# Law of the People's Republic of China on Protection of Minors

(Adopted at the 21st Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People’s Congress on September 4, 1991; revised by the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress at the 25th Meeting on December 29, 2006; amended in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Law of the People's Republic of China on Protection of Minors made by the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress at the 29th Meeting on October 26, 2012；revised by the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress at the 22nd Meeting on October 17, 2020)
Law of the People's Republic of China on Protection of Minors
(Adopted at the 21st Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on September 4, 1991; revised by the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress at the 25th Meeting on December 29, 2006; amended in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Law of the People's Republic of China on Protection of Minors made by the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress at the 29th Meeting on October 26, 2012；revised by the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress at the 22nd Meeting on October 17, 2020)
Contents
* Chapter I General Provisions
* Chapter II Protection by the Family
* Chapter III Protection by the School
* Chapter IV Protection by Society
* Chapter V Internet Protection
* Chapter VI Protection by the Government
* Chapter VII Judicial Protection
* Chapter VIII Legal Responsibility
* Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution for the purpose of protecting the physical and mental health of minors, safeguarding their lawful rights and interests, promoting their all-around development -- moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and hard-working spirit development, training them to be builders of and successors to the socialist cause with lofty ideals, sound morality, better education and a good sense of discipline, and fostering them to be a new generation to undertake the task of national rejuvenation.
Article 2 For the purposes of this Law, minors mean citizens under the age of 18.
Article 3 The State shall guarantee minors' right to life, the right to development, the right to being protected and the right to participation.
Minors shall enjoy all the lawful rights equally according to law, and shall not be discriminated due to the ethnic status, race, gender, census register, profession, religious belief, education, family background, and physical and mental condition of themselves, their parents or other guardians.
Article 4 The protection of minors shall adhere to the principle of the best interests of minors. In handling the matters related to minors, the following requirements shall be fulfilled:
(1) Giving special and preferential protection to minors;
(2) Respecting the personal dignity of minors;
(3) Protecting privacy and personal information of minors;
(4) Following the law and characteristics of minors' physical and mental development;
(5) Considering the opinion of minors; and
(6) Combining protection with education.
Article 5 The State, society, schools and families shall conduct education to minors in ideals, morality, science, culture, rule of law, national security, health, hard-working spirit, as well as in patriotism, collectivism and socialism with Chinese characteristic, foster among them the social ethics of loving the motherland, the people, the work, science and socialism to withstand the corrosive influence of capitalism, feudalism and other decadent ideologies, and guide minors to cultivate and practice the core values of Chinese socialism.
Article 6 To protect minors is the common responsibility of State organs, armed forces, political parties, people's organizations, enterprises and institutions, social organizations, self-governing mass organizations at grass-root level in urban and rural areas, guardians of minors and other adult citizens.
The State, society, schools and families shall educate and assist minors to safeguard their lawful rights and interests, enhance their awareness and ability of self-protection.
Article 7 The parents or other guardians of minors shall undertake the guardian's responsibility to minors according to law.
The State shall adopt measures to guide, support, assist and supervise the parents or other guardians of minors to execute their guardian's responsibilities.
Article 8 People's governments above the county level shall include the work of protection of minors in their national economic and social development plans and include the funds needed for the work into their budgets.
Article 9 People's governments above the county level shall establish a coordination mechanism of protection of minors, planning overall, coordinating, promoting and guiding the protection work of the relevant departments within the scope of their respective responsibilities. The specific work of the coordination mechanism shall be undertaken by the civil affairs department of the people's government above the county level, and the people's government at the provincial level may also decide the specific work to be undertaken by other relevant departments according to the actual situation.
Article 10 The Communist Youth League, the women's federation, trade union, the disabled person's federation, the working committee for caring the next generation, the Youth Federation, the students' federation, the young pioneers and other people's organizations and relevant social organizations shall assist people's governments at all levels and their relevant departments, the people's procuratorates and the people's courts in the protection of minors, safeguarding their lawful rights and interests.
Article 11 Any organization or individual has the right to discourage, prevent, or report or make an accusation against an act to the public security, civil affairs, education and other relevant departments, which is not conducive to the physical or mental health of minors or infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of minors.
When a State organ, residents' committee, villagers' committee, or unit that has close contact with minors and its staff discover that the physical or mental health of minors has been infringed, is suspected to have been infringed, or facing other dangerous situations in their work, they shall make an instant report to the public security, civil affairs, education or other relevant departments.
When receiving a report of an offense, accusation or report involving minors, the relevant departments shall accept and handle it in a timely manner in accordance with the law, and inform the relevant units or personnel of the handling results in an appropriate way.
Article 12 The State shall encourage and support scientific research on the protection of minors, establish relevant disciplines and specialties, and strengthen personnel training.
Article 13 The State shall establish and improve the statistics and investigation system for minors, to carry out statistics, investigation and analysis of minors' health and education, and publish 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 Protection by the Family
Article 15 The parents or other guardians of minors shall learn family education, accept guidance on family education, and create a good, harmonious and civilized family environment.
Other adult family members living together with minors shall assist their parents or other guardians in raising, educating and protecting the minors.
Article 16 The parents or other guardians of minors shall perform the following duties under guardianship:
(1) To provide minors with life, health, safety and other aspects of protection;
(2) To care for the physical, psychological and emotional needs of minors;
(3) To educate and guide minors to abide by the law, to be diligent and thrifty, and to develop a good moral character and behavior habits;
(4) To conduct safety education for minors to improve their self-protection awareness and ability;
(5) To respect minors' right to receive education and ensure that school-age minors receive and complete compulsory education in accordance with the law;
(6) To ensure the time of rest, entertainment and physical exercise for minors, and guide them to carry out activities beneficial to their physical and mental health;
(7) To properly manage and protect the property of minors;
(8) To act for minors to carry out civil legal acts in accordance with law;
(9) To prevent and stop the bad behaviors and illegal and criminal behaviors of minors and conduct reasonable discipline; and
(10) Other duties under guardianship that should be performed.
