Spotlighted Child Neglect Leads to a China First

By+WANG+XIAOQING

IN China， public powers rarely intervene in family affairs such as how parents choose to discipline their children. But on July 4， 2014， Xianyou County Peoples Court， Putian City in Fujian Province， decided to withdraw Ms. Lins custody of her son， Xiaolong. For the first time in China， this verdict carried out the “withdrawal of guardianship” provision of the General Rules of the Civil Code， a provision that was， in fact， established as far back as 1987.

At Risk

A photo of nine-year-old Xiaolongs wounds was released to the media. On hearing from Huang Guocheng， assistant political instructor of Bangtou Town under Xianyou County， that the horrific injuries were sustained at the hands of the childs own mother， I was appalled. The childs physical and emotional scars were the result of years of mistreatment.

For his entire life， Xiaolong was neglected by his mother. Villagers witnessed the cruelties he was subjected to and many of them tried to reason with Ms. Lin， but in vain. According to Lin Guorong， a village cadre， it was difficult for local authorities to intervene. “In rural areas， it is common for parents to physically discipline their children. Some people in the community felt that it was not their place to interfere in this matter between mother and son，” said Lin. His opinion is consistent with the general view in rural China that to beat children is to educate them， which is good for them.

In May 2013， a local college student discovered what was going on at Xiaolongs home and posted photographs on his microblog of the boy covered in scars. He expressed his compassion for the victim and his anger at the abuser， hoping that the media would turn its attention to the plight of the child. Eventually， Meizhou Daily ran a report that provoked strong reactions from society and alerted the municipal government of Putian. The municipal youth league， the womens federation and the police sent a joint team to Wudian Village.

When Xiaolong was born nobody knew who his father was. Ms. Lin lived with her child in a dilapidated adobe house littered with piles of garbage. She took negligible care of her baby， to the point of failing to prepare his meals at times， and leaving him entirely alone， locked in the house. The neighbors pitied the child and would often give him food. Huang Guocheng added that Ms. Lin hadnt even enrolled her son in the register of civil status， and he had to take the initiative to do so.endprint

Moral Education： A Waste of Time

Zheng Jianhang， secretary of the Communist Youth League Committee of Bangtou Town， said that at first everyone in the village thought they could encourage Ms. Lins sense of morality while helping to improve the familys living conditions. Maybe she would treat her child better if she enjoyed a better life. The local government registered both mother and son for subsistence allowances. The family also received donations – the Adolescent Service Center under the Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League raised more RMB 10，000 for them. Moreover， Zheng visited Xiaolong frequently to check up on him.

Wudian Village is famous for its wooden handicrafts. The Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League offered to find Ms. Lin a job in the business so that she could be earning while staying close to home to take responsibility for her child. Citing poor health， she declined. Her neglect of Xiaolong continued， and soon her neighbors testified that she had beaten the child again. After an admonition the local Womens Federation asked her to sign a pledge not to inflict corporal punishment on her son， but it was no use. On May 29， 2014， a neighbor reported that Ms. Lin had beaten her son again. This time， according to the law， the police placed the mother in administrative detention for 15 days.

Xiaolong was assigned to a so-called rescue station. The social workers dealing with his case were unanimous： Xiaolong should not remain with his mother. “We did not believe that his mother was able to change her behavior. If things remained as they were， the child would suffer further，” said Zheng Songqing， secretary of the Putian Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League.

In order to respect the will of the child， they consulted Xiaolong， who explicitly stated that he did not want to live with his mother anymore.

The Lawsuit

It was Xu Rujin， a lawyer with the Adolescent Service Center， who suggested to local officials that Xiaolongs mother should be legally stripped of her custody rights.

Although she was the first to advance this proposal， it was difficult for her to admit that this was the right thing to do because the Chinese are inherently very attached to the concept of family. Thus， separating a mother from her son by legal intervention was not an easy decision. “I felt some ambivalence because according to our traditions， most people， including me， consider family affairs as private matters，” said Xu. “However， my rational thinking as a lawyer prompted me to act. If one day this child were to have been beaten to death， I could never forgive myself.”endprint

The task was riddled with difficulties. For Chen Jianhong， the judge presiding over the case， the first challenge was the withdrawal of guardianship provision. Article 18 of the General Rules of the Civil Code states that “If a guardian does not fulfill his/her obligations or violates the rights and legitimate interests of the person for whom he/she is responsible， the Peoples Court is empowered to withdraw his/her parental authority on request of the person or entity concerned.” However， this principle is very general. It stipulates no specific rules on judging whether an act justifies guardianship right withdrawal. Whats more， it doesnt include a clause that eventually allows reinstatement of the guardian. This meant the judges decision would be final； the judge would need to fully assume the verdict， an enormous responsibility， Judge Chen Jianhong admitted.

