Thread by @NPC_Observer

China's proposed Family Education Promotion Law got a lot of media coverage in the past few days. The reports all focus on a draft provision that supposedly would "punish" parents for their kids' "bad behavior." Just exactly what type of penalties & behavior? Here's a short 🧵:

First, some legislative history. The bill has been reviewed twice by the NPC Standing Committee in Jan and Aug. A draft was released for public comments after each review. The NPCSC is reviewing the bill again this week and is expected to pass it Saturday. npcobserver.com/legislation/fa…

In this thread, we rely on the second draft of the bill released in August. The NPC Standing Committee is discussing a newer draft, but we haven't seen reports that the provision we are about to discuss has been further amended, although additional changes are possible.

The provision at issue is art 45 of the second draft. It says that police, procuratorates, or courts may "admonish" the guardians of minors or order them to receive family education guidance, if the minors are found to have engaged in "serious misbehavior" or criminal conduct.

This art essentially repeats what's already been provided for in the 2020 Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law. "Admonishments" aren't technically a type of penalty. They may negatively affect the guardians' reputation, but don't appear to carry other secondary legal consequences.

As for orders to receive family education guidance, the second draft didn't further elaborate. Under the first draft, which did include more detail, such guidance would be provided by community-based, quasi-gov't service stations, or private providers chosen by the authorities.

Under the 1st draft, such orders were coercive measures to be enforced in part by the police. Failure to abide by those orders would carry a max 1K RMB fine and up to 5 days of detention. BUT these penalties were removed in the 2nd draft because they were seen as too intrusive.

What about the kids "serious misbehavior" that would lead to admonishments or orders to receive family ed guidance? That phrase is a term of art. Per the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law, it refers to two types of conduct (see our previous explanation): npcobserver.com/2020/12/28/npc…

So the takeaway is that (1) this provision in the draft Law isn't new; (2) it puts certain burden on parents only when their kids engage in criminal conduct or conduct of similar nature; and (3) the burden isn't technically punishment (though may still be onerous or intrusive).

Again, we want to emphasize that this thread is based on the second draft of the Family Education Promotion Law. There may be additional changes to this provision before the Law passes this Saturday. Remember to check this page for updates.
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npcobserver.com/legislation/fa…