CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Liang Han, Huiyun Gao, Jie Teng and Yanfei Zhang, King & Capital Law Firm
as stipulated in the original Marriage Law, reflecting greater respect for the subjective awareness and expressive capacity of minors. Flexible mechanism: statutory child support obligations The mechanism for child support obligations has become more flexible. According to Articles 1067 and 1071 of the Civil Code, parents’ duty to support their minor children is statutory and does not change with marital status. After divorce, the parent not hav ‑ ing direct custody shall bear part or all of the child support expenses, which can be determined based on the child’s actual needs, the parents’ ability to pay and the local standard of living. Strengthened responsibility: state guardianship and the six-protection system Another important development in the minor guardi ‑ anship system is the strengthening of state guardian ‑ ship responsibility. Articles 26–39 of the Civil Code systematically stipulate the guardianship system, clar ‑ ifying parents’ duties to support, educate and protect their minor children. The Minor Protection Law further elaborates a “six-protection” system encompassing family protection, school protection, social protection, online protection, government protection and judicial protection. School obligations: general and specialised minor protection duties School educational institutions bear significant responsibility in minor protection. The Regulations on School Protection of Minors clarify schools’ gen ‑ eral protection obligations and specialised protection duties. Regarding school protection, the Regulations emphasise that management measures infringing upon students’ personal freedom shall not be estab ‑ lished, and unnecessary restrictions shall not be placed on students’ legitimate communication, play and movement outside the classroom during breaks and non-teaching hours. School focus: protection of students’ psychological health The Regulations on School Protection of Minors also emphasise the protection of students’ psychological health. Article 32 stipulates that schools shall estab ‑
lish a student mental health education management system, an early detection and timely intervention mechanism for student mental health issues, and employ full- or part-time mental health education teachers as required. Legalisation: the Family Education Promotion Law Also noteworthy in minor protection is the legalisation of family education. The Family Education Promotion Law elevates family education from a traditional “fam ‑ ily matter” to an important “state affair” in the new era, clarifying the responsibilities of parents and other guardians for family education. The law stipulates that parents or other guardians of minors are responsible for implementing family education and shall reasona ‑ bly arrange minors’ time for study, rest, recreation and physical exercise, avoid increasing academic burden and prevent internet addiction. Special circumstances: protection for vulnerable minors The implementation of minor protection laws also focuses on the protection of children in special cir ‑ cumstances. According to the Regulations on School Protection of Minors, schools shall establish records for left-behind students and students in difficult situa ‑ tions, co-operating with relevant government depart ‑ ments to provide care and assistance, thus preventing students from dropping out due to family factors. Overall trend: specialised, systematic and child- oriented protection system Overall, China’s minor support and guardianship sys ‑ tem is moving in a more specialised, systematic and child-oriented direction. This comprehensive, multi- level protection system provides a solid legal guaran ‑ tee for the healthy growth of minors. Conclusion Chinese family law is undergoing profound changes, evolving from the specialisation of judicial models to the refinement of judicial interpretations, and from the optimisation of divorce by agreement to the strength ‑ ening of minor protection. It demonstrates a develop ‑ ment trend that balances family stability with individu ‑ al freedom, and traditional values with modern needs. The Civil Code and its latest judicial interpretations have constructed a more complete normative system
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