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Experts call for child abuse crime after kindergarten scandals
BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- A crime of child abuse should be established in law to better protect children from abusive teachers or household nurses, according to Chinese experts.
"The laws abroad stipulate1 clear-cut penalties for child abuse. But in China, such acts are banned in law formally with vague definitions and weak punishment," said Yao Jianlong, a member of the China Institute on Research of Juvenile2 Delinquency.
The call for legislation comes after a number of scandals over the past couple of years in the country, two recent ones in particular.
In one case, a picture posted on the Internet last Wednesday showed a 20-year-old teacher, surnamed Yan in a kindergarten in eastern Zhejiang Province, holding up a student by his ears with his feet about 10 centimeters off the ground.
The boy surnamed Lin was crying while Yan smiled. The woman was sacked by the local education authority and detained by police. She told police she did it "just for fun."
In another case, earlier this month, a five-year-old kindergarten girl was slapped in the face for more than 10 minutes by her female teacher Li Zhuqing in north China's Shanxi Province. Li, who was detained for 15 days, beat the girl just because she failed to answer a mathematics question.
In China's criminal law, the crime of abuse is applicable among family members. Usually, suspects of child abuse in kindergartens are put under administrative3 detention4 for up to 15 days. This means they will not face criminal charges.
China's constitution and laws on compulsory5 education and protection of minors6 consists of relevant items regarding child abuse, but the criminal law has no specific crime for child abuse, Yao added.
"Children suffer more mentally than physically7 from mistreatment. If the crime of child abuse and its penalties are not defined separately in criminal law, such scandals will continue to increase," warned Yao.
The boy which Yan had abused is currently staying at home as his ears still hurt, his mother said. "He is afraid of going to school and has nightmares," the mother added.
In the scandal in Zhejiang, police detained Yan for provoking a disturbance8, a crime in which a suspect can face jail of up to seven years if convicted.
The judiciary authorities could issue an interpretation9 to expand the definition of the crime of abuse to include other cases between teachers and students, or babies and household nurses, lawyers have suggested.
Last year, Liang Xiuhuan, 44, dubbed10 by netizens as "the cheekiest and most villainous nurse", tossed a ten-month-old baby in the air and let the boy fall on a bed. Liang beat the baby and even forced him to nibble11 her toes. She was hired to take care of the baby in his home in Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning Province. She got a 15-day administrative detention.
A video shot by household cameras was posted on the Internet raising public concerns.
"Perhaps other cases of baby abuse exist but are not exposed. This shows the need to overhaul12 the household nursing sector," said Hu Gang, a commerce administration official in Shenyang.
Due to a lack of government investment, the number of private kindergartens is much higher than that of state-funded ones in many places in China. Low wages offered by private kindergartens lead to a shortage of qualified13 staff.
In Zhejiang Province alone, 40 percent of the 100,000 teachers in kindergartens have no teaching qualifications. The majority of the unlicensed teachers work in private schools.
"It is necessary to have relevant laws. But the qualities of teaching staff should be improved too," said Yu Yongchang, an education expert in Shenyang.
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1
stipulate
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vt.规定,(作为条件)讲定,保证 | |
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2
juvenile
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n.青少年,少年读物;adj.青少年的,幼稚的 | |
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3
administrative
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adj.行政的,管理的 | |
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4
detention
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n.滞留,停留;拘留,扣留;(教育)留下 | |
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5
compulsory
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n.强制的,必修的;规定的,义务的 | |
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minors
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n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 );副修科目;小公司;[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修,选修,兼修( minor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7
physically
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adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律 | |
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8
disturbance
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n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调 | |
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9
interpretation
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n.解释,说明,描述;艺术处理 | |
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dubbed
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v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 );把…称为;配音;复制 | |
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nibble
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n.轻咬,啃;v.一点点地咬,慢慢啃,吹毛求疵 | |
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12
overhaul
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v./n.大修,仔细检查 | |
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qualified
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adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的 | |
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