Article 17 The parents or other guardians of minors shall not perform any of the following acts:
(1) To maltreat, abandon, illegally place out minors for adoption or conduct domestic violence against minors;
(2) To allow, abet or use minors to commit crimes;
(3) To allow or abet minors to participate in religious cults or superstitious activities, or to accept terrorism, separatism, extremism and other violations;
(4) To allow or abet minors to smoke (including e-cigarettes, the same below), drink, gamble, wander and beg or bully others;
(5) To allow or force the minors who should receive compulsory education to drop out of school;
(6) To allow minors to indulge in the internet and contact with books, newspapers, films, radio and television programs, audio-visual products, electronic publications or internet information that endangers or may affect their physical or mental health;
(7) To allow minors to enter commercial entertainment places, bars, internet service places and other places not appropriate for minors;
(8) To allow or force minors to engage in labor other than those prescribed by the State;
(9) To allow or force minors into marriage or engagement;
(10) To illegally dispose of or misappropriate the property of minors or make use of minors to seek unlawful interests; or
(11) Other acts that infringe upon minors' physical or mental health, property rights and interests, or fail to perform duties of protecting minors according to the law.
Article 18 The parents or other guardians of minors shall provide a safe family living environment for them, and timely eliminate the potential safety hazards that may cause electric shock, scald, fall and other injuries; measures should be taken to prevent minors from being injured by traffic accidents by equipping cars with child safety seats and educating them to abide by traffic rules; parents or other guardians shall improve minors' awareness of outdoors safety to avoid drowning, animal injury and other accidents.
Article 19 When making decisions concerning the rights and interests of minors, their parents or other guardians shall, on the basis of minors' age and intellectual development, hear their opinions and consider their true will.
Article 20 When the parents or other guardians of a minor find that the physical or mental health of the minor has been infringed, or is suspected to have been infringed, or other lawful rights and interests have been infringed, they shall timely learn about the situation and take protective measures; when the situation is critical, it shall be reported to the public security, civil affairs, education or other departments immediately.
Article 21 The parents or other guardians of minors shall not leave unattended the minors under the age of eight or in need of special care due to physical or psychological reasons, or leave them to temporary care by persons without or with limited capacity for performing civil juristic acts, or suffering from serious infectious diseases, or by other inappropriate persons.
The parents or other guardians of minors shall not cause the minors under the age of 16 to live alone without guardianship.
Article 22 When the parents or other guardians of minors are unable to fully perform their duties under guardianship within a certain period of time due to reasons as going out to work, they shall entrust a person with full capacity for performing civil juristic acts to attend minors; in case of no proper reasons, the minors shall not be entrusted to be cared by others.
The parents or other guardians of minors shall, when determining the entrusted persons, take into account their moral character, family background, physical and mental health, and emotional connection with minors, and listen to the opinions of minors who have the ability to express their will.
Any person, under any of the following circumstances, shall not be designated as the entrusted party:
(1)The person who has committed illegal acts or crimes including sexual assault, maltreatment, abandonment, abduction, or violent injury;
(2) The person with drug abuse, alcohol abuse, gambling or other bad habits;
(3)The person who has refused to perform or has been negligent in performing the duty of a guardian or care duty for a long time;
(4) Other circumstances not appropriate for acting as the entrusted person.
Article 23 The parents or other guardians of minors shall promptly inform in writing the minors' schools, kindergartens, and the residents' committee or villagers' committee where they actually live, of the entrusted care, and strengthen communication with their schools or kindergartens; contact and communicate with minors and the entrusted person at least once a week to learn about minors' life, study, psychology, etc., and give them family caring and love.
The parents or other guardians of minors shall, upon receiving notices from the entrusted person, residents' committee, villagers' committee, schools, and kindergartens, about the psychological and behavioral abnormalities of minors, take timely intervention measures.
Article 24 When a minor's parents decide upon divorce, they shall properly handle matters of the upbringing, education, visitation, property of a minor child, and hear the opinions of the minor who has the ability to express his will. The parents shall not be allowed to struggle for custody by seizing or hiding the minor child.
After the divorce of a minor's parents, the party who does not directly support the child shall visit the minor without affecting his study and life according to the time and procedure determined by an agreement, the people's court's judgment or mediation,. The party who directly supports the minor shall cooperate, except that the right of visitation is suspended by the people's court in accordance with law.
Chapter III Protection by the School
Article 25 Schools shall comprehensively implement the State policy on education, foster virtue through education, conduct education aimed at all-round development, enhance education quality, stress the cultivation of the students' ability of cognition, cooperation, innovation and practice, to promote their all-over development.
Schools shall establish a working system for protection of the students, improve students' code of conduct, and cultivate good habits of abiding by the law and discipline.
Article 26 Kindergartens shall undertake the responsibilities in care and education, follow the law of children's physical and mental development, implement enlightenment education, and promote the harmonious development of children's physique, intelligence, and moral character.
Article 27 Teaching and administrative staff in schools and kindergartens shall respect the personal dignity of minors, and shall not subject them to corporal punishment or corporal punishment in disguised form, or commit any other act that humiliates the personal dignity of minors.
Article 28 Schools shall guarantee the right of minors to education, and shall not, in violation of State regulations, expel them from school or expel them in disguised form.
Schools should have minors who have not completed compulsory education registered and persuade them to return to school. When the persuasion is invalid, a written report shall be made to the educational administration department in time.
Article 29 Schools shall care for and protect the underage students and shall not discriminate against them on the basis of family, physical conditions, psychology and learning abilities. Special care should be given to students with family difficulties or physical or mental disabilities. Students with abnormal behaviors or learning difficulties should be helped patiently.
Schools shall cooperate with relevant government departments to establish files of left-behind minors and minors in difficult circumstances, and carry out care and assistance work.
Article 30 Schools shall, according to the characteristics of the physical and mental development of minor students, provide guidance for social life, guidance for mental health, education of adolescence and life education.
Article 31 Schools shall organize students to participate in daily life labor, production activities and provide services appropriate to their age, so as to help them master necessary work knowledge and skills and cultivate good working habits.
