Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Protection of Minors (revised in 2020)

Article 1 This Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution in order to protect the physical and mental health of minors, safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, promote their all-round development in morality, intelligence, physique, beauty and labor, train socialist builders and successors with ideals, morality, culture and discipline, and train new people of the times for national rejuvenation.

Article 2 Minors mentioned in this Law refer to citizens under the age of 18.

Article 3 The state guarantees minors' rights to subsistence, development, protection and participation.

Minors enjoy all rights equally according to law, and are not discriminated against because of nationality, race, sex, household registration, occupation, religious belief, education level, family status and physical and mental health.

Article 4 The protection of minors shall adhere to the principle of meeting the best interests of minors. Handling matters involving minors shall meet the following requirements:

(a) Give special and priority protection to minors;

(2) Respecting the personal dignity of minors;

(3) Protecting the privacy and personal information of minors;

(four) to adapt to the laws and characteristics of the healthy development of minors;

(five) to listen to the opinions of minors;

(6) Combination of protection and education.

Article 5 The state, society, schools and families shall educate minors in ideals, morality, science, culture, legal system, national security, health and labor, strengthen education in patriotism, collectivism and Socialism with Chinese characteristics, cultivate public morality of loving the motherland, people, labor, science and socialism, resist the erosion of capitalism, feudalism and other decadent ideas, and guide minors to establish and develop.

Article 6 Protecting minors is the common responsibility of state organs, armed forces, political parties, people's organizations, enterprises and institutions, social organizations, urban and rural grassroots mass autonomous organizations, guardians of minors and other adults.

The state, society, schools and families should educate and help minors to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests and enhance their awareness and ability of self-protection.

Seventh parents or other guardians shall bear the guardianship responsibility for minors according to law.

The state takes measures to guide, support, help and supervise the parents or other guardians of minors to perform their guardianship duties.

Eighth people's governments at or above the county level shall incorporate the protection of minors into the national economic and social development plan, and the relevant funds shall be included in the government budget at the corresponding level.

Ninth people's governments at or above the county level shall establish a coordination mechanism for the protection of minors, overall planning, coordination, supervision and guidance of relevant departments within the scope of their respective duties. The specific work of the coordination mechanism shall be undertaken by the civil affairs department of the people's government at or above the county level, and the provincial people's government may also determine that it shall be undertaken by other relevant departments according to local actual conditions.

Article 10 The Communist Youth League, women's federations, trade unions, disabled persons' federations, committees for caring for the next generation, youth federations, student federations, young pioneers, other people's organizations and relevant social organizations shall assist people's governments at all levels and their relevant departments, people's procuratorates and people's courts in the protection of minors and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

Article 11 Any organization or individual shall have the right to dissuade, stop or report and accuse minors to the public security, civil affairs, education and other relevant departments if it finds that the situation is not conducive to their physical and mental health or infringes upon their legitimate rights and interests.

State organs, residents' committees, villagers' committees, units in close contact with minors and their staff shall immediately report to public security, civil affairs, education and other relevant departments when they find that the physical and mental health of minors has been infringed, suspected of being infringed or faced with other dangerous situations.

The relevant departments shall promptly accept and handle reports, complaints or reports involving minors in accordance with the law, and inform the relevant units and personnel of the results in an appropriate manner.

Article 12 The State encourages and supports scientific research on the protection of minors, establishes relevant disciplines and specialties, and strengthens personnel training.

Article 13 The state establishes and improves the statistical investigation system for minors, makes statistics, investigation and analysis on the health and education status of minors, and publishes relevant information on the protection of minors.

Article 14 The State shall commend and reward organizations and individuals that have made remarkable achievements in the protection of minors.

Chapter II Family Protection

Fifteenth parents or other guardians of minors should learn family education knowledge, accept family education guidance, and create a good, harmonious and civilized family environment.

* * * Other adult family members living together shall assist the parents or other guardians of minors in raising, educating and protecting minors.

