On like the actual Ban and not related to like China or anything
The grandmaster's rules are actually extremely strict from what I was told and like every player has certainly read all of them multiple times because of how easy it is to get certain infractions. So, I think the player in question 100% knew that what he was doing was going to be against the rules and that there would probably be repercussions. Although, I don't think he expected the prize money to be withheld. I can agree with like a ban for a year (maybe 6 months or something), but the prize money is a pretty big issue with me.
Now, the other thing is too, that this rule is like up to Blizzard's interpretation and it states this in the rules, and Blizzard interpreted as being offensive or purposely to bring the company into a bad light in the eyes of onlookers (in this case Chinese investors/owners). So, even if it was technically against the rules, it doesn't mean that Blizzard didn't even have an out they put in those rules to get around this.
The rule is moronic. "Can't offend a portion of the public"? A portion of the public is offended by literally anything. ---
Get the X out. Vinateri was using his god powers on the Pats and then was like "Wait I'm a Colt now lol" and now you have it.