Article 32 Schools and kindergartens shall carry out publicity and education activities of diligence and thrift, combating waste, cherishing food and civilized diet, to help minors cultivate the sense of shame in waste and pride in saving, and develop civilized, healthy and green living habits.
Article 33 Schools shall cooperate with parents or other guardians of minor students to arrange reasonably their study time and ensure their time for rest, entertainment and physical exercise.
Schools shall not take up national statutory holidays, rest days and winter or summer holidays, to organize students in the stage of compulsory education to attend extra lessons collectively which will increase their learning burden.
Kindergartens and off-campus training institutions shall not provide primary school curriculum courses to preschool minors.
Article 34 Schools and kindergartens shall provide necessary conditions for health care and assist the health departments in the work of health care for minors in schools and kindergartens.
Article 35 Schools and kindergartens shall establish a safety management system, carry out safety education for minors, improve security facilities and provide security personnel, so as to ensure the personal and property safety of minors in school and in kindergartens.
Schools and kindergartens shall not carry out educational and teaching activities in school buildings or other facilities and places that endanger the personal safety and physical and mental health of minors.
Schools and kindergartens should protect the physical and mental health of minors and prevent personal injury accidents when arranging them to participate in cultural entertainment, social practice and other collective activities.
Article 36 Schools and kindergartens that use school buses shall establish and improve the school bus safety management system, hire safety management personnel, conduct regular safety inspection on school buses, provide safety education to school bus drivers, and instruct minors in school bus safety to cultivate their emergency handling skills for school bus safety accidents.
Article 37 Schools and kindergartens shall, according to their needs, formulate plans for dealing with natural disasters, accidental disasters, public health incidents and other emergencies and accidental injuries, equip them with corresponding facilities and conduct necessary drills on a regular basis.
When a minor suffers a personal injury accident at school or kindergarten, or in the activities outside the school or kindergarten organized by the school or kindergarten, the school or kindergarten shall immediately give first aid and properly handle the injury, promptly notify the parents or other guardians of the minor, and report to the relevant departments.
Article 38 Schools and kindergartens shall not arrange for minors to participate in commercial activities, and shall not sell or require minors and their parents or other guardians to buy designated commodities or services.
Schools and kindergartens shall not cooperate with off-campus training institutions to provide paid tutoring courses for minors.
Article 39 Schools shall establish a working system for the prevention and control of student bullying, and carry out education and training on the prevention and control of student bullying among teaching staff and students.
Schools shall immediately stop the bullying behaviors and inform the parents or other guardians of the bullying and the bullied underage students to participate in the identification and handling of the bullying; provide psychological counseling, education and guidance to relevant minor students in time; and the parents or other guardians of relevant minors shall be given necessary family education guidance.
As for the underage students who are bullies, schools shall strengthen the discipline according to the nature and degree of the bullying in accordance with law. Schools shall not conceal the serious bullying behavior, and shall report it to the public security organ and the educational administration department in time, and cooperate with the relevant departments to deal with it in accordance with law.
Article 40 Schools and kindergartens shall establish a working system for the prevention of sexual assault or harassment to minors. Schools and kindergartens shall not conceal such illegal and criminal acts of sexual assault and harassment to minors. They shall report to the public security organ and the educational administration department in time, and cooperate with relevant departments to deal with such illegal and criminal acts in accordance with the law.
Schools and kindergartens shall carry out sex education for minors appropriate for their age, and improve their awareness and ability of self-protection against sexual assault or harassment. Schools and kindergartens shall take timely protective measures for minors who suffer from sexual assault or harassment.
Article 41 Infant care service institutions, early education service institutions, off-campus training institutions and off-campus care institutions shall, with reference to the relevant provisions of this chapter, protect minors according to the characteristics and laws of minors' growth at different ages.
Chapter IV Protection by Society
Article 42 Sound values shall be fostered in society, whereby minors are well cared and protected.
The State encourages, supports and guides the people's groups, enterprises and institutions, social organizations and individuals to carry out various forms of social activities that are conducive to the healthy growth of minors.
Article 43 The residents' committee and the villagers' committee shall set up a special agency and designate special personnel to take charge of the protection of minors, assist the relevant government departments in publicizing the laws and regulations on the protection of the minors, guide, assist and supervise the parents or other guardians of minors to perform their duties under guardianship in accordance with law, and set up files of the left-behind minors and minors in difficult circumstances and provide them with care and assistance.
The residents' committee and the villagers' committee shall assist the relevant government departments in supervising the entrusted care of minors, and report in time to the relevant government departments when they find that the entrusted person lacks the care ability or is negligent in performing the care duties, and inform the parents or other guardians of the minors, so as to help and urge the entrusted person to perform the care duties.
Article 44 Patriotism education bases, libraries, youths' and children's palaces, children's activity centers and homes for children shall be open to minors free of charge; museums, memorial halls, science and technology centers, exhibition halls, art galleries, cultural centers, internet service places for public welfare of a community, cinemas and theatres, stadiums and gymnasiums, zoos, botanical gardens, parks, etc. shall be open to minors free of charge or on a preferential basis in accordance with relevant regulations.
The State encourages patriotism education bases, museums, science and technology centers, art galleries and other public venues to set up special venues for minors to provide targeted services for them.
The State encourages state organs, enterprises, institutions and troops to develop their own educational resources and set up open days for minors to support theme education, social practice and professional experience for minors.
The State encourages scientific research institutions and scientific and technological social organizations to carry out scientific popularization activities for minors.
Article 45 Urban public transport, highway, railway, waterway, air passenger transport, shall implement free or preferential fares for minors in accordance with relevant regulations.
Article 46 The State encourages large-scale public places, public transport vehicles, scenic spots, to set up maternal and infant rooms, baby changing tables, and sanitary facilities such as toilets and wash basins for young children, which are convenient for minors.
Article 47 No organization or individual shall, in violation of the relevant provisions, restrict the care or preferential treatment that minors should enjoy.