Sixteenth parents or other guardians of minors shall perform the following guardianship duties:

(a) to provide life, health and safety protection for minors;

(two) pay attention to the physiological, psychological and emotional needs of minors;

(3) Educate and guide minors to abide by the law, be diligent and frugal, and develop good ideological and moral character and behavior habits;

(four) safety education for minors, improve their awareness and ability of self-protection;

(five) respect for minors' right to education, and ensure that school-age minors receive and complete compulsory education according to law;

(six) to protect minors' time for rest, entertainment and physical exercise, and to guide minors to carry out activities beneficial to their physical and mental health;

(seven) to properly manage and protect the property of minors;

(eight) to represent minors to carry out civil legal acts according to law;

(nine) to prevent and stop the bad behavior and illegal and criminal behavior of minors, and to carry out reasonable discipline;

(10) Other guardianship duties that should be performed.

Seventeenth parents or other guardians of minors shall not commit the following acts:

Abuse, abandonment, illegal adoption of minors or domestic violence against minors;

(two) laissez-faire, abetting or using minors to commit illegal and criminal acts;

(three) laissez-faire, abetting minors to participate in cult, superstitious activities or accept terrorism, separatism, extremism and other violations;

(four) laissez-faire, abetting minors to smoke (including electronic cigarettes, the same below), drink, gamble, vagrants and beggars or bully others;

(five) letting or forcing minors who should receive compulsory education to drop out of school or drop out of school;

(six) let minors indulge in the Internet and contact books, newspapers, movies, radio and television programs, audio-visual products, electronic publications and network information that are harmful or may affect their physical and mental health;

(seven) allow minors to enter commercial entertainment places, bars, Internet service places and other places that are not suitable for minors' activities;

(eight) to allow or force minors to engage in labor outside the provisions of the state;

(9) Allowing or forcing minors to get married or entering into an engagement for minors;

(ten) illegal punishment, misappropriation of minors' property or use of minors to seek illegitimate interests;

(eleven) other violations of minors' physical and mental health, property rights and interests, or failure to fulfill the obligation to protect minors according to law.

Eighteenth parents or other guardians of minors should provide a safe family living environment for minors, and promptly eliminate potential safety hazards that cause electric shock, burns, falls and other injuries; Take measures such as providing child safety seats and educating minors to obey traffic rules to prevent minors from being injured by traffic accidents; Improve the awareness of outdoor safety protection, and avoid accidents such as drowning of minors and animal injuries.

Nineteenth parents or other guardians of minors should listen to the opinions of minors and fully consider their true wishes before making decisions involving their rights and interests according to their age and intellectual development.

Twentieth parents or other guardians of minors who find that the physical and mental health of minors has been infringed, suspected of being infringed or other legitimate rights and interests have been infringed, should know the situation in time and take protective measures; If the situation is serious, it shall immediately report to the public security, civil affairs, education and other departments.

Article 21 Parents or other guardians of minors shall not neglect minors under the age of eight or minors who need special care for physical or psychological reasons, or entrust persons with no capacity for civil conduct, persons with limited capacity for civil conduct, persons suffering from serious infectious diseases or other inappropriate conditions to take temporary care of them.

Parents or other guardians of minors shall not make minors under the age of 16 live alone without supervision.

Twenty-second parents or other guardians of minors cannot fully perform their guardianship duties within a certain period of time due to reasons such as going out to work, and shall entrust a person with full capacity for civil conduct who has the ability to take care of them; Without justifiable reasons, no one may entrust others to take care of it.

Parents or other guardians of minors should comprehensively consider their moral quality, family status, physical and mental health status, emotional connection with minors' lives and other factors. And listen to the opinions of minors who have the ability to express their wishes.

In any of the following circumstances, he shall not be the principal:

(a) sexual assault, abuse, abandonment, trafficking, violence and other illegal and criminal acts;

(2) Having bad habits such as drug abuse, alcoholism and gambling;

(three) long-term refusal or slow performance of guardianship duties;

(four) other circumstances that are not suitable for the principal.

Twenty-third parents or other guardians of minors shall promptly notify in writing the schools, kindergartens, residents' committees and villagers' committees where minors actually live, and strengthen communication with schools and kindergartens where minors live; Contact and communicate with minors and parties at least once a week to understand the life, study and psychology of minors and give family care.