Nevertheless， she did not back down. She recalled the case of two girls who died of starvation in Nanjing in June 2013 after their father was imprisoned and their mother， a drug addict， grossly neglected them. This incident sent shockwaves throughout China and sparked a major debate on the revocation of parental authority. Chen Jianhong said that relevant departments in Nanjing had provided assistance to these children but had stopped short of requesting the removal of the mothers guardianship， with tragic consequences.

Xiaolong celebrated his 10th birthday at the rescue station but he needed a new guardian urgently. His uncle， who had already fallen out with his sister because of her barbaric methods of “education，” refused to take Xiaolong as he was worried that Ms. Lin would harass his family. Putting the boy under social welfare facilities， which normally house the elderly and disabled children， was inappropriate. Judge Chen Jianhong admitted that she could not rule in favor of the withdrawal of guardianship as long as Xiaolong did not have a new guardian.

To initiate the prosecution of Xiaolongs mother， a complainant was needed. The municipal government convened the relevant departments， which concluded that the villagers committee could file the complaint and take Xiaolong under guardianship， a proposal that legally held water. The villagers committee agreed to take on the complaint； however， it said it lacked the means to take care of Xiaolong on a daily basis.

Finally， the SOS Childrens Village in Putian agreed to host the boy. This international charitable organization first came to China in 1984 and built 10 childrens villages in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. These villages are composed of a number of residential buildings where several orphans live with an employee who acts as the “mother.” During the day， the children go to school； in the evening， they return “home，” just as in an ordinary family. This method of education for orphans has already proved a success internationally.endprint

On July 4， 2014， the judgment was pronounced： Xianyou County Peoples Court ruled for the first time in China for the withdrawal of parental rights of the mother. The villagers committee became the new guardian of Xiaolong， and the child was entrusted to the SOS Childrens Village.

After the Judgment

When I arrived at the SOS Childrens Village in Putian， Xiaolong had been living there for six months. I imagined that， free from his abusive mother he would be living a happy life. But in fact， new problems had arisen.

Director Zeng Suqiong told me that Xiaolongs case was the first of its kind for the village. The workers there discovered that the psychological traumas Xiaolong had suffered revealed themselves in various aspects of his life.“He cannot communicate rationally with other members of his household. If hes not satisfied with something， he starts biting， hitting and kicking， disrupting other children.” Ms. Zeng added that Xiaolong seriously struggled at school and his teachers confirmed his propensity for violence. Ms. Zeng added， “Children like Xiaolong should be rescued earlier， the sooner the better. Xiaolong was mistreated for 10 years. This has resulted in serious psy- chological damage.”

“Parent-child relationships are characterized not only by blood ties， but also by legal ties. Parents have a duty to support their children. They cannot consider children to be their property， free to dispose of them as they see fit，”said Judge Chen Jianhong. She added that in 32 countries， the law explicitly prohibits corporal punishment within the family. Moreover， many states attach great importance to problems like improper guardianship. To prevent these forms of abuse， a legal framework has been formulated in these nations， while citizens are called on to denounce brutality and neglect of children. According to Chen， in light of the current social realities of the country， it will not be easy to obtain the same results in China in the short term. Yet it is necessary to direct the ideas of society through improving the legal system.

Those who took part in the settlement of the case were gratified at the general attention and consent of the public it attracted. The Supreme Peoples Court also made it a directive precedent for the whole country. On December 22， 2014， the Supreme Peoples Court， Supreme Peoples Procuratorate， the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued an opinion on the legal settlement of cases of violation to the legitimate rights and interests of minors by their guardians. They also specified what issues need to be addressed related to the withdrawal of guardianship， such as the circumstances requiring police intervention， the criteria for the complainant， and the transfer of guardianship. While clearly defining the responsibility of government agencies concerned， the decree stresses the need incumbent on schools， neighborhood committees， and social services and their staff to report without delay any suspected cases of neglect or abuse of minors to the police. It also stipulates that civil affairs departments are obliged to support children who find themselves without a guardian.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has established 105 pilot projects to protect minors， which mainly rely on the help of neighborhood committees and residential units. Grassroots organizations are required to report in a timely manner violations of the rights and interests of minors in families with problems， so that relevant authorities can intervene before its too late. In a few years， this experiment will be extended to the whole country. Zhang Shifeng， director general of the Division of Social Affairs at the Ministry of Civil Affairs， said， “The key to this work lies in prevention. We aim to prevent the deterioration of certain cases to the point of resorting to the withdrawal of parental custody.”

Hu Weixin， deputy director of the research office with the Supreme Peoples Court， noted that the case of Xiaolong， having drawn the attention of society as a whole， had pushed Chinese judicial bodies into a rethink.endprint