Article 48 The State encourages the creation, publication, production and dissemination of books, newspapers and periodicals, films, radio and television programs, stage art works, audio-visual products, electronic publications and network information that are conducive to the healthy growth of minors.
Article 49 The news media shall strengthen publicizing the protection of minors and exercise supervision of public opinion over acts infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of minors. Interviews and reports of news media involving minors shall be objective, and be conducted prudently and moderately, and shall not infringe upon minors' reputation, privacy and other lawful rights and interests.
Article 50 It is prohibited to make, copy, publish, release or disseminate books, newspapers, periodicals, films, radio and television programs, stage art works, audio-visual products, electronic publications and network information that contain harmful contents to the physical and mental health of minors, such as obscenity, pornography, violence, cult, superstition, gambling, suicide inducement, terrorism, separatism and extremism.
Article 51 Any organization or individual that publishes, releases or disseminates books, newspapers and periodicals, movies, radio and television programs, stage art works, audio-visual products, electronic publications or network information that may affect the physical and mental health of minors shall give a conspicuous warning.
Article 52 It is prohibited to make, copy, publish, disseminate or possess pornographic articles and network information about minors.
Article 53 No organization or individual shall publish, broadcast, post or distribute advertisements containing contents harmful to the physical and mental health of minors. It is forbidden to broadcast, post or distribute commercial advertisements in schools or kindergartens, or to use school uniforms, teaching materials, etc. to publish or distribute commercial advertisements in disguised form.
Article 54 It is forbidden to abduct, sell, kidnap, maltreat, illegally adopt minors, or incur sexual assault or harassment to minors.
It is forbidden to coerce, induce or abet a minor to participate in the organizations of the nature of criminal gangs or engage in illegal or criminal activities.
It is forbidden to coerce, cajole or use minors to beg.
Article 55 The production and sale of food, drugs, toys, utensils, games and recreational equipment and facilities for minors shall conform to the national 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 matters needing attention in a prominent position, and those without matters needing attention shall not be sold.
Article 56 Public places where minors gather shall meet the national or industrial safety standards, and appropriate safety protection measures shall be taken. The facilities that may have safety risks shall be regularly maintained and safety warnings shall be set at prominent positions, indicating the age range and precautions; when necessary, special personnel shall be arranged to take care.
The operation units of large shopping malls, supermarkets, hospitals, libraries, museums, science and technology museums, amusement parks, stations, ports, airports, scenic spots and other places shall set up a security alarm system for searching for lost minors. After receiving a request for help, the operation unit shall immediately start the security alarm system, organize personnel to search and report to the public security organ.
When an emergency occurs in a public place, priority shall be given to rescuing minors.
Article 57 When hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and other accommodation operators receive minors to stay in, or when they receive minors and adults to stay together, they shall inquire about the contact information of minors' parents or other guardians, the relationship of the persons who stay in, and other relevant information; in case of finding people who stay in suspicious of breaking the law or committing a crime, the operator shall immediately report to the public security organ and contact the minor's parents or other guardians in time.
Article 58 It is forbidden to set up commercial entertainment venues, bars, internet service places and other places that are not appropriate for minors on the periphery of schools and kindergartens. Business operators of singing and dancing entertainment venues, bars and internet service places that are not appropriate for minors shall not allow minors to enter; electronic game equipment in entertainment places shall not be open to minors except for national statutory holidays. Business operators shall set up signs of no entry or restricted entry for minors in prominent positions; in case it is difficult to determine the age of a buyer, he shall be required to show his identification document.
Article 59 No tobacco, alcohol or lottery sales outlets shall be set up on the periphery of schools or kindergartens. It is forbidden to sell cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets or cash lottery prizes to minors. The operators of tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets shall set up signs of not to sell tobacco, alcohol or lottery tickets to minors in prominent positions; in case it is difficult to determine the age of a person, he shall be required to show his identity document.
No person is allowed to smoke or drink alcohol in schools, kindergartens or other public places with gatherings of minors.
Article 60 It is forbidden to provide or sell controlled knives or other instruments that may cause serious injury to minors. In case it is difficult for the business operator to ascertain the age of a buyer, he shall be required to show his identity document.
Article 61 No organization or individual may recruit any minor under the age of 16, except where otherwise prescribed by the State.
Commercial entertainment places, bars, internet service places and other places where the activities held are not appropriate for minors shall not recruit minors over the age of 16.
Units and individuals that recruit minors over the age of 16 shall implement the regulations of the State on types of work, working hours, labor intensity and protective measures, and shall not arrange them to engage in excessively heavy, toxic, harmful and other labor or dangerous operations that endanger the physical and mental health of minors.
No organization or individual may organize minors to participate in performances or other activities that endanger their physical and mental health. Where minors participate in performances, program production and other activities with the consent of the parents or other guardians of minors, the organizers of the activities shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State, protect the lawful rights and interests of minors.
Article 62 When recruiting staff, units that have close contact with minors shall inquire the public security organs and the people's procuratorates whether the candidates have records of illegal or criminal acts including sexual assault, maltreatment, abduction and trafficking, and violence; if it is found that a candidate has the record of the above-mentioned behaviors, he shall not be employed.
Units that have close contact with minors shall regularly conduct annual check of their staff members' records of the above-mentioned illegal and criminal acts. If the employee is found to have the above-mentioned behaviors through inquiry or other means, he shall be dismissed in time.
Article 63 No organization or individual shall conceal, destroy or illegally delete the letters, diaries, e-mails or other online communications of minors.
Except for the following circumstances, no organization or individual shall open or consult the letters, diaries, e-mails or other online communications of minors:
(1) The parents or other guardians of a minor with no capacity for performing civil juristic acts may open and check the documents on behalf of the minor;
(2) To conduct inspection in accordance with the law for the purpose of national security or the investigation of criminal offences;
(3) In emergency and in order to protect the personal safety of minors.
Chapter V Internet Protection
Article 64 The State, society, school and family shall cultivate and enhance minors' internet literacy by enhancing relevant publicity and education, enhance their awareness and ability of scientific, civilized, safe and rational use of the Internet, and protect their lawful rights and interests in cyberspace.