Parents or other guardians of minors shall take timely intervention measures after receiving the notice from clients, residents' committees, villagers' committees, schools and kindergartens about the abnormal psychological behavior of minors.

Article 24 When a minor's parents divorce, they should properly handle matters such as the upbringing, education, visits and property of minor children, and listen to the opinions of minors who have the ability to express their wishes. Do not fight for custody by robbing or hiding underage children.

After the divorce of the minor's parents, the party who does not directly raise the minor's children shall visit the minor's children in the time and manner determined by the agreement, the judgment of the people's court or the conciliation statement, which will not affect the study and life of the minor, and the party who directly raises the minor shall cooperate, except that the people's court suspends the visiting right according to law.

Chapter III School Protection

Twenty-fifth schools should fully implement the national education policy, adhere to moral education, implement quality education, improve the quality of education, pay attention to cultivating the cognitive ability, cooperation ability, innovation ability and practical ability of underage students, and promote their all-round development.

Schools should establish a protection system for underage students, improve students' behavior norms, and cultivate good behavior habits of underage students who abide by the law.

Twenty-sixth kindergartens should do a good job in conservation and education, follow the laws of children's physical and mental development, implement enlightenment education, and promote the harmonious development of children's physical, intellectual and moral aspects.

Twenty-seventh schools and kindergartens should respect the personal dignity of minors, and may not impose corporal punishment on minors, corporal punishment in disguised form or other acts that insult personal dignity.

Twenty-eighth schools should protect the rights of underage students to receive education, and may not expel underage students in violation of state regulations or in disguised form.

Schools should register underage students who have not completed compulsory education and persuade them to return to school; If persuasion fails, it shall promptly report to the administrative department of education in writing.

Twenty-ninth schools should care for and cherish underage students, and may not discriminate against students for reasons such as family, body, psychology and learning ability. Students with family difficulties and physical and mental disabilities should be taken care of; Students with abnormal behavior and learning difficulties should be patiently helped.

Schools should cooperate with relevant government departments to establish information files of left-behind underage students and disadvantaged underage students, and carry out care and assistance work.

Thirtieth schools should carry out social life guidance, mental health consultation, adolescent education and life education according to the characteristics of physical and mental development of underage students.

Thirty-first schools should organize underage students to participate in daily life labor, productive labor and service labor appropriate to their age, and help underage students master the necessary labor knowledge and skills and develop good labor habits.

Thirty-second schools and kindergartens should carry out publicity and education activities such as thrift, opposing waste, cherishing food and civilized diet. Help minors to establish a sense of being ashamed of waste and proud of saving, and develop civilized, healthy and green living habits.

Thirty-third schools should cooperate with the parents or other guardians of minor students to arrange their study time reasonably and ensure their rest, entertainment and physical exercise time.

Schools shall not occupy national statutory holidays, rest days and winter and summer vacations, and organize underage students in compulsory education to make up lessons collectively to increase their learning burden.

Kindergartens and off-campus training institutions shall not conduct primary school curriculum education for preschool minors.

Thirty-fourth schools and kindergartens should provide necessary health care conditions and assist the health department to do a good job in the health care of minors in schools and kindergartens.

Thirty-fifth schools and kindergartens should establish a safety management system, provide safety education for minors, improve safety facilities, and equip security personnel to ensure the personal and property safety of minors during their stay at school and in the park.

Schools and kindergartens shall not carry out education and teaching activities in school buildings and other facilities and places that endanger the personal safety and physical and mental health of minors.

When schools and kindergartens arrange for minors to participate in collective activities such as cultural entertainment and social practice, they should protect their physical and mental health and prevent personal injury accidents.

Article 36 Schools and kindergartens that use school buses should establish and improve the school bus safety management system, be equipped with safety management personnel, conduct regular safety inspections on school buses, provide safety education to school bus drivers, explain the school bus safety riding knowledge to minors, and cultivate their school bus safety accident emergency handling skills.

Thirty-seventh schools and kindergartens shall, according to the needs, formulate plans to deal with natural disasters, accidents, public health incidents and other emergencies and accidental injuries, equip them with corresponding facilities, and conduct necessary drills on a regular basis.

