The Supreme People's Court (SPC) held a symposium on June 1 to discuss coordinated ways to protect minors.
The event focused on enhancing coordination among families, schools, society, the internet sector, social organizations and the judiciary in protecting minors.
SPC President Zhang Jun gave a speech at the event. Other speakers included Du Jiangfeng, vice-minister of education, and Wang Yi, secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and executive vice-chairperson of the Chinese Young Pioneers National Working Committee.
The Supreme People's Court holds a symposium on June 1 to discuss coordinated ways to protect minors. SPC President Zhang Jun gives a speech at the event. [Photo/court.gov.cn]
Participants from government agencies, academic institutions and social organizations exchanged their views on issues such as online protection, the mandatory reporting system, legal education targeting parents and educators, and the refinement of the coordinated protection mechanism.
They spoke highly of courts' efforts in protecting minors' lawful rights and interests in recent years and put forward suggestions on advancing collaborative efforts of the six protection mechanisms for minors.
Among those sharing their views were Zhen Cheng, deputy director-general of the Bureau of Comprehensive Network Governance under the Cyberspace Administration of China; Chen Lunan, deputy director-general of the Department of Child Welfare under the Ministry of Civil Affairs; and Liu Qinghua, director-general of the Rights and Interests Department of the All-China Women's Federation.
Song Yinghui, a professor at the Law School of Beijing Normal University, and Tong Lihua, director of the Beijing Children’s Legal Aid and Research Center, also spoke at the event.
Zhang reviewed the progress made by courts nationwide in punishing crimes against minors, preventing and addressing juvenile delinquency, extending judicial protection and boosting the specialized development of juvenile adjudication.
For work in the next stage, he emphasized the need to further analyze news trends and emerging issues involving crimes against minors, and expand cooperation with relevant authorities, experts, scholars and social organizations in building an more effective safeguards to prevent minors from becoming involved in unlawful or criminal activities.
He also called for fully and accurately implementing the criminal police of balancing leniency and severity, combining punishment with education, and reinforcing coordination between judicial measures and broader social policies.
Greater efforts should be made, he added, to help minors develop a sound understanding of right and wrong, strengthening their overall legal awareness and fostering healthy moral values.
Zhang further noted that courts should continue to leverage their adjudicatory functions to promote the development of a comprehensive protection framework, under which families fulfill their responsibilities, schools perform their duties, society ensures overall coordination, internet platforms assume responsibility, the government takes the lead and the judiciary offers legal safeguards.
Zhang also stressed the need to further promote the specialized and comprehensive development of juvenile adjudication, calling for greater policy coordination, resource support, institutional collaboration and theoretical guidance, to ensure this work of great significance is carried out with both political commitment and a strong sense of responsibility.
Du said that in recent years, the Ministry of Education has worked with the SPC and other departments to improve policy measures, strengthen the role of schools in education and better safeguard the rights and interests of minors.
He noted that his ministry will continue to place the protection of minors at the top priority of its agenda. Moreover, efforts would be made to strengthen guidance on ideological and political education in schools, improve related working mechanisms and promote all-round education across the entire educational process, he noted.
In addition, greater emphasis would be placed on the physical and mental well-being of students — with initiatives such as fitness programs, aesthetic education activities and labor education programs, helping support their balanced development, according to Du.
At the same time, efforts would be made to enhance home-school cooperation, guide parents in fulfilling their responsibilities in family education and improve the awareness and capability of minors for self-protection, he added.
Specialized education would also be further improved to help students better integrate themselves into school and society through a strengthened moral, legal and mental health education, Du said.
Wang said that in recent years the Communist Youth League of China has actively advanced youth-related work in close coordination with the SPC and other departments and social organizations — focusing on ideological guidance, policy advocacy, capacity-building services and the protection of rights to support the healthy development of minors.
Looking ahead, Wang put forward four suggestions on promoting healthy growth of minors. She called for fully implementing the principle of “the best interests of minors” to ensure that a child-sensitive perspective is reflected in legislation and policy-making in emerging fields.
She suggested further strengthening development-oriented protection measures and better aligning protection with youth development needs, while promoting a more balanced and comprehensive protection framework and encouraging broader participation of social forces to build a multi-stakeholder governance model.
She also urged more efforts to ensure the implementation of laws and policies at the grassroots level by addressing practical bottlenecks and enhancing the effectiveness of certain technical measures.
Deng Xiuming, executive vice-president of the SPC, presided over the symposium. Wang Zhongming, vice-president of the SPC, as well as officials from various authorities and departments of the SPC also attended the event.