Article 65 The State encourages and supports the creation and dissemination of online content conducive to the healthy growth of minors, and encourages and supports the research, development, production and use of internet technologies, products and services that specifically serve minors and are appropriate for their physical and mental health.
Article 66 The cyberspace affairs department and other relevant departments shall strengthen the supervision and inspection of the internet protection of minors, punish the use of the internet to engage in activities endangering the physical and mental health of minors, and provide a safe and healthy network environment for minors.
Article 67 The cyberspace affairs department shall, in conjunction with the departments of public security, culture and tourism, press and publication, film, radio and television, determine the types, scope and standards of online information that may affect the physical and mental health of minors according to the needs of protecting minors at different ages.
Article 68 The departments of press and publication, education, health, culture and tourism, and cyberspace affairs shall regularly carry out publicity and education on the prevention of minors' addiction to the internet, supervise the online products and service providers to fulfill their obligations of preventing minors' addiction to the internet, and guide families, schools, and social organizations to cooperate with each other and take scientific and reasonable measures to prevent and intervene the internet addiction of minors.
No organization or individual shall be allowed to intervene the internet addiction of minors in the way of infringing their physical and mental health.
Article 69 The internet service facilities provided by schools, communities, libraries, cultural centers, youth palaces and other places for minors shall be installed with network protection software for minors, or adopt other technical measures for security protection.
Manufacturers and sellers of intelligent terminal products shall install juvenile internet protection software on the products, or inform users of the installation channels and methods of juvenile network protection software in a prominent way.
Article 70 Schools shall reasonably use the internet to carry out teaching activities. Without the permission of the school, students are not allowed to bring mobile phones and other intelligent terminal products into the classroom, and those brought into the school should be managed in a unified way.
In case a school discovers that a student is addicted to the internet, the school shall inform his parents or other guardians in time, and educate and guide the minor student jointly with his parents or other guardians to help him resume his normal study and life.
Article 71 Parents or other guardians of minors shall improve their internet literacy, regulate their own internet use, and strengthen their guidance and supervision of minors' internet use.
Parents or other guardians of minors shall, by installing network protection software for minors on intelligent terminal products, selecting service modes and management functions appropriate for minors, prevent minors from harmful online information or information which may affect their physical and mental health, and reasonably arrange the time for minors to use the network, and effectively prevent minors from addiction to the internet.
Article 72 An information processor shall, in processing personal information of minors through the internet, follow the principle of lawfulness, justification and within a necessary limit. In handling personal information of minors under the age of 14, the consent of the parents or other guardians of the minors shall be obtained, except as otherwise prescribed by laws and administrative regulations.
If the minors, their parents or other guardians require the information processor to correct or delete the personal information of the minors, the information processor shall take timely measures to correct or delete the personal information of the minors, except as otherwise prescribed by laws and administrative regulations.
Article 73 The network service provider shall, upon discovering that a minor publishes private information through the network, prompt him in time and take necessary protective measures.
Article 74 Internet products and service providers shall not provide minors with products or services that induce them to indulge in the internet.
Internet service providers of online games, online live broadcasting, online audio and video, and online social networking should set up appropriate time management, authority management, spending management and other functions for minors who use the services.
Online education network products and services for minors shall not insert online game links, push advertisements and other information irrelevant to teaching.
Article 75 Online games shall be operated only after being approved in accordance with law.
The State shall establish a unified electronic identity authentication system of online games for minors. Online game service providers shall require minors to register and log in online games with their real identity information.
Online game service providers shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations and standards of the State, classify game products, provide age-appropriate tips, and take technical measures to prevent minors from having access to inappropriate games or game functions.
Online game service providers shall not provide services to minors from 22:00 to 8:00 the next morning every day.
Article 76 The online broadcast service provider shall not provide the account registration service of the online broadcast publisher for minors under the age of 16; when providing the service for minors who have reached the age of 16, the provider shall authenticate the minor's identity information and obtain the consent from his parents or other guardians.
Article 77 No organization or individual shall abuse, slander, threaten or maliciously damage through the internet the image of minors by words, pictures, audio or video or other forms.
Minors who are subject to internet bullying and their parents or other guardians have the right to inform the network service provider to take measures including deleting, blocking and disconnecting links. After receiving the notice, the network service provider shall take necessary measures to stop the internet bullying and prevent the information from spreading.
Article 78 The providers of network products and services shall establish convenient, reasonable and effective channels for complaints and reports, disclose methods about complaints and reports and other information, and timely accept and handle complaints and reports involving minors.
Article 79 Any organization or individual who discovers that online products or services contain information harmful to the physical and mental health of minors has the right to complain or report to the online products or service providers or the departments of cyberspace affairs, public security and other departments.
Article 80 If a network service provider discovers that a user publishes or disseminates information that may affect the physical and mental health of minors and fails to give a prominent prompt, the service provider shall give a prompt or notify the user to give a prompt; if no prompt is given, no relevant information shall be transmitted.
If a network service provider discovers that a user publishes or disseminates information that is harmful to the physical and mental health of minors, it shall immediately stop transmitting the relevant information, take measures such as deleting, blocking or disconnecting the link, keep the relevant records, and report to the departments of cyberspace affairs, public security and other departments.
If a network service provider discovers that a user has committed an illegal or criminal act against a minor by using its network service, it shall immediately stop providing network service to the user, keep relevant records, and report to the public security organ.
Chapter VI Protection by the Government
Article 81 The departments of the people's governments above the county level responsible for the specific work of the coordination mechanism for the protection of minors shall specify the relevant internal organs or specialized personnel to be responsible for the protection of minors.
Town and township people's governments and subdistrict offices shall set up work stations for the protection of minors or appoint special personnel to handle relevant affairs of minors in a timely manner, and shall support and guide the residents' committees or villagers' committees to set up special posts and appoint special personnel to protect minors.
Article 82 People's governments at all levels shall incorporate family education guidance services into urban and rural public service systems, carry out publicity of family education knowledge, and encourage and support relevant people's organizations, enterprises, institutions and social organizations to provide family education guidance services.