Minors in schools, parks or extracurricular activities organized by schools and parks have personal injury accidents, schools and kindergartens shall immediately rescue and properly handle them, promptly notify the parents or other guardians of minors, and report to the relevant departments.

Thirty-eighth schools and kindergartens shall not arrange minors to participate in commercial activities, and shall not sell or ask minors and their parents or other guardians to buy designated goods and services.

Schools and kindergartens shall not cooperate with off-campus training institutions to provide paid course counseling for minors.

Thirty-ninth schools should establish a system for the prevention and control of student bullying, and carry out education and training on the prevention and control of student bullying for faculty and students.

Schools should immediately stop bullying students, and notify the parents or other guardians of bullying and bullied underage students to participate in the identification and handling of bullying; Give timely psychological counseling, education and guidance to relevant minor students; Give necessary family education guidance to the parents or other guardians of relevant minor students.

For underage students who commit bullying, schools should strengthen discipline according to the nature and degree of bullying. For serious bullying, the school shall not conceal it, but shall report it to the public security organ and the education administrative department in time, and cooperate with the relevant departments to deal with it according to law.

Fortieth schools and kindergartens should establish a working system to prevent minors from sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Schools and kindergartens shall not conceal illegal and criminal acts such as sexual assault and sexual harassment of minors, but shall report to the public security organs and education administrative departments in a timely manner, and cooperate with relevant departments to deal with them according to law.

Schools and kindergartens should carry out sex education suitable for minors and improve their awareness and ability of self-protection against sexual assault and sexual harassment. Schools and kindergartens should take relevant protective measures in time for minors who have been sexually assaulted or sexually harassed.

Forty-first infant care service institutions, early education service institutions, off-campus training institutions, off-campus trusteeship institutions, etc. We should refer to the relevant provisions of this chapter and do a good job in the protection of minors according to the growth characteristics and laws of minors of different ages.

Chapter IV Social Protection

Article 42 The whole society should establish a good habit of caring for and caring for minors.

The state encourages, supports and guides people's organizations, enterprises, institutions, social organizations and other organizations and individuals to carry out social activities and services beneficial to the healthy growth of minors.

Article 43 Residents' committees and villagers' committees shall set up special personnel to be responsible for the protection of minors, assist relevant government departments to publicize laws and regulations on the protection of minors, guide, help and supervise parents or other guardians of minors to perform their guardianship duties according to law, establish information files of left-behind minors and minors in distress, and give them care and help.

Residents' committees and villagers' committees shall assist the relevant government departments to supervise the entrusted care of minors. If it is found that the client lacks guardianship ability and is slow to perform guardianship duties, it shall report to the relevant government departments in time, and inform the parents or other guardians of minors to help and urge the client to perform guardianship duties.

Forty-fourth patriotic education bases, libraries, youth palaces, children's activity centers and Children's Home should be open to minors free of charge; Museums, memorial halls, science and technology museums, exhibition halls, art galleries, cultural centers, community public Internet service places, theaters, stadiums, zoos, botanical gardens, parks and other places shall be open to minors free of charge or with preferential treatment in accordance with relevant regulations.

The state encourages patriotic education bases, museums, science and technology museums, art galleries and other public places to set up special sessions for minors to provide targeted services for minors.

The state encourages state organs, enterprises, institutions and troops to develop their own educational resources and set up open days for minors to provide support for minors' thematic education, social practice and professional experience.

The state encourages scientific research institutions and scientific and technological social organizations to carry out scientific popularization activities for minors.

Forty-fifth urban public transport, highways, railways, waterways, air passenger transport, etc. Free or preferential fares should be given to minors in accordance with relevant regulations.

Article 46 The State encourages large public places, public transport vehicles and tourist attractions to set up sanitary facilities convenient for children, such as maternity rooms, baby care tables, toilets and hand washing tables, so as to provide convenience for minors.

Article 47 No organization or individual may, in violation of regulations, restrict the care or preferential treatment that minors should enjoy.

