(Amended at the 21st Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on September 4, 1991, and at the 25th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on December 29, 2006)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: This Law is formulated on the basis of the Constitution, so as to protect minors' physical and psychological health, to safeguard minors' lawful rights and interests, to promote minors' comprehensive development in areas such as morality, intelligence, and physique, and to cultivate socialist builders and successors who are idealistic, moral, educated, and disciplined.

Article 2: "Minors" as used in this Law refers to citizens who are not yet 18 years old.

Article 3: Minors enjoy rights such as the right to survival, the right to development, the right to protection, and the right to participate, and the state is to give special and priority protection based on the characteristics of minors' physical and psychological development, to ensure that minors' lawful rights and interests are not violated.

Minors enjoy the right to education, and the State, society, schools and families respect and protect the right to education.

Minors enjoy rights equally in accordance with law, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, family property status, religious belief, and so forth.

Article 4: The state, society, schools, and families are to conduct education in ideals, morality, culture, discipline, and the legal system for minors, and conduct education in patriotism, collectivism, and socialism, advocating the public virtues of loving the motherland, the people, labor, science, and socialism, and opposing the corrosive influence of capitalism, feudalism, and other decadent ideas.

Article 5: Efforts to protect minors shall follow the following principles:

(1) Respect the personal dignity of minors;

(2) Adapt to the laws and characteristics of minors' physical and psychological development;

(3) Combining education and protection.

Article 6: The protection of minors is the joint responsibility of state organs, armed forces, political parties, social groups, enterprises and public institutions, urban and rural basic-level mass autonomous organizations, minors' guardians, and other adult citizens.

All organizations and individuals have the right to dissuade or stop conduct that violates the lawful rights and interests of minors, or to submit a report or accusation to the relevant departments.

The state, society, schools, and families shall educate and assist minors in preserving their lawful rights and interests, increasing their awareness and ability to protect themselves, and increasing their sense of social responsibility.

Article 7: All levels of central and local state organ shall do a good job of efforts on the protection of minors within the scope of their respective duties.

The State Council and all levels of local people's government are to lead relevant departments in efforts to protect minors; Include efforts on the protection of minors in national economic and social development plans and annual plans, and include relevant expenditures in the budget of the government at that level.

The State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and directly governed municipalities are to employ organizational measures to coordinate relevant departments to complete efforts on the protection of minors. Specific institutions are to be prescribed by the State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 8: The Communist Youth League, women's federations, trade unions, youth federations, student federations, young pioneers, and other relevant social groups are to assist all levels of people's government in efforts to protect minors, and to preserve the lawful rights and interests of minors.

Article 9: All levels of people's government and relevant departments are to give commendations and awards to organizations and individuals that have made notable achievements in the protection of minors.

Chapter II: Family Protections

Article 10: Parents or other guardians shall create a positive and harmonious family environment, and lawfully perform guardianship duties and support obligations for minors.

It is prohibited to commit domestic violence against minors, to abuse or abandon minors, to prohibit infant drowning and other acts of mutilation of infants, and not to discriminate against female minors or minors with disabilities.

Article 11: Parents or other guardians shall pay attention to minors' physical and psychological conditions and behavioral habits, educate and influence minors with healthy thoughts, good conduct, and appropriate methods, guide minors to carry out activities beneficial to their physical and mental health, and prevent and stop minors' smoking, alcoholism, vagrancy, internet addiction, gambling, drug abuse, prostitution, and other such conduct.

Article 12: Parents or other guardians shall learn about family education, correctly perform guardianship duties, and raise and educate minors.

Relevant state organs and social organizations shall provide family education guidance to minors' parents or other guardians.

Article 13: Parents or other guardians shall respect minors' right to receive education, and must enable school-age minors to enroll in and complete compulsory education in accordance with law, and must not cause minors receiving compulsory education to drop out of school.

Article 14: Based on minors' age and intellectual development, parents or other guardians shall inform them themselves when making decisions related to minors' rights and interests, and hear their opinions.

Article 15: Parents or other guardians must not allow or compel minors to marry, and must not enter into marriage contracts for minors.

Article 16: Where parents are unable to perform guardianship duties for minors due to work outside the home or for other reasons, they shall retain other adults with guardianship capacity to take custody on their behalf.

Chapter III: School Protections

Article 17: Schools shall fully implement the state's education policy, carry out quality education, increase the quality of education, emphasize cultivating minor students' ability to think independently, innovate, and practice, and promote the all-round development of minor students.

Article 18: Schools shall respect the right of minor students to receive an education, care for and love students, and shall patiently educate and help students with shortcomings in conduct or learning difficulties, and must not discriminate, and must not violate laws or state provisions to expel minor students.

Article 19: Based on the characteristics of minor students' physical and psychological development, schools shall conduct social life guidance, mental health counseling, and adolescent education for them.

Article 20: Schools shall cooperate with the parents or other guardians of minor students to ensure that minor students have time for sleep, recreation, and physical exercise, and must not increase their study burden.

Article 21: Teachers and staff of schools, kindergartens, and nursery schools shall respect the personal dignity of minors, and must not carry out corporal punishment, covert corporal punishment, or other conduct that insults the personal dignity of minors.

Article 22: Schools, kindergartens, and nursery schools shall establish safety systems, strengthen safety education for minors, and employ measures to ensure minors' physical safety.

Schools, kindergartens, and nursery schools must not conduct educational and teaching activities in school buildings or other facilities or venues that endanger minors' physical safety or health.

Schools and kindergartens arranging for minors to participate in group activities such as assemblies, cultural entertainment, and social practice shall be conducive to the healthy growth of minors and prevent the occurrence of personal safety incidents.

Article 23: As needed, departments such as for the administration of education, as well as schools, kindergartens, and nursery schools, shall draft plans for responding to emergencies such as all kinds of disasters, infectious diseases, food poisoning, and accidental injuries, and allocate corresponding facilities and conduct necessary drills, to increase minors' awareness and ability to protect themselves.

Article 24: Where a minor student has a personal injury accident on campus or during an off-campus activity organized by the school, the school shall promptly provide first aid, properly handle it, and promptly report it to the relevant competent departments.

Article 25: Schools and parents or other guardians shall cooperate with each other in disciplining minor students who have serious negative conduct receiving education at school; Where there is no ability to discipline or discipline is ineffective, they may be sent to a specialized school to continue their education in accordance with relevant provisions.

Local people's governments that set up specialized schools in accordance with law shall ensure the conditions for running specialized schools, the administrative departments for education shall strengthen the management and guidance of specialized schools, and the relevant departments shall provide assistance and cooperation.

Specialized schools shall conduct ideological, cultural, discipline and legal education, labor and technical education, and vocational education for minor students enrolled in the school.

Teachers and staff of specialized schools shall care, love, and respect students, and must not discriminate against or dislike them.

26th kindergarten should do a good job of childcare, education, to promote the harmonious development of children in physique, intelligence, morality and other aspects.

Chapter IV: Social Protections

Article 27: The entire society shall establish a positive practice of respecting, protecting, and educating minors, and care for and love minors.

The state encourages social groups, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations and individuals to carry out various forms of social activities conducive to the healthy growth of minors.

Article 28: All levels of people's government shall ensure minors' right to receive education, and employ measures to ensure that minors from economically disadvantaged families, those with disabilities, and minors in the floating population receive compulsory education.

Article 29: All levels of people's government shall establish and improve activity venues and facilities suited to the needs of minors' cultural life, encourage social forces to establish activity venues suitable for minors, and strengthen management.

Article 30: Patriotic education bases, libraries, youth palaces, and children's activity centers shall be open to minors free of charge; Museums, memorial halls, science and technology museums, exhibition halls, art galleries, cultural centers, as well as theaters, stadiums, zoos, parks, and other such venues, shall be open to minors free of charge or on a preferential basis in accordance with relevant provisions.

Article 31: People's governments at the county level or above and their administrative departments for education shall employ measures to encourage and support primary and secondary schools in opening cultural and sports facilities to minors free of charge or on a preferential basis during holidays.

Public interest internet access service facilities in the community shall be open to minors free of charge or on a preferential basis, to provide minors with safe and healthy internet access services.

Article 32: The State encourages units such as for the press, publishing, information industry, radio, film, television, and literature and art, as well as writers, artists, scientists, and other citizens, to create or provide works conducive to the healthy growth of minors. The state is to support the publication, production, and dissemination of books, newspapers and periodicals, audio-visual products, electronic publications, and online information with healthy content specifically targeted at minors.

The State encourages scientific research institutions and scientific and technological groups to carry out activities to popularize scientific knowledge among minors.

Article 33: The state is employing measures to prevent minors from becoming addicted to the internet.

The state encourages research and development of online products that are conducive to the healthy growth of minors, and promotes new technologies used to stop minors from becoming addicted to the internet.

Article 34: It is prohibited for any organization or individual to produce, sell, rent, or otherwise disseminate books, newspapers, periodicals, audio-visual products, electronic publications, and online information that are obscene, violent, murderous, terrorist, gambling, or other poisoning minors.

Article 35: The production and sale of food, medicines, toys, utensils, amusement facilities, and so forth for minors shall comply with national or industry standards, and must not harm the safety and health of minors; Where it is necessary to indicate precautions, it shall be indicated in a conspicuous position.

Article 36: For-profit singing and dancing entertainment venues, internet access service business sites, and other venues not suitable for minors' activities must not be set up in the vicinity of primary and secondary school campuses.

Venues for activities that are not suitable for minors, such as for-profit singing and dancing entertainment venues and internet access service business sites, must not allow minors to enter, and business operators shall set up signs prohibiting minors from entering in conspicuous locations; Where it is difficult to determine whether they are adults, they shall be required to present their identity documents.

Article 37: The sale of tobacco and alcohol to minors is prohibited, and proprietors shall set up signs in conspicuous positions that do not sell tobacco or alcohol to minors; Where it is difficult to determine whether they are adults, they shall be required to present their identity documents.

No one may smoke or drink alcohol in classrooms, dormitories, activity rooms, or other places where minors gather for activities in primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and nursery schools.

Article 38: Minors under the age of 16 must not be recruited by any organization or individual, except as otherwise provided by the state.

Where any organization or individual recruits minors who have reached the age of 16 but are not yet 18 years old in accordance with relevant state provisions, they shall implement state provisions on the type of work, working hours, labor intensity, protective measures, and so forth, and must not arrange for them to engage in excessively heavy, toxic, harmful, or other labor or dangerous work that endangers minors' physical and psychological health.

Article 39: Minors' personal privacy must not be disclosed by any organization or individual.

Minors' letters, diaries, and e-mails must not be concealed or destroyed by any organization or individual; Except as needed to investigate crimes, the public security organs or people's procuratorates conduct inspections in accordance with law, or for the incapacitated minors' letters, diaries, or e-mails to be opened or inspected by their parents or other guardians.

Article 40: When emergencies occur in schools, kindergartens, nursery schools, and public venues, priority shall be given to the rescue of minors.

Article 41: It is prohibited to abduct, sell, kidnap, or abuse minors, and to sexually assault minors.

It is prohibited to coerce, entice, or exploit minors to beg, or organize minors to carry out performances harmful to their physical and psychological health.

Article 42: Public security organs shall employ forceful measures to lawfully preserve public security and traffic order in the vicinity of campuses, and prevent and stop illegal and criminal conduct that infringes on the lawful rights and interests of minors.

No organization or individual may disrupt the order of teaching, and must not encroach upon or destroy the venues, buildings, and facilities of schools, kindergartens, or nurseries.

Article 43: People's governments at the county level or above and their civil affairs departments shall establish aid sites as needed, carry out assistance for vagrants and beggars, and bear temporary guardianship responsibilities; Public security departments or other relevant departments shall escort minors who are vagrants, beggars, or runaways to aid and properly care for them, and promptly notify their parents or other guardians to take them back.

Orphans, parents or other guardians whose parents or other guardians cannot be ascertained, and other minors who have no means of livelihood are to be taken in and raised by child welfare establishments established by the civil affairs departments.

Children's aid establishments, child welfare establishments, and their staffs shall perform their duties in accordance with law, and must not abuse or discriminate against minors; They must not seek benefits in handling the work of taking in and raising them.

Article 44: Health departments and schools shall conduct health care and nutrition guidance for minors, provide necessary health care conditions, and do a good job of disease prevention efforts.

Health departments should do a good job of immunizing children, and immunization under the national immunization program is free of charge; Actively prevent and treat common and frequent diseases in children, strengthen supervision and management of the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, and strengthen professional guidance, supervision and inspection of health care in kindergartens and nurseries.

Article 45: Local people's governments at all levels shall actively develop childcare undertakings, run nursery schools and kindergartens well, and support social organizations and individuals in establishing nursing rooms, nursery schools, and kindergartens in accordance with law.

People's governments at all levels and relevant departments shall adopt a variety of forms to train and train kindergarten and nursery school personnel to improve their professional ethics and professional ability.

Article 46: The state is to protect minors' intellectual achievements and rights to honor from infringement in accordance with law.

Article 47: Where minors have already completed the prescribed number of years of compulsory education and are no longer going on to higher education, the relevant government departments, social groups, enterprises, and public institutions shall, on the basis of actual conditions, conduct vocational education for them, and create conditions for them to work and employment.

Article 48: Residents' committees and villagers' committees shall assist relevant departments in educating and rescuing minors who have violated the law or committed crimes, and to prevent and stop illegal and criminal conduct that infringes on the lawful rights and interests of minors.

Article 49: Where minors' lawful rights and interests are violated, the victims, their guardians, or other organizations and individuals have the right to make a complaint to the relevant departments, and the relevant departments shall promptly handle it in accordance with law.

Chapter V: Judicial Protections

Article 50: 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 in judicial activities.

Article 51: Where minors' lawful rights and interests are violated and litigation is raised in the people's courts in accordance with law, the people's courts shall promptly hear it in accordance with law, and adapt to the needs of the minors' physical and psychological characteristics and healthy growth, to safeguard the minors' lawful rights and interests.

Legal aid institutions or people's courts shall provide assistance to minors in need of legal aid or judicial aid in judicial activities, and provide them with legal aid or judicial aid in accordance with law.

Article 52: People's courts hearing inheritance cases shall protect minors' inheritance rights and bequests in accordance with law.

Where people's courts hear divorce cases involving the issue of raising minor children, they shall hear the opinions of the minor children who have the ability to express their wishes, and handle it in accordance with law on the basis of the principle of protecting the rights and interests of the children and the specific circumstances of both parties.

Article 53: Where parents or other guardians do not perform guardianship duties or infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of minors under guardianship, and do not change their behavior after education, the people's courts may revoke their guardianship qualifications on the basis of an application by relevant persons or relevant units, and appoint another guardian in accordance with law. Parents whose guardianship qualifications have been revoked shall continue to bear the cost of child support in accordance with law.

Article 54: Implement the policy of education, reform, and rescue for juveniles who have violated the law or committed crimes, and adhere to the principle of education first, supplemented by punishment.

Juveniles who violate the law or commit crimes shall be given a mitigated, commuted, or waived punishment in accordance with law.

Article 55: Public security organs, people's procuratorates, and people's courts handling cases of juvenile crime and cases involving the protection of minors' rights and interests shall take into account the characteristics of minors' physical and psychological development, respect their personal dignity, safeguard their lawful rights and interests, and as needed establish specialized bodies or designate special personnel to handle them.

Article 56: Public security organs and people's procuratorates interrogating juvenile criminal suspects and questioning juvenile witnesses or victims shall notify their guardians to appear.

Public security organs, people's procuratorates, and people's courts handling criminal cases of sexual violations of minors shall protect the victim's reputation.

Article 57: Juveniles who are in custody or serving a sentence shall be detained separately from adults.

Where juveniles in custody or serving a sentence have not completed compulsory education, they shall be given compulsory education.

Minors who have been released from detention or who have completed their sentences are not discriminated against in their return to school, advancement, or employment.

Article 58: In cases of juvenile delinquency, news reports, film and television programs, public publications, the internet, and so forth, must not disclose the minor's name, address, photographs, images, or materials from which the juvenile might be inferred.

Article 59: The correction of serious negative conduct and the prevention of criminal conduct of minors are to be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency.

Chapter VI: Legal Responsibility

Article 60: Where the provisions of this Law are violated by infringing on the lawful rights and interests of minors, and other laws or regulations already provide for administrative punishments, follow those provisions; where personal or property losses or other harms are caused, civil liability shall be borne in accordance with law; where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 61: Where state organs and their staffs do not lawfully perform their responsibilities to protect the lawful rights and interests of minors, or infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of minors, or retaliate against those who submit complaints, accusations, or reports, the unit to which they belong or the organ at the level above is to order corrections, and the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel are to be given administrative sanctions in accordance with law.

Article 62: Where parents or other guardians do not perform guardianship duties in accordance with law, or infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of minors, their units, residents' committees, or villagers' committees are to admonish and stop them; Where a violation of the administration of public security is constituted, the public security organs are to give administrative punishments in accordance with law.

Article 63: Where schools, kindergartens, or nursery schools infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of minors, the administrative departments for education or other relevant departments are to order corrections; and where the circumstances are serious, the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel are to be given sanctions in accordance with law.

Where teachers and staff of schools, kindergartens, or nursery schools carry out corporal punishment, covert corporal punishment, or other humiliating conduct against minors, the unit to which they belong or the organ at the level above is to order corrections; where the circumstances are serious, sanctions are to be given in accordance with law.

Article 64: Where books, newspapers and periodicals, audiovisual products, electronic publications, and online information such as obscenity, violence, murder, terror, or gambling are produced, sold, leased, or otherwise disseminated to minors, the competent departments are to order corrections and give administrative punishments in accordance with law.

Article 65: Where the production or sale of food, medicines, toys, utensils, or amusement facilities for minors does not comply with national or industry standards, or where precautions are not indicated in a conspicuous position, the competent departments are to order corrections and give administrative punishments in accordance with law.

Article 66: Where for-profit singing and dancing entertainment venues, internet access service business sites, or other venues that are not suitable for minors' activities are set up in the vicinity of primary and secondary school campuses, the competent departments are to close them down and give administrative punishments in accordance with law.

Where for-profit singing and dancing entertainment venues, internet access service business sites, or other venues that are not suitable for minors are allowed to enter, or where minors are not allowed to enter in a conspicuous position, the competent departments are to order corrections and give administrative punishments in accordance with law.

Article 67: Where tobacco or alcohol is sold to minors, or where a sign not to sell tobacco or alcohol to minors is not set up in a conspicuous position, the competent departments are to order corrections and give administrative punishments in accordance with law.

Article 68: Where minors under the age of 16 are illegally recruited, or minors who have already reached the age of 16 are recruited to engage in excessively heavy, toxic, harmful, or other labor or dangerous operations that endanger minors' physical and psychological health, the labor and social security departments are to order corrections and impose fines; where the circumstances are serious, the administrative department for industry and commerce is to revoke the business license.

Article 69: Where violations of minors' privacy constitute violations of the administration of public security, the public security organs are to give administrative punishments in accordance with law.

Article 70: Where children's aid establishments, child welfare establishments, and their staffs do not lawfully perform their duties to aid and protect minors, or abuse or discriminate against minors, or seek benefits in handling the work of taking them in and raising them, the competent departments are to order corrections and give administrative sanctions in accordance with law.

Article 71: Where minors are coerced, enticed, or exploited to beg, or minors are organized to carry out activities such as performances that are harmful to their physical and psychological health, the public security organs are to give administrative punishments in accordance with law.

Chapter VII: Supplementary Provisions

  Article 72: This Law shall take effect on June 1, 2007.