Article 83 People's governments at all levels shall guarantee the right of minors to education, and take measures to ensure that the left-behind minors, those in difficulties and those with disabilities receive compulsory education.
The administrative department of education shall order the parents or other guardians of minors not completing compulsory education to send them to schools for compulsory education.
Article 84 People's governments at all levels shall promote nurseries and pre-school education, do a good job in running infant care service institutions and kindergartens, and support social forces to set up maternal and infant rooms, infant care service institutions and kindergartens in accordance with law.
Local people's governments above the county level and relevant departments shall cultivate and train the care and teaching personnel of infant care service institutions and kindergartens to improve their professional ethics and capability.
Article 85 People's governments at all levels shall promote vocational education, ensure that minors can receive vocational education or vocational skills training, and encourage and support people's organizations, enterprises, institutions and social organizations to provide vocational skills training services for minors.
Article 86 People's governments at all levels shall ensure that disabled minors who are capable of receiving general education and can adapt to campus life receive education in general schools and kindergartens nearby; disabled minors who do not have the ability to receive general education are guaranteed to receive preschool education, compulsory education and vocational education in special education schools and kindergartens.
People's governments at all levels shall guarantee the conditions for running schools and kindergartens for special education, and encourage and support social forces to run such education.
Article 87 The local people's government and relevant departments shall guarantee the campus security, supervise and guide the schools, kindergartens and other units to fulfill their responsibilities for the security of the campus, and establish a mechanism for reporting, handling and coordinating emergencies.
Article 88 Public security organs and other relevant departments shall, in accordance with law, maintain public security and traffic order around the campus, and set up surveillance equipment and traffic safety facilities to prevent and stop illegal and criminal acts against minors.
Article 89 Local people's governments shall establish and improve venues and facilities suitable for minors, support the construction and operation of public welfare venues and facilities for minors, encourage social forces to set up venues and facilities suitable for minors, and strengthen their management.
Local people's governments shall take measures to encourage and support schools to open cultural and sports facilities to minors free of charge or with preferential treatment on national statutory holidays, off-work days and winter and summer holidays.
Local people's governments shall take measures to prevent any organization or individual from occupying or damaging the venues, buildings and facilities of schools, kindergartens, infant care service institutions and other places for minors' activities.
Article 90 The people's governments at various levels and relevant departments shall give guidance on health care and nutrition to minors and provide health care services to minors.
The health department shall regulate the vaccination of minors in accordance with law, prevent and treat the common and frequently occurring diseases of minors, strengthen supervision and management of the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, conduct injury prevention and intervention, and guide and supervise the health care work of schools, kindergartens and infant care service institutions.
The administrative department of education should enhance the mental health education of minors, and establish the early detection and timely intervention mechanism of mental problems of minors. The health department should conduct psychological treatment, psychological crisis intervention, early identification, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.
Article 91 People's governments at all levels and relevant departments shall provide classified security for minors in difficulties, and take measures to meet their basic needs in life, education, safety, medical rehabilitation, housing and other aspects.
Article 92 Under any of the following circumstances, the civil affairs department shall, in accordance with law, exercise temporary guardianship over a minor:
(1) A minor wandering or begging, or with his identity unknown, whose parents or other guardians cannot be found temporarily;
(2) The guardians' whereabouts are unknown, and no other person can act as the guardian;
(3) The guardians are unable to perform the duty under guardianship due to objective reasons or natural disasters, accidents, public health incidents and other emergencies, resulting in the lack of guardianship of a minor;
(4) The guardians refuse or are indolent to perform the duty under guardianship, which leads to a minor being left unattended;
(5) The guardians instigate and use a minor to commit crimes, and the minor needs to be taken away from the guardians and placed;
(6) Minors who are seriously injured by their guardians or face threats to their personal safety need to be placed in emergency;
(7) Other circumstances provided by law.
Article 93 With respect to minors under temporary guardianship, the civil affairs department may arrange them by means of entrusting relatives to foster them or by means of family fostering care, or may hand them over to the relief and protection institutions for minors or the welfare institutions for children to take them in and foster them.
During temporary guardianship, the civil affairs department may return the minor to the guardian to raise if the guardian is qualified to perform the duty under guardianship again after evaluation by the civil affairs department.
Article 94 Under any of the following circumstances, the civil affairs department shall provide long-term guardianship of minors in accordance with law:
(1) Parents or other guardians of minors cannot be found;
(2) The guardian dies or is declared dead and no other person can act as the guardian;
(3) The guardian is incapacitated and no other person can act as a guardian;
(4) The people's court decided to revoke the guardian's qualification and designated the civil affairs department as the guardian;
(5) Other circumstances provided by law.
Article 95 After the adoption assessment, the civil affairs department may, in accordance with law, hand over the minors under long-term guardianship to the qualified applicants for adoption. After the adoption relationship is established, the guardianship between the civil affairs department and the minor is terminated.
Article 96 In case the civil affairs department undertakes the duty of temporary guardianship or long-term guardianship, the departments of finance, education, health and public security shall cooperate according to their respective duties.
People's governments above the county level and their civil affairs departments shall, according to their needs, set up relief and protection institutions for minors and children welfare institutions, responsible for taking in and raising minors under the guardianship of civil affairs departments.
Article 97 The people's governments above the county level shall open a unified national hotline for the protection of minors, and promptly accept and refer complaints and reports about the infringement upon the lawful rights and interests of minors; and shall encourage and support people's organizations, enterprises, institutions and social organizations to participate in the development of service platforms, service hotlines and service stations for the protection of minors to provide consultation and help on the protection of minors.
Article 98 The State shall establish an information inquiry system of law-breakers and criminal offenders who commit crimes such as sexual assault, maltreatment, abduction and trafficking, and violent injury, so as to provide free inquiry services to units that have close contact with minors.
Article 99 Local people's governments shall cultivate, guide and regulate the participation of relevant social organizations and social workers in the protection of minors, provide family education and guidance services, and provide professional services for psychological counseling, rehabilitation assistance, guardianship and adoption evaluation of minors.
