Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Minors — Full English Translation (1991, Revised 2020)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution for the purposes of protecting the physical and mental health of minors, safeguarding their lawful rights and interests, promoting their all-round development — moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor — cultivating socialist builders and successors with ideals, morality, culture, and discipline, and fostering young people who are capable of shouldering the great task of national rejuvenation.

Article 2 For the purposes of this Law, “minors” means citizens under the age of 18.

Article 3 The State shall guarantee the rights of survival, development, protection, participation, and other rights of minors. Minors shall enjoy all rights equally according to law and shall not be discriminated against on the basis of their own status, the status of their families, or other factors.

Article 4 The protection of minors shall adhere to the principle that is most beneficial to minors. In handling matters involving minors, the following requirements shall be met: (1) giving special and priority protection to minors; (2) respecting the personal dignity of minors; (3) protecting the right to privacy and personal information of minors; (4) adapting to the laws and characteristics of the physical and mental health development of minors; (5) listening to the opinions of minors; (6) combining protection with education.

Article 5 The State, society, schools, and families shall educate and assist minors in safeguarding their lawful rights and interests and enhance their awareness and capacity for self-protection.

Article 6 The protection of minors is the common responsibility of State organs, armed forces, political parties, people’s organizations, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, grassroots self-governance organizations for urban and rural residents, guardians of minors, and other adult citizens. The State, society, schools, and families shall educate and assist minors in safeguarding their lawful rights and interests. All organizations and individuals shall have the right to dissuade, stop, or report or file complaints against acts infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of minors.

Article 7 State organs at all levels shall be responsible for the protection of minors within the scope of their respective duties. The State Council and the local people’s governments at the county level and above shall establish working coordination mechanisms for the protection of minors to coordinate, supervise, and guide the relevant departments in their work of protecting minors. The coordination mechanisms shall be specifically undertaken by the civil affairs departments, and the people’s governments at the provincial level may also designate specific departments to undertake such work based on local actual conditions.

Article 8 The Communist Youth League, women’s federations, trade unions, disabled persons’ federations, science and technology associations, working committees for the care of the next generation, and other people’s organizations and social organizations shall assist people’s governments at all levels and their relevant departments and people’s procuratorates and people’s courts in carrying out the work of protecting minors, and shall safeguard the lawful rights and interests of minors.

Article 9 People’s governments at the county level and above shall incorporate the work of protecting minors into their national economic and social development plans, and the relevant expenses shall be included in the fiscal budgets at the corresponding levels.

Chapter II: Protection by Families

Article 10 Parents or other guardians of minors shall create a good and harmonious family environment for minors and perform their guardianship duties according to law. Parents or other guardians of minors shall not abuse, abandon, illegally place out for adoption, or otherwise harm minors; shall not discriminate against female minors or disabled minors; shall not allow or force minors into marriage; and shall not enter into marriage contracts for minors.

Article 11 Parents or other guardians of minors shall pay attention to the physiological, psychological, and behavioral habits of minors; educate and guide minors to cherish life and protect themselves; and cultivate good ideology, morality, and behavioral habits among minors.

Article 12 Parents or other guardians of minors shall, in light of the age and intellectual development of minors, inform them of reasonable opinions and listen to the opinions of minors when making decisions on matters involving the rights and interests of minors.

Article 13 Parents or other guardians of minors shall respect the right of minors to receive education, and shall ensure that minors of school age receive and complete compulsory education according to law, and shall not cause minors receiving compulsory education to drop out of school.

Article 14 Where parents or other guardians of minors are unable to perform their guardianship duties due to going out to work or for other reasons, they shall entrust a person with full capacity for civil conduct who meets the conditions to act as guardian on their behalf. Entrusted guardianship shall not be arranged when there is no justifiable reason, and the entrusted person shall not refuse the entrustment.

Article 15 Parents or other guardians of minors shall not allow minors under the age of 16 to be separated from guardians and live alone. Where minors over the age of 16 need to live alone, their parents or other guardians shall provide living security and daily care, educate and instruct them, and inform them of self-protection methods.