Article 48 The State encourages the creation, publication, production and dissemination of books, newspapers, films, radio and television programs, works of stage art, audio-visual products, electronic publications and online information that are beneficial to the healthy growth of minors.

Forty-ninth news media should strengthen publicity on the protection of minors, and conduct supervision by public opinion on violations of the legitimate rights and interests of minors. News media reports on incidents involving minors should be objective, prudent and moderate, and should not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of minors such as reputation and privacy.

Article 50 It is forbidden to produce, copy, publish, distribute and disseminate books, newspapers, magazines, movies, radio and television programs, stage works of fine arts, audio-visual products, electronic publications and network information that contain obscenity, pornography, violence, cults, superstitions, gambling, suicide, terrorism, separatism and extremism and other contents that endanger the physical and mental health of minors.

Article 51 If any book, newspaper, film, radio and television program, stage art work, audio-visual product, electronic publication or network information published, distributed or disseminated by any organization or individual contains contents that may affect the physical and mental health of minors, it shall be prompted in a prominent way.

Article 52 It is forbidden to make, copy, publish, disseminate or possess pornographic articles and online information for minors.

Article 53 No organization or individual may publish, broadcast, post or distribute advertisements containing contents that endanger the physical and mental health of minors; Do not broadcast, post or distribute commercial advertisements in schools and kindergartens; Do not use school uniforms, textbooks, etc. Publish or publish commercial advertisements in disguise.

Article 54 Abduction, kidnapping, ill-treatment and illegal adoption of minors are prohibited, and sexual assault and harassment of minors are prohibited.

It is forbidden to coerce, seduce or instigate minors to join triad organizations or engage in illegal and criminal activities.

It is forbidden to coerce, trick or use minors to beg.

Article 55 The production and sale of food, medicines, toys, utensils, games and recreational facilities for minors shall conform to national standards or industrial standards, and shall not endanger the personal safety and physical and mental health of minors. The producers of the above-mentioned products shall indicate the precautions in a prominent position, and those without precautions shall not be sold.

Fifty-sixth public places where minors are concentrated shall meet the national or industrial safety standards and take corresponding safety protection measures. Facilities that may have safety risks should be maintained regularly, and safety warning signs should be set up in a prominent position, indicating the age range and precautions; When necessary, special personnel should be arranged to take care of it.

Large shopping malls, supermarkets, hospitals, libraries, museums, science and technology museums, playgrounds, stations, docks, airports, tourist attractions and other places and business units shall set up safety alarm systems to search for lost minors. After receiving help, the business unit of the place shall immediately start the safety alarm system, organize personnel to search and report to the public security organ.

When emergencies occur in public places, priority should be given to helping minors.

Fifty-seventh hotels, guest houses, hotels and other accommodation operators to receive minors, or to receive minors and adults with * * *, it should ask parents or other guardians of the contact information, the identity of the check-in personnel and other related information; Anyone who is found to be suspected of violating the law and crime shall immediately report to the public security organ and contact the parents or other guardians of minors in time.

Fifty-eighth schools and kindergartens shall not set up commercial entertainment places, bars, Internet service places and other places that are not suitable for minors' activities. Operators of places that are not suitable for minors' activities, such as commercial song and dance entertainment places, bars and Internet service places, shall not allow minors to enter; Electronic game equipment set in entertainment places shall not be provided to minors except for national statutory holidays. Operators should set up signs prohibiting or restricting minors from entering in a prominent position; If it is difficult to determine whether they are minors, they shall be required to show their identity documents.

Fifty-ninth schools and kindergartens shall not set up cigarette, wine and lottery sales points. It is forbidden to sell cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets or pay lottery bonuses to minors. Operators of tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets shall set up signs in a prominent position not to sell tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets to minors; If it is difficult to determine whether they are minors, they shall be required to show their identity documents.

No one is allowed to smoke or drink alcohol in schools, kindergartens or other public places where minors concentrate their activities.

Article 60 It is forbidden to provide or sell controlled knives or other instruments that may cause serious harm to minors. If it is difficult for the operator to determine whether the purchaser is a minor, it shall require him to show his identity certificate.