Chapter VII Judicial Protection
Article 100 The public security organs, people's procuratorates, people's courts and judicial administrative departments shall perform their duties in accordance with law and protect the lawful rights and interests of minors.
Article 101 The public security organs, people's procuratorates, people's courts and judicial administrative departments shall set up specialized agencies or appoint specialized personnel to handle cases involving minors. Personnel handling cases involving minors shall receive special training and be familiar with the physical and mental characteristics of minors. Among the specialized agencies or personnel, there shall be female staff.
The public security organs, people's procuratorates, people's courts and judicial administrative departments shall implement the evaluation and assessment standards appropriate to the protection of minors for the above-mentioned institutions and personnel.
Article 102 When handling cases involving minors, public security organs, people's procuratorates, people's courts and judicial administrative departments shall take into account the physical and mental characteristics of minors and the needs of their healthy growth, use languages and expressions that minors can understand, and hear their opinions.
Article 103 The public security organs, people's procuratorates, people's courts, judicial administrative departments and other organizations and individuals shall not disclose the names, images, residences, schools of study and other information that may identify minors in relevant cases, except for the circumstances of searching for missing or abducted minors.
Article 104 With respect to minors who need legal aid or judicial assistance, legal aid institutions or public security organs, people's procuratorates, people's courts and judicial administrative departments shall help and provide them with legal aid or judicial assistance in accordance with law.
Legal aid institutions shall appoint lawyers who are familiar with the physical and mental characteristics of minors to provide legal aid services for minors.
Legal aid institutions and lawyers' associations shall provide guidance and training for lawyers handling legal aid cases for minors.
Article 105 The people's procuratorates, by exercising procuratorial power, exercise supervision over litigation activities involving minors in accordance with law.
Article 106 When the lawful rights and interests of minors are infringed upon and relevant organizations or individuals fail to bring a lawsuit on their behalf, the people's procuratorates may urge and support them to bring a lawsuit; where public interests are involved, the people's procuratorates have the right to file a public interest lawsuit.
Article 107 When trying inheritance cases, the people's courts shall protect the minors' right of inheritance and legacy in accordance with law.
In trying a divorce case involving the issue of raising a minor child, the people's court shall respect the true will of the minor who has reached the age of eight, and handle it according to the specific circumstances of both parties, and the principle that is in the best interests of the minor in accordance with law.
Article 108 If the parents or other guardians of a minor fail to perform their duty under guardianship in accordance with law, or seriously infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of the minor under guardianship, the people's court may, upon the application of the relevant person or unit, order a writ of habeas corpus or revoke the guardianship in accordance with law.
The parents or other guardians whose guardianship has been revoked shall continue to bear the expenses for upbringing in accordance with law.
Article 109 If a people's court tries a case involving a minor such as divorce, upbringing, adoption, guardianship or visit, it may, on its own or by entrusting a social organization, conduct a social investigation on the relevant situation of the minor.
Article 110 The public security organs, people's procuratorates and people's courts shall, in interrogating minor suspects and defendants and inquiring about minor victims and witnesses, notify their legal representatives or their adult relatives, representatives of their schools, and other appropriate adults to come to present in accordance with law, and conduct the interrogation and inquiry in appropriate measures and places, to protect minors' right of reputation, privacy and other lawful rights and interests.
When the people's court is in session to hear cases involving minors, the minor victims or witnesses generally do not appear in court to testify; if they have to appear in court, such protective measures shall be taken as technical means to protect their privacy and psychological intervention.
Article 111 The public security organs, people's procuratorates and people's courts shall, with respect to the minor victims of sexual assault or violence and their families, cooperate with other relevant government departments, people's organizations and social organizations to take necessary psychological intervention, economic assistance, legal aid, transfer to other schools or other protective measures.
Article 112 The public security organs, people's procuratorates and people's courts, when handling cases of sexual assault or violent injury to minors, shall take such measures as synchronous audio and video recording when interrogating minors' victims and witnesses, trying to complete the procedures at one time; if the minor victim or witness is female, the procedures shall be done by female staff.
Article 113 The principles of education, rehabilitation and redemption shall be applied to minors who break the law or commit crimes, and the principle of education first and punishment second shall be followed.
After the minors who break the law or commit crimes being punished in accordance with law, they shall not be discriminated against in terms of further education and employment.
Article 114 If the public security organ, people's procuratorate, people's court or judicial administrative department finds that a relevant unit has not fulfilled its duty of protecting minors in educating, managing, rescuing or caring for minors, it shall make suggestions to that unit. The unit receiving the suggestions shall give a written reply within one month.
Article 115 The public security organs, people's procuratorates, people's courts and judicial administrative departments shall, in the light of the actual situation and the characteristics of cases involving minors, carry out publicity and education on the rule of law for minors.
Article 116 The State encourages and supports, in cases involving minors, social organizations and social workers to participate in psychological intervention, legal aid, social investigation, social probation and protection, education and correction, and community correction of minors.
Chapter VIII Legal Responsibility
Article 117 With respect to the violation of the second paragraph of Article 11 of this Law, where an organization or individual fails to perform reporting obligation resulting in serious consequences, the competent department at a higher level or the charging unit shall, in accordance with law, impose sanctions on the person in charge and other persons who are directly responsible.
Article 118 If failing to perform their duties under guardianship in accordance with law, or infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of minors, the parents or other guardians of minors shall be admonished or dissuaded by the residents' or villagers' committees where they live; if the consequences are serious, the residents' committee or villagers' committee shall report to the public security organ in time.
When a public security organ receives a report, or when a public security organ, people's procuratorate or people's court finds that the parents or other guardians of a minor have the above circumstances in handling a case, it shall admonish them and may order them to receive guidance of family education.
Article 119 If schools, kindergartens, infant care institutions and their teaching staff violate the provisions of Articles 27, 28 and 39 of this Law, they shall be ordered to make corrections by the public security, education, health and market supervision and administration departments and other departments in accordance with their respective responsibilities; if they refuse to make corrections or if the consequences are serious, the person in charge who is directly responsible and other persons who are directly responsible shall be given sanctions in accordance with law.
Article 120 With respect to the violation of the provisions of Articles 44, 45 and 47 of this Law, when a minor is not given free or preferential treatment, the market supervision and administration, culture and tourism, transportation and other departments shall, in accordance with the division of responsibilities, order the relevant party to make corrections within a time limit and give it a warning; those who refuse to make corrections shall be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan.
Article 121 With respect to violation of Articles 50 and 51 of this Law, the departments of press and publication, radio and television, film, cyberspace affairs and other departments, shall, in accordance with the division of responsibilities, order the relevant party to make corrections within a time limit, give it a warning, or confiscate the illegal income, and may also make a fine of no more than 100,000 yuan; those who refuse to make corrections or cause serious consequences, shall be ordered to suspend relevant business, suspend production or business, or have its business license or relevant permits revoked. If the illegal income is more than one million yuan, it shall also be fined not less than one time but not more than ten times of the illegal income. If there is no illegal income or the illegal income is less than one million yuan, it shall also be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than one million yuan.
Article 122 When an operator of a place violates the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 56 of this Law or a lodging operator violates the provisions of Article 57 of this Law, the market supervision and administration, emergency management, public security and other departments shall, in accordance with the division of responsibilities, order the operator to make corrections within a time limit and give it a warning; if it refuses to make corrections or causes serious consequences, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification, or its business license or relevant license shall be revoked, and it shall also be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan.
Article 123 When a relevant business operator violates the provisions of Article 58, the first paragraph of Article 59 and Article 60 of this Law, the departments of culture and tourism, market supervision and administration, tobacco monopoly, public security and other departments shall, in accordance with the division of responsibilities, order the operator to make corrections within a time limit, give it a warning, confiscate the illegal gains and may also impose a fine of less than 50,000 yuan; if it refuses to make corrections or if the consequences are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification, or its business license or relevant license shall be revoked, and it may also be fined not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan.
Article 124 Anyone who, in violation of the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 59 of this Law, smokes or drinks alcohol in schools, kindergartens or other public places where minors gather for activities shall be ordered by the departments of health, education and market supervision and administration, and other departments according to their respective functions and duties to make corrections, given a warning and may also be fined not more than 500 yuan; if the administrator of a place does not prevent the above behaviors in time, the departments of health, education, market supervision and administration and other departments shall give the administrator a warning according to the division of responsibilities, and impose a fine of less than 10,000 yuan.
Article 125 Any organization or individual which violates the provisions of Article 61 of this Law shall be ordered by the departments of culture and tourism, human resources and social security, and market supervision and administration and other departments, in accordance with their respective functions and duties to make corrections within a time limit, be given a warning, have his illegal income confiscated, and may also be fined not more than 100,000 yuan; if he refuses to make corrections or if the consequences are serious, he shall be ordered to suspend production or business, or his business license or relevant license shall be revoked, and he shall also be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 1 million yuan.
Article 126 If a unit that has close contact with minors violates the provisions of Article 62 of this Law and fails to perform its duty of inquiry, or recruits or continues to employ persons with relevant illegal acts or criminal records, the departments of education, human resources and social security, market supervision and administration and other departments shall, in accordance with the division of responsibilities, order it to make corrections within a time limit, give it a warning and impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan; if it refuses to make corrections or causes serious consequences, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification, or its business license or relevant license shall be revoked, and a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan shall be imposed, and the person in charge and other persons directly responsible shall be given sanctions in accordance with law.
Article 127 If an information processor violates the provisions of Article 72 of this Law, or if a network product and service provider violates the provisions of Articles 73, 74, 75, 76, 77 or 80 of this Law, it shall be ordered by the departments of public security department, cyberspace affairs department, telecommunications department, press and publication department, radio and television department and other relevant departments to make corrections, given a warning in accordance with their respective functions and duties, and the illegal gains shall be confiscated. If the illegal gains exceed one million yuan, they shall be fined not less than one time but not more than ten times the illegal gains. If there are no illegal gains or the illegal gains are less than one million yuan, they shall also be fined not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than one million yuan and the person in charge directly responsible and other responsible persons shall be fined not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan; if it refuses to make corrections or if the consequences are serious, it may also be ordered to suspend relevant business, suspend business for rectification, close its website, or its business license or relevant permits may be revoked.
Article 128 Any staff member of a State organ, who neglects his duty, abuses his power or is engaged in malpractices for personal gain, thus harming the lawful rights and interests of minors, shall be given a sanction in accordance with law.
Article 129 Anyone who violates the provisions of this Law, infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of minors and causes personal, property or other damage shall bear civil liability in accordance with law.
Anyone who violates the provisions of this Law and constitutes violations of the administration of public security shall be punished in accordance with the law; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with law.
Chapter IX Supplementary Provisions
Article 130 In this Law, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) Units that have close contact with minors refer to schools, kindergartens and other educational institutions; off-campus training institutions; minor relief and protection institutions, child welfare institutions and other minor placement and relief institutions; infant care service institutions, early education service institutions; off-campus care and temporary care institutions; domestic service organization; medical institutions providing medical services for minors; other enterprises, institutions and social organizations that are responsible for the education, training, guardianship, rescue, nursing and medical treatment of minors.
(2) Schools refer to general primary and secondary schools, special education schools, secondary vocational schools and specialized schools.
(3) Student bullying refers to the behavior happening among students, where one party deliberately or maliciously bullies or insults the other party through body, language, network and other means, causing personal injury, property loss or mental damage to the other party.
Article 131 Foreigners and stateless persons under the age of 18 within the territory of China shall be protected in accordance with the relevant provisions of this law.
Article 132 This Law shall come into effect as of June 1, 2021.
This work is in the public domain because it is exempted by Article 5 of Chinese copyright law. This exempts all Chinese government and judicial documents, and their official translations, from copyright. It also exempts simple factual information, and calendars, numerical tables, and other forms of general use and formulas.
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