A new regulation on juvenile crime jointly drawn up by legislators and students will take effect in Guangdong Province in a few weeks.

 

Eleven teenage students helped draft the Guangdong Provincial Regulations on Preventing Juvenile Delinquency which the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress passed earlier this month. It'll come into force at the beginning of 2007.

 

It's hoped the statute will help tackle juvenile crimes, said Wang Xudong, director of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress.

 

The new bill marks the first time that school pupils have been invited to participate in drafting legislation in a province where the juvenile crime rate is fairly high.

 

The regulations bar the broadcast of cartoon programs on local television stations between 5-8 PM. Horror-themed programs, violent films and TV series will be banned from local screens 24 hours a day.

 

Both parents and guardians should take responsibility for preventing juvenile crimes, according to the rules. At the same time the regulations prevent schools from dismissing student or otherwise encouraging them to drop out.

 

Residents of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, have welcomed the new regulations.

 

Chen Dongyun, the mother of a 12-year-old boy, said she believed the statute would reduce Guangdong Province's high juvenile crime rate. "It will help regulate the daily behavior of children and prevent them from becoming bad," Chen told China Daily yesterday.

 

Criminal cases involving juvenile delinquents have been on the rise in Guangzhou in recent years.

 

(China Daily December 11, 2006)