CRI听力:China's Revised Criminal Law Takes Effect

Under the new amendments, those convicted of abusing a child or an elderly person can face up to 3-years in prison, a move many here in China are applauding.

"Laws are supposed to protect the disadvantaged. Everyone will get old, and most people can have a child. It's most people's hope that our children and parents can live in peace. I think this ammendment to the law goes a long way toward achieving that."

Abuse cases have been gaining more noteriety here in China the past few years, notably among children.

In a case just this past month, a kindergarten teacher in Henan was drummed out of her job after it was discovered she was forcing the children in her class to pose nude for photos.

But while these cases almost always ignite public outrage, under the previous rules, most of the offenders would only end up losing their jobs or facing no more than administrative penalties.

Legal expert Ruan Qilin says the revision to the law has come at the right time, as society is beginning to change in China.

"Given that more and more Chinese will have to entrust public institutions to take care of their children and parents in the future due to their busy schedules, the timing of the amendment is significant."

The ammendments to the Criminal Law, first adopted in August, also includes tougher punishments for those found cheating on state-level exams.

Instead of those found cheating having their scores invalidated, the new rules also include the possiblity of jail time.

Li Shishi is head of the National People's Congress Standing Committee's Legislative affairs division.

"Those who hire substitutes to sit exams for them or organize or facilitate cheating, such as providing cheating devices, substitute test-takers or leaking and spreading exam content will face criminal charges."

Under the new law, students caught hiring test-takers may end up spending time behind bars.

Those who set up ways to people to cheat could be hit with up to 7-years in prison.

These rules only apply to state-level exams such as the national college entrance exam and the national public servant exam.

Meanwhile, the new changes to the Criminal Law also include heavier penalties for those caught spreading false information through social media.

Anyone found knowingly passing along false information through Weibo and Wechat can now face up to 7-years in prison.

This is up from the 3-year maximum set in 2013 by the Supreme People's Court.

Under the rules, microbloggers who knowingly post false or unverified claims which are viewed either 5-thousand times or forwarded 500-times can be sent to jail.

At the same time, the revised law now also lists the sexual assault of men as a crime, while the previous crime of sex with an underage prostitutes has been repealed and reclassified as rape, bringing with it tougher sentencing guidelines for those convicted.