000802ab80120d02e00d18.jpg (Photo : china.org.cn)
Lawmakers have vowed to draw up legislative measures before 2015 that will give better protection to children in light of the recent spate of deaths of minors due to abuse.
Supreme People's Court Vice President Huang Ermei said the Ministries of Civil Affairs and Public Safety have begun initial deliberations to formulate policies on government mediation in cases involving child abuse.
Speaking at a symposium in Beijing on the protection of children, Huang said Monday that present legislation does not clearly state who has the right to file a legal complaint in case a child is abused by its legal guardian.
The present law states that "relevant individuals or institutions" can go to the courts to request transfer of guardianship of a child in situations where the child's parents or legal guardian cannot perform their duties to the child, or if the guardian's problematic behavior is not corrected after several interventions. The law, however, fails to clearly define the term "relevant individuals or institutions."
Zhang Xuemei, executive director of Beijing Children's Legal Aid, who was also at Monday's symposium said that there is a need to update and rewrite some articles of law to give better protection to children.
Wang Lequan, head of the China Law Society and one of the three organizers of the symposium, called on the government to offer more assistance to families so as to keep children away from life-threatening situations brought about either by their own parents or by the absence of a legal guardian.
Dou Yupei, vice-minister of Civil Affairs, vowed to push for the review and revision of present laws and to seek possible measures to help distressed families.
