China's newly revised law on minors' protection to take effect next June

China's freshly revised Law on the Protection of Minors was adopted with a vote at the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on Saturday.

The revised law, introduced in 1991 and revised in 2006, has significantly increased the number of articles from 72 to 130, adding two new chapters involved government protection and online protection for minors.

The new law includes general provisions and protections for the areas of family, school, society, Internet, government, judiciary as well as legal responsibility and supplementary provisions. It will go into effect on June 1, 2021.

According to experts, the current existing law faces severe challenges due to the emergence of fresh social problems. For example, in some cases, the minors' guardians themselves are the domestic violence abusers; school bullying is frequent but often covered; numerous minors are addicted to online games and sexual abuses against minors are often conducted by people in close contact with the victims, like teachers, neighbors and relatives.

As a response to those problems, the revised law has formulated and improved related protective measures, clearly stipulated the responsibilities of parents, schools, society, government and judicial organs in safeguarding the well-being of minors.

In terms of Internet use by minors, the law highlighted that producers and sellers of network products should install online software for protecting minors or offer a clear information on how to install such a software.

And they should also remind minors to protect their personal information and impose protective restrictions on minors' use of their personal information online. Without the consent of parents or other guardians, they're forbidden to collect, store and use minors' personal information.

Besides, the new law urges schools to establish a mechanism to prevent school bullying, and provide training for faculties, staff and students in stopping school bullying. Schools and parents are also asked to provide psychological counseling and support to prevent psychological trauma of minors.

Moreover, the law emphasized the importance of sex education and self-protection awareness of minors, asking related departments and organizations to conduct sex education that is appropriate for the minor's age.

At the same time, the law introduced new job rules to further prevent child sex abuse, requiring kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and certification bodies that grant teacher qualifications must check the legal record of the job seekers and teaching candidates to exclude and disqualify those who have been charged with or convicted of child molestation or sexual abuses.