ShouldParentsBeHeldCriminallyLiableforHealthandSafetyFailuresHarmingTheirChildren?AproposalappealingforharsherpunishmentlegislationfornegligentparentsandguardianshasprovokedalongandheatedonlinedebateinChina.Duringthe2017SessionsoftheNationalPeople鈥檚CongressandtheNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC),LiYouand12othermembersoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeproposedthatparentsandguardianswhocausebodilyharmordeathtoachildasaresultofnegligenceshouldbepunishedbytheCriminalLaw.Therecentaccidentsinvolvingchildrenhavemadethisproposalaboneofcontention.Earlythisyear,thedeathsoftwochildrenwhofellfromthearmsofaparentonthefourthfloorofashoppingmallinnorthChina鈥檚TianjinMunicipalitycausedastiramongthepublicaboutthenegligenceofparentswhofailtokeeptheirchildrensafeinpublicplaces.ThiswasexasperatedbythedeathofalittleboywhodrownedinaswimmingpoolinwestChina鈥檚ShaanxiProvincewhilehismotherwasusinghersmartphone.Accordingtotheproposal,around100,000childrendiedfromaccidentsinChinaannuallyinthepastyears.Giventheseriousnatureofthesituation,somesupporttheproposal,believingitwillurgeparentstobetterperformtheirdutiesofguardianship.Othersmaintainthatthiskindofharshpunishmentaddsinsulttoinjurybyimposingcriminalsanctionsonparentswhoaregrievingforthelossoftheirchildren.Ratherthanlegislation,itismorepracticalandmeaningfultoputinplacemorestringentmeasurestoprotectchildreninpublicspacesandeducateparentsonwhatprecautionarymethodstheycanadopttopreventsuchtragedies.ConWeiWenbiaoNanguoMorningPostInfact,parentstakecareofchildrenbecauseofloveandasenseofresponsibilityratherthanfearofbeingpunishedbythelaw.Evenwithouttheproposal,theywillsparenoeffortstofulfillsuchresponsibilitiesandprotecttheirchildrenfromharm.Therefore,thereisnoneedtopunishparentswhosufferfromthelossofchildrenduetotheirnegligencebytheCriminalLaw.Itistheparentsthatsuffermostwhenachildgetshurt.Punishingheart-strickenparentsorguardiansisjustaddinginsulttoinjury,leavinginjuredchildrenorotherchildreninthefamilywithoutaparent.Inmyopinion,topreventunintentionalinjuriesamongchildren,itismoreimportanttoimprovesafetyfacilitiesinpublicplacesandteachthepublichowtoprotectchildrenfromaccidentssothatparentscanprejudgeadangeroussituationandtakeprecautions.CAProHeYongMediacommentatorAslongaschildrencontinuetobethevictimsofinjuryanddeathatthehandsofparentsorguardianswhofailtotakegoodcareofminors,punishmentbylawfornegligenceshouldbebroughtforward.Inmanycases,parentswhohavelosttheirchildrenareseenasvictimsofatragedyandthusnaturallyescapelegalliability,andinsteadreceivesympathyfromthepublic.Therefore,forexample,inthecasewhereachildsuffocatedinacarunattendedbyaresponsibleadult-ifthesituationwascausedbythenegligenceofparents,theywouldbearnoliability.However,ifthefaultlaywithateacherorschoolbusdriver,theywouldhavetoservejailtimeaswellasmakeindemnitypayments.Suchbenevolenceactuallyworsensthesituation,undercuttingasenseofparentalresponsibilityorvigilanceagainsteverydaydangers.Theattitudeofanationtowardchildrendeterminesthefuture.Anyinfringementonachild鈥檚righttoliveunderthepropercareandguidanceofaresponsibleadult,nomatterbywhom,shouldbepunishedwithzerotolerance.Whenparentsorguardiansfailtofulfilltheirduties,thelawshouldnotrespondwithmercybutpunishment.Itisnotaddinginsulttoinjurybutbetterprotectingminorsfromharmbyforcingparentstobeextravigilantagainstdangers.Besidescriminalpunishment,thegovernmentshouldalsolaunchcampaignstohelpyoungparentslearnaboutchildsafetyandhowtotakeprecautions.CAConZhengZhiyinLawyerIdon鈥檛thinkitisappropriatetopunishnegligentparentsaccordingtotheCriminalLaw.Despiteaccidentsthathappenasaresultoftheirnegligence,acriminalpenaltywillonlybringfurtherpaintoafamily.LegislationshouldbebasedontherealityofthesituationinChina.It鈥檚truethatlawsinsomeothercountriesareverystrictinthisrespect.ButharshpenaltiesarethewrongremedytoapplytoChina鈥檚situation.Nomatterwhatprecautiousmeasuresparentstake,someaccidentsareimpossibletoprevent.Itisanarduoustaskformosturbanfamiliestoraisetheirchildrenasbothparentshavetowork.Inpoorruralareas,thousandsofparentsleavekidsathomeandworkincitiesasmigrantworkers.Consequently,itismorecommonthattheirkidscannotreceivesubstantialcare.Ifsomethinghappenedtotheseleft-behindkids,isitfairtopunishtheirparentswhotoilandmoiljustbecausetheywanttooffertheirchildrenabetterlife?Thelawisgoodwhenitcanbeappliedtospecificcases.Butinreality,thereisnostandardtodeterminenegligence.Withoutpracticalapplication,suchlegislationwillonlyunderminetheauthorityofthelaw.Ratherthanholdingparentscriminallyliable,itismoresignificanttoestablishmoreandbetterkindergartenswherechildrencanreceivepropercare.CAProWangZhenyanNanfangDailyItissopoignanttotalkaboutsuchatopicasnoonedeservestobethesubjectofsuchatragedy.However,thenumberofchildrenwhohavebeeninjuredordiedinaccidentsisquitebig.Inmostcasestheseinjuriesordeathsweretheresultofaparent鈥檚negligence.Notholdingparentscriminallyliablegoesagainsttheprinciplesoftheruleoflawandprotectingminors.Whenparents鈥檆arelessnessbecomeamajorkillerofchildren,wecannotcontinuetoturnablindeye.Weshoulddosomethingintermsofthelaw.Weshouldnotmakeexcusesormakejustificationsforparentsandguardianswhofailtotakegoodcareoftheirchildren.Accidentshappenbecauseparentsdon鈥檛givedueattentiontoachild鈥檚safetybylettingtheirguarddown.Theytakeforgrantedthatnoharmhascometotheirchildrenandassumeitneverwill.Inthisregard,thelawshouldplayitsdueroleinurgingparentstofullyperformtheirdutyofguardianship.CAConGeYiZhongshanDailyIfparentswenttojail,whoshouldtakecareoftheinjuredchild?Everychildhastwoprotectors,oneistheguardiansandtheotheristhegovernment.Bothfamilyandgovernmentprotectionsareinplaceforthewellbeingofchildren.Parentshelpchildrengrowandthegovernmentprotectschildren鈥檚rightstolivewiththeirparents.Butiftheconductofaparentthreatensthewellbeingofachild,itisnolongerafamilyissueandthegovernmentshouldintervene.Thelawhasstipulatedthatthecustodyofachildwillbetakenawayifdeemednecessary.Herecomesthequestion:whoshouldchildrenlivewithotherthantheirparents?Althoughtherearesocialinstitutionsthatcantakelegalguardianshipofthem,canweguaranteethatchildrencanreceivebettercareandliveinasaferenvironment?Iamafraidtheanswerisno.Iagreethatnegligentparentsshouldbegivenappropriatepunishment-apunishmentthatisnotanactofrevengebutratherastrategytoincreaseawarenessoftheimportanceofchildprotectionandforparentstoenhancetheirvigilanceandmakethembetterpreparedtofulfilltheirparentalduties.CAProLianHongyangMediacommentatorThesoonernegligentparentsthatcausechildreninjuryordeatharesanctionedbytheCriminalLaw,thebetterprotectionchildrenwillhave.Legislationfailstorespondtothealarmingfactsthatanincreasinglygreatnumberofchildrenarethevictimsofinjuryordeathduetoparentalnegligence.Traditionally,parentinghasbeenregardedasaprivatedomesticaffair.Evenifparentsfailtodotheirjobandcausetheirchildrenharm,peoplebelievethatthepubliccanonlysympathize.Thisiswrong.Ithinknegligentparentsshouldbeheldcriminallyliable,asthepurposeofthelawisnotonlytopunishcriminals,butalsotoeducatethepublic.Awareofexplicitguidancebythelaw,peoplewillnaturallybecomemorecarefulandinturnmakebetterdecisions,thusbetterperformtheirdutiesandobligations.Insomecountries,thelawevenforbidsparentstoleaveminorsunattendedathome,notmentioningcausinginjuryordeathtoaminor,evenifdoneinvoluntarily.CA