Measures to better protect juveniles welcome

On Sunday, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, held a second hearing on the draft amendments to the national Juvenile Protection Law.

The draft now has three major changes. Schools are prohibited from organizing extracurricular courses during public holidays. They are prohibited from concealing serious instances of bullying on the campus; they should report these to higher education departments and/or the police. Also, shops located near schools are banned from selling tobacco, liquor or electronic cigarettes.

This is the first time that a draft law prohibits schools from holding extracurricular courses. Countless documents, ranging from local regulation to executive orders to education departments prohibiting extracurricular courses for primary and secondary school students have been introduced in the past but to no effect.