It is the first step of the nationwide campaign China Children's Safety Action, launched in Beijing at the end of March with the aim of getting society to better protect children's and to better educate them to try and stop accidental injuries or deaths.

Statistics show a quarter of the deaths of children under the age of 14 are accidental, making accidents the top killer in the age bracket.

According to experts, most of the accidental injuries or deaths are caused by carelessness or ignorance, which can be avoided with better knowledge.

Gao Yanming, director of China Children's Safety Action, said children's safety was relevant to every family and the campaign would help build a safe and peaceful environment for them.

A survey will also be carried out to further investigate the types and causes of accidental injuries and deaths.

Children will be encouraged to recognize potential dangers and learn how to protect themselves.

Cultivation of a sense of self-protection is an important part of the campaign, as many Chinese children do not know how to protect themselves, Gao said.

The National Working Committee of Chinese Young Pioneers launched Children Coming Home Safely in 2000, a nationwide activity intended to protect children from traffic accidents, which proved to be very successful.

Besides traffic, violence at schools and in the home and other accidents are all threats to children.

The latest push aims not only to ask the children to remember the lines about safety from books, but to teach them skills to cope and deal with accidents through games, lectures and competitions.

It was jointly launched by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Working Committee of Chinese Young Pioneers.

It will run until the end of the year.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2003)