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Child protection crucial for China's future

By Leng Baoqing: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 9, 2013

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[By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn]

A series of recent, bloody headlines in the Chinese media have shocked the country: Two girls died of starvation after they were left home alone by their drug-addict mother; three left-behind siblings drowned in a village pond; and a six-year-old girl was killed by a Tibetan Mastiff. Such stories beg the question: What's wrong with our society?"

Some look to apportion blame, singling out the starved children's parents, the drowned children's grandparents and the owner of the Tibetan Mastiff. On calm reflection, however, it seems to me that rather than rushing to play the blame game, we should instead look to immediately improve child protection mechanisms.

There is no doubt that China's economic miracle over the past three decades is a remarkable achievement which, in concert with the reform and opening-up policy, has given Chinese people previously unheard of opportunities. There is, however, a downside to the economic boom and social transformation, which brings problems, misery and challenges. Today's children are growing up in a society which is quite different from the old one; but laws and regulations concerning children's safety and health have not kept pace with the times.

In 2001, the Oscar-winning director Ang Lee directed a film called "The Treatment" which tells the story of a boy from overseas Chinese family living in the U.S. who received a traditional Chinese "Guasha" treatment from his grandpa. The Chinese medicine treatment left obvious but harmless marks on the boy's back which were mistakenly interpreted as proof of child abuse by the local authority. As a result of the case, the Chinese couple lost custody of their son. The film originally gained fame due to its reflection on the cross-cultural conflicts; but today it stands as a case study of the gap which exists between China and the U.S. as far as the protection of minors is concerned. It raises the question: When irresponsible or abusive parents and guardians appear in Chinese society, can the local community or neighbors confront them like their American peers do in the movie?

In the case of the two girls who starved to death, it had been revealed that the girls' mother had long neglected her parental responsibilities. Prior to the tragedy, there was an incident involving one of the drug-addict mother's young children which caused concern among neighbors. The three-year-old child managed to escape from her house and was found outside the apartment building by neighbors who, alarmed for the girl's wellbeing, alerted the police. The young girl was, however, eventually returned to her mother. A neighbor who helped to care for the two girls eventually returned the house key due to her fear that her concern for the girls would get herself into trouble. Moreover, the community refused to send the two girls to an orphanage, as such a decision would contravene their existing policies.

According to Article 12 of the Law on the Protection of Minors, where the parents or other legal guardians of minors refuse to discharge their duties or encroach upon the lawful rights and interests of the minors, and fail to comply with these terms following rehabilitation, the people's court may, upon application by the person(s) or unit(s) concerned, disqualify them as guardians and designate new guardians in accordance with the provisions in Article 16 of the General Principles of the Civil Law.

But there is no specific item or regulation stipulating who are the person(s) or unit(s) concerned, and what should be done if the concerned person(s) or unit(s) does not apply for legal protection. In another hypothetical case, if the parents are alive, but afflicted by obvious problems which may potentially harm the lawful rights and interests of the minors, could their custody be challenged on the grounds that they are incompetent to discharge their parental responsibilities? The time has come for us to clarify the legislation governing children and minors to ensure that our children are protected. Ultimately, by protecting our children, we are protecting our future.

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