韩红提案关注“困境儿童”

全国两会召开在即，“困境儿童”问题吸引了政协委员和社会各界的关注。目前，我国有3亿多未成年人，占总人口的近四分之一。近年来，我国困境儿童保护工作取得了长足进步——未成年人保护法的修订带动了社会各界对困境儿童问题的关注；以法院工作为主，中国少年司法制度发展有了明显进步；以公安部打拐办成立为标志，建立和完善了工作机制。尽管成绩显著，但专家普遍认为，目前困境儿童保护工作仍存在不少问题。调查发现，不少流浪儿童被公安部门解救、民政部门救助后，回家又被遗弃。

著名歌手韩红在今年的政协提案中建议，增强未成年人“国家保护”意识，如果家庭功能失灵，政府应及时对困境儿童进行“国家保护”；加强困境儿童保护，要在国家层面建立强有力的儿童保护专门机构；建立起符合国情的早期社区干预机制、行政干预机制、司法干预机制；对于父母残害孩子的恶性案件，建立可操作的刑事责任追究制度和监护资格撤销制度。

The problems faced by homeless children and defects in the current system that is supposed to protect the vulnerable group were discussed on Wednesday at a meeting of officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The gathering came as some of the country's political advisers were calling for the establishment of a specialized organization at the national level to deal with child protection.

Related departments from more than 10 provinces and cities gathered in Beijing for the meeting, according to Dou Yupei, vice-minister of civil affairs, who spoke to Beijing News.

The ministry's publicity office refused to share any additional details when contacted by China Daily.

Han Hong, a popular singer who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), has proposed that the State should take on more responsibility for the protection of children and especially those who face difficulties and whose parents or legal guardians have failed to protect them.

She suggested that the central government could set up a special powerful department to take care of children's affairs, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The singer, who has been active in promoting child welfare, also called for the establishment of an intervention mechanism at the community level and urged administrative and judicial authorities to deal with the social problems that affect children.

Han also said the State should consider depriving parents and legal guardians of their rights to care for children if they are found to have harmed or abused them.

She has prepared a proposal that she expects to submit during the Fourth Session of the 11th National Committee of the CPPCC. That meeting starts on Thursday.

Han's expected proposal was welcomed by Liu Huawen, an associate researcher who specializes in the rights of children at the Institute of International Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"It's very necessary to set up a special government organ to work for children and safeguard children's welfare," Liu told China Daily on Wednesday, stressing that children comprise a considerable portion of the country's population.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that China had 246.6 million people under the age of 14 in 2009, 18.5 percent of the population.

At present, children's affairs are handled by the All-China Women's Federation, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other governmental departments, which creates challenges in coordinating and planning initiatives, said Ma Li, the director of a rescue center for homeless children in Xuzhou city, Jiangsu province.

Ma said most homeless children keep running away after they are sent back to their homes.

He said he conducted random checks during the Spring Festival holidays on eight children who had been sent back to their homes after running away and found that only one child remained at home.

The issue of child protection has drawn increasing attention from the public and government since an online campaign was started in late January that was aimed at helping reunite child beggars with their families.

Premier Wen Jiabao said during his online chat with netizens at the weekend that he had asked the civil affairs and public security departments to work out comprehensive steps to better help homeless children and young beggars.