Ministries Pledge to Fight Juvenile Delinquency

Senior government officials Tuesday pledged to take more concrete measures against juvenile delinquency at a legal conference now going on in Beijing.

Vice-Minister of Education Zhang Tianbao promised to improve supervision of nine-year compulsory education to prevent students from dropping out and to reduce illiteracy.

There are nearly 370 million juveniles in the country and about 2.4 million of them are in school, according to ministry of education statistics.

Zhang said by the end of the year, 85 per cent of children should be receiving compulsory education.

"Education lays a solid foundation for the reduction and prevention of juvenile delinquency," Zhang said.

Pan Zhenzhou, vice-minister of culture said his ministry will provide young people with more cultural and entertainment outlets such as theatres, web centres, science and technology showrooms and museums. Pan also said the ministry would crack down on illegal audio and video products to keep children away from pornography and violence.

Liu Yang, vice-minister of justice promised to continue offering professional training to the 10,000 juvenile delinquents in detention centres.

Liu said a re-educated juvenile delinquent with professional skills is more likely to find work and not return to a life of crime.

Luo Feng, vice-minister of public security, vowed to speed up the investigation of cases concerning violation of adolescents' rights. Police officers will pay extra attention to kidnapping cases to catch those who abet or incite juveniles to commit crimes, Luo said.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television will screen out programmes considered unfit for adolescents, said its vice-director Li Shuwen.

Gui Xiaofeng, vice-director of the State Administration of Publications pledged to devote efforts to the anti-pornography campaign to clean up publications.

Gan Guoping, vice-director of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce vowed to shut down illegal electronic games rooms that feature gambling and pornographic games.



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