Stop after a clear refusal — continued pursuit is a public-order offence, not “sincerity”
Grade AMedium benefitFreedomFreeLittle timeHigh willpower
If the other person has clearly refused and you still send messages repeatedly or wait for them, and you interfere with their normal life, from January (1) 2026 that is a public-order offence. You can be detained for up to 5 days, or fined up to 1000 yuan. For more serious cases, detention is 5 to 10 days. Police can also order you not to contact the person; violating that brings another 5 to 10 days of detention.
- Cost
- No money and no time. The hard part is stopping: no more messages, no more waiting for the person.
- Benefit
- The Public Security Administration Punishments Law, in force from 1 January (1) 2026, lists entanglement and stalking as a separate item. The text covers “repeatedly sending obscene, insulting, or threatening information, or using harassment, entanglement, stalking, or similar methods to interfere with another person’s normal life.” The act is punishable by detention of up to 5 days, or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. For more serious cases, detention of 5 to 10 days, and a fine of up to 1000 yuan may be added. There is a further layer: with approval from a public-security responsible official, the actor can be ordered not to contact the victim for a set period. Violating that order brings another 5 to 10 days of detention.
- Notes
- “Chasing to the end will move the other person” has no research support, but detention and no-contact orders are in black and white. Such offence records are to be sealed and not provided or made public to ordinary units and individuals, though relevant units may query them under state rules. The law looks at whether you repeatedly harassed, entangled, or stalked and interfered with the person’s normal life, not at what you meant. Continuing after a clear refusal is the situation most easily treated as interference; that last sentence is the author’s judgment.
Sources · 1
- 全国人大常委会 (2025 修订). 治安管理处罚法（第五十条第一款第五项、第二款，第一百三十六条）. spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml（最高人民检察院转载）