving only checkpoints at the entrances to those neighborhoods, while limiting the number of soldiers and their holdings, including at government buildings, security checkpoints and leaders’ residences. The quantity of some equipment is limited. Local analysts believe that in addition to announcing the lifting of the curfew in Baghdad, the Iraqi parliament also successfully passed the 2015 fiscal budget. These can be regarded as Abadi's achievements in the political field after coming to power.

France

During the 11.13 terrorist attacks in Paris, Hollande said in a speech to the nation that Paris had suffered an unprecedented terrorist attack and the country entered a state of emergency and closed down All French border crossings. This is the first time France has entered a state of national emergency since the Algerian War of the last century. "We must show compassion and solidarity, we must show unity and remain calm, and France must be strong. In response to this terrorist attack, the Paris police asked all citizens to stay at home and not go out. The media said that this is the first time France has stopped going out since 1944 A curfew has been implemented for the first time since then. France has imposed the highest level of anti-terrorism martial law, nationwide curfew, traffic restrictions, and all French borders are closed!

Sri Lanka

On April 21, 2019, Sri Lanka. The April 21 terrorist attack occurred in Sri Lanka. President Sirisena declared the 23rd as a national day of mourning. Sri Lanka will implement laws on the prevention of terrorism and declare a state of emergency.

In addition, Sri Lanka’s curfew has also been re-established. It will be implemented from 8 pm on the 22nd to 4 am on the 23rd. After the serial explosions on the 21st, Sri Lanka announced that it would impose a local curfew from 6 pm on the 22nd to 6 am on the 22nd. On July 13, 2022, Sri Lanka's acting President Wickremesinghe issued a communiqué stating that a curfew will be implemented nationwide until 5 a.m. local time on July 14.

United States

On May 25, 2020, after the African-American man George Floyd was killed by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, who “kneeled and choked” him, demonstrations against police brutality in the United States have begun. Spreading from Minnesota to dozens of states across the United States, peaceful demonstrations in many states turned into violent riots. In order to maintain order and control the situation, as of May 31, 2020, local time in the United States, the riots in the United States were on the 6th day, with 24 protests across the United States. Three states and Washington, D.C., mobilized the National Guard, and 40 cities and Washington, D.C., announced curfews on Sunday night. In addition, three states declared a state of emergency in the early morning of June 1, 2020. , the curfew in Washington has ended. According to US media statistics, at least 40 cities in the United States have issued curfews.

On June 1, US time, Mayor Bowser of Washington, the capital of the United States, announced that due to May 31. Violent demonstrations escalated in the evening, and a curfew will continue to be implemented on the evenings of June 1 and 2.

Tunisia

In order to prevent the spread of the new crown epidemic, the Tunisian government decided to implement a curfew starting from October 8, 2020. A 15-day curfew has been implemented in the greater Tunisia region.

Kyrgyzstan

On October 9, 2020, Kyrgyzstan President Jeenbekov announced that the country’s capital, Bishkei, will be implemented. France has entered a state of emergency. The curfew and strict security restrictions will take effect from 8 pm local time on October 9 until 8 am on October 21.

On October 14, 2020, French President Mark Long announced that a curfew will be implemented in the ?le-de-France region (Greater Paris area) and eight other major cities from the 17th to curb the new crown epidemic

Slovenia

October 2020. On March 19, the Slovenian government reported that in the past 24 hours, 2,637 suspected cases were tested for the new coronavirus, and 537 new cases of new coronavirus infection were diagnosed, with the diagnosis rate as high as 20.4%.

In view of the obvious rebound in the epidemic situation in Slovenia recently, Slovenia's Minister of Interior Hawes announced that Slovenia will implement curfew measures from the 20th, from 21:00 to 6:00 the next day, and also prohibits gatherings of more than 6 people. Cambodia

On April 2, 2021, Cambodia’s new round of new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic community infections continued to spread. In response to the severe epidemic situation, Phnom Penh City and Prairie Province implemented curfews. At the same time, officials expanded the scope of vaccination .

Afghanistan

On August 15, 2021, the Afghan Taliban announced a curfew in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, from 9 pm local time to avoid violence.

Kenya

On August 18, 2021, the Kenyan Presidential Palace released news that in order to curb the further development of the epidemic, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced: 20:00 every day The nationwide curfew until 4 o'clock the next day has been extended for another 60 days; public gatherings, including political rallies and campaign events, etc., have been suspended for 60 days; weddings, funerals, traditional celebrations, etc. must strictly control the number of attendees within 100 people.

Word analysis

"Curfew" is mistaken for "Xiaoban". When reporting on foreign epidemic prevention measures, "curfew" frequently appears in various media, but is often mistaken for "sky ban." "Xiao" refers to night, and "Xiao" refers to clouds and sky. Curfew, which prohibits nighttime activities. Most people work during the day, so many countries restrict activities only at night. The fundamental purpose of curfew for epidemic prevention is to reduce unnecessary interpersonal contact. "Curfew" has nothing to do with clouds and sky, and cannot be written as "Xiao Curfew".