China is continuing to strengthen judicial protection for minors, maintaining a "zero tolerance" stance toward crimes against children while applying a balanced approach combining punishment, education and rehabilitation for juvenile offenders, according to work reports from the nation's top judicial authorities. 根据中国最高司法机关的工作报告，中国正在持续加强未成年人司法保护，对侵害未成年人犯罪零容忍，同时对涉罪未成年人依法采取惩治、教育和感化相结合的平衡策略。 Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People's Court, and Ying Yong, prosecutor-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, presented their annual work reports on Monday at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for deliberation. 最高人民法院院长张军、最高人民检察院检察长应勇9日分别在十四届全国人大四次会议上作年度工作报告，提请全国人大代表审议。 According to the SPP report, prosecutions for crimes against minors and cases involving juvenile suspects both declined in 2025, falling 2.2 percent and 9.8 percent year-on-year, respectively — the first simultaneous drop in five years. 根据最高检工作报告，2025年，检察机关起诉侵害未成年人犯罪和受理审查起诉未成年人犯罪同比分别下降2.2%和9.8%，为近五年首次“双下降”。 Prosecutors charged 73,000 people last year for crimes infringing on minors' rights. Courts nationwide concluded 40,000 cases involving crimes against minors in 2025, down 1.8 percent from the previous year, and convicted 44,000 offenders. 2025年，检察机关对侵害未成年人权益犯罪提起公诉7.3万人。全国法院审结侵害未成年人犯罪案件4万件，同比下降1.8%，判处罪犯4.4万人。 Courts also barred 1,199 individuals from working in positions involving close contact with minors and imposed the death penalty in extremely serious cases involving severe harm to children. 法院还对1199名实施侵害的犯罪分子判决终身禁止从事密切接触未成年人的工作，并在罪行极其严重的案件中依法适用死刑。 For juvenile offenders, prosecutors continued to apply a policy combining punishment with education and rehabilitation. Prosecutors charged 56,000 minors, while 16,000 juveniles involved in minor offenses who showed remorse were granted conditional nonprosecution. 对涉罪未成年人依法惩治、教育、感化、挽救，起诉5.6万人；对犯罪情节轻微、积极认罪悔罪的，附条件不起诉1.6万人。 For particularly serious cases, authorities pursued accountability. The SPP approved the prosecution of 24 offenders ages 12 to 14 for severe violent crimes, underscoring that serious offenses must be punished, the report said. 报告指出，对于情节特别恶劣的案件，司法机关依法追究责任。最高人民检察院依法核准追诉低龄未成年人（12至14岁）严重暴力犯罪24人，恶性犯罪必须惩治。 According to an amendment to China's Criminal Law that took effect on March 1, 2021, children ages 12 to 14 can be held criminally liable for intentional homicide or intentional injury causing death or severe disