New custody rules for minors

Chinese authorities last week issued new guidelines for protecting minors' rights, which stipulate that guardians will be deprived of custodial rights under seven specific circumstances that severely harm minors' rights.

According to the guidelines, which will take effect from January 1, 2015, guardians who sexually assault, sell, abandon or abuse minors will be deprived of custody.

The guidelines state that if guardians' failure to perform their duties for a period in excess of six months leads to minors' homelessness, or if they cannot perform their duties properly due to pernicious habits such as drug, gambling or alcohol addiction, or for reasons such as serving jail time, they will be deprived of guardianship.

They can also be deprived of guardianship if they force or trick minors into begging, seriously affecting their lives or study, and do not correct their actions after three police citations.

Those who instigate or use minors to commit crimes will also be deprived of custody.

The guidelines are jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Hu Yunteng, a senior research fellow with the SPC, said at a press conference Tuesday that these rules aim to protect minors' rights to the maximum extent possible, but should be implemented prudently.

"The new guidelines could be seen as an interpretation to the law, as they first and foremost clearly define guardians' duties and violations, making the law more practical and operable," said Tong Xiaojun, vice director of the China Social Work Research Center at the China Youth University for Political Sciences.

China's current Law on the Protection of Minors has a vague stipulation that guardianship can be revoked by a court if a guardian fails to fulfill his or her duties or infringes upon a child's legitimate rights and interests.

Tong told the Global Times that staff from different departments should study the new guidelines and be aware of their duties, in order to ensure effective implementation.

"Social workers should be placed in communities to provide wider protection of minors apart from schools and hospitals," said Tong.

On July 4, a local court in Fujian Province revoked a 50-year-old mother's guardianship after it was revealed that she had attacked and starved her son, and had refused to change her behavior. It was the first time a guardian in Fujian had been deprived of custodial rights, reported the Legal Daily newspaper.

After guardians' custodial rights were revoked by a court, the court should appoint new guardians or request the civil affairs departments to take the responsibility for the child, said Zhang Shifeng, a senior official at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.