CHINA / SOCIETY
Drones to be pulled off e-commerce platforms until July 15 for aerial safety of CPC's 100th founding anniversary
Published: Jun 17, 2021 10:23 PM
Photo: Xinhua

File Photo: Xinhua


China's market regulator has issued a notice on the control of racing drones, requiring e-commerce platforms to pull off all kinds of racing drones from their websites until July 15, according to a document obtained by the Global Times on Thursday. 

"From now until July 15, local market supervision departments shall immediately deploy the uninstallation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on all the e-commerce platforms, including all kinds of racing drones, aviation models capable of flying beyond visual range, light and small UAVs with a maximum flight speed of more than 50 kilometers per hour and a maximum takeoff weight of less than 8 kilograms, head-mounted display module and flight control module," read a notice by the State Administration for Market Regulation released on June 11. 

1688.com, Alibaba's e-commerce platform, asked all members to stop the sales of the above-mentioned UAVs until July 15, showed an announcement released on Thursday.

The measure aims to ensure the safety of flight activities during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1.

According to a notice from the Beijing Municipality published on June 11, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and in light of the actual situation, the municipal government has decided to set 9 administrative areas as core restricted areas that do not allow any UAVs from June 13 to July 1. 

Measures shall be taken to prohibit the launch of aerial objects that may affect safety of flight activities organized during the celebration and special activities such as the release of doves and balloons, read the notice.

The police placed a 64-year-old man under administrative detention on June 13 for flying a UAV in the Chaoyang district of Beijing, one of the areas under the UAVs ban until July 1, according to a post by the Beijing Police Bureau on its official WeChat account.