Chapter III: Protection by Schools

Article 16 Schools shall fully implement the State’s educational policies, adhere to the principle of cultivating virtue and nurturing talent, implement quality education, enhance the quality of education, and focus on cultivating the cognitive ability, cooperation ability, innovative ability, and practical ability of minor students, so as to promote their all-round development. Schools shall establish a working system for the protection of minors, establish a working committee for student protection, and adopt measures to protect students.

Article 17 Teaching and administrative staff in schools and kindergartens shall respect the personal dignity of minors and shall not impose corporal punishment on minors or impose corporal punishment in disguised form, or commit other acts that humiliate minors’ personal dignity. No entity or individual shall infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of minors in schools, kindergartens, nurseries, and other educational institutions.

Article 18 Schools shall, in accordance with the characteristics of minor students, carry out education on social life guidance, mental health guidance, adolescent education, and life education. Schools shall be equipped with mental health education teachers and establish mental health consultation rooms to provide mental health consultation services to minor students.

Article 19 Schools shall establish a system for the prevention and control of bullying of students, and shall provide education and training on the prevention of bullying of students to teaching and administrative staff, students, and others. Schools shall immediately stop bullying behavior against students, and shall notify the parents or other guardians of both the bullying and bullied minor students involved. Where the bullying constitutes a violation of public security administration, the school shall promptly report it to the public security organ for handling.

Article 20 Schools and kindergartens shall establish a safety management system, conduct safety education for minors, improve security facilities, and be equipped with security personnel to ensure the personal and property safety of minors on campus and during activities such as on-campus sports and games, going to and leaving school, and others.

Chapter IV: Protection by Society

Article 21 The whole society shall foster a good social atmosphere of caring for and protecting minors. The State encourages and supports social organizations and individuals in conducting activities beneficial to the physical and mental health of minors and in carrying out the work of protecting minors.

Article 22 Residents’ committees and villagers’ committees shall assist relevant departments in educating and rescuing minors who have deviated from social norms, and shall prevent and stop acts infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of minors.

Article 23 Places such as commercial song and dance halls, internet access service business premises, and other places that are not suitable for the activities of minors as stipulated by laws and regulations shall not admit minors. Operators shall set up signs prohibiting minors from entering at prominent locations. It shall not be allowed to sell cigarettes, alcohol, or lottery tickets to minors, or to honor lottery prizes to minors.

Article 24 It is prohibited to employ minors under the age of 16, unless otherwise provided by the State. Business premises and organizations that recruit minors over the age of 16 shall implement relevant State regulations on types of work, working hours, labor intensity, and protective measures, and shall not assign them to engage in heavy, toxic, harmful, or other labor or hazardous operations that endanger their physical and mental health.

Article 25 No organization or individual shall conceal, destroy, or discard minors who are abandoned, missing, or vagrant; no organization or individual shall exploit minors to engage in begging; no organization or individual shall threaten, deceive, or make use of minors to engage in organized or unsanctioned activities harmful to their physical and mental health.

Article 26 In the case of emergencies, the State shall give priority to rescuing minors. In the course of providing medical treatment to minors, medical institutions shall respect their privacy and protect their physical and mental health.

Chapter V: Protection by the Internet

Article 27 The State, society, schools, and families shall strengthen publicity and education on minors’ internet literacy, cultivate and enhance minors’ awareness and capacity for network security and internet civility, ensure the lawful rights and interests of minors in cyberspace, and encourage and support the creation and dissemination of online content beneficial to the healthy growth of minors.

Article 28 Providers of internet services shall not provide minors with products and services that induce addiction. Providers of online game, online live broadcast, online audio and video, and online social networking services shall set up corresponding functions such as time management, authority management, and consumption management for the use of their services by minors. Providers of online game services shall require minors to register and log in using their real identity information and shall use necessary technical means to verify their real identity information.

Article 29 No organization or individual shall produce, reproduce, publish, or disseminate information that endangers the physical and mental health of minors, such as pornography, violence, gambling, and terrorism, through the internet by means of text, pictures, audio, video, or other forms. Providers of internet services shall immediately stop transmitting such information when they discover it and take measures such as deleting, blocking, or disconnecting links.

Article 30 Providers of internet services shall strengthen supervision and management of information published by users and their online behavior. Where users publish or disseminate content that may affect the physical and mental health of minors, they shall be prompted, reminded, or notified in a conspicuous manner. Where minors engage in behavior harmful to their physical and mental health through the internet, guardians, schools, and other relevant parties shall intervene and stop such behavior.

Chapter VI: Protection by the Government

Article 31 People’s governments at the county level and above shall assume the responsibility for the protection of minors within their respective administrative areas and incorporate such work into their national economic and social development plans. The people’s governments at the county level and above shall establish working coordination mechanisms for the protection of minors.

Article 32 Civil affairs departments of people’s governments at the county level and above shall establish institutions for the rescue and protection of minors, provide temporary guardianship and daily care for minors who are vagrant, begging, or whose guardians are temporarily unable to perform their guardianship duties, and provide social work services. The State shall establish a system for determining and assessing the guardianship qualifications of minors.

Article 33 People’s governments at all levels shall develop vocational education and ensure that minors who have not entered higher-level schools after completing compulsory education receive vocational education or training. People’s governments at all levels shall protect the rights of disabled minors to receive education and establish special education schools or special education classes.

Article 34 People’s governments at all levels shall establish and improve activity venues and facilities suitable for minors, encourage social forces to establish public welfare activity venues for minors, and strengthen management.

Chapter VII: Judicial Protection

Article 35 Public security organs, people’s procuratorates, people’s courts, and judicial administrative departments shall determine specialized institutions or designate specialized personnel to be responsible for handling matters involving minors. Personnel handling matters involving minors shall receive specialized training and be familiar with the physical and mental characteristics of minors. Where female minors are involved, female staff members shall be present.

Article 36 Public security organs, people’s procuratorates, people’s courts, and judicial administrative departments shall respect and protect the personal dignity and lawful rights and interests of minors involved in cases. In hearing cases involving minors, measures suitable for their physical and mental characteristics shall be adopted to protect their privacy and reputation.

Article 37 When taking compulsory measures against minors, public security organs, people’s procuratorates, and people’s courts shall give priority to non-custodial compulsory measures. Where minors are detained or arrested, they shall be held separately from adults, managed separately, and educated separately. Minors who have not completed compulsory education shall be ensured access to compulsory education during their detention and imprisonment.

Article 38 In hearing cases involving minors, people’s courts shall use language and methods suitable for minors to help them understand the trial process and the relevant legal issues. In accordance with the physical and mental characteristics of minors, people’s courts may appropriately simplify trial procedures.

Article 39 Minors who violate the law or commit crimes shall be subject to the policy of education, persuasion, and rehabilitation, and adhere to the principle of education first and punishment second. Minors who violate the law or commit crimes shall be given relatively light, mitigated, or exempted punishment according to law.

Chapter VIII: Legal Liability

Article 40 Where parents or other guardians of minors fail to perform their guardianship duties or infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of minors under their guardianship, the residents’ committee, villagers’ committee, or the relevant entity shall persuade, stop, or criticize and educate them. Where the circumstances are serious, the public security organ shall give admonition and may order them to receive family education guidance.

Article 41 Where any entity or individual violates the provisions of this Law and commits an act infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of minors, and the circumstances are serious, the relevant department shall order it to make corrections and impose a fine; where losses are caused, civil liability shall be borne according to law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.

Article 42 Where schools, kindergartens, or nurseries and their teaching and administrative staff violate the provisions of this Law, the education administrative department or other relevant department shall order them to make corrections; where the circumstances are serious, the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be sanctioned according to law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.

Article 43 Where any entity organizes or coerces minors to engage in begging or other activities harmful to their physical and mental health, the public security organ shall impose administrative penalties; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.

Article 44 Where staff members of State organs abuse their powers, neglect their duties, or engage in malpractice for personal gain in the work of protecting minors, sanctions shall be imposed according to law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.

Chapter IX: Supplementary Provisions

Article 45 The protection of minors by their families, schools, society, the internet, the government, and the judiciary shall be governed by this Law. Where other laws provide otherwise on the protection of minors, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 46 This Law shall enter into force as of June 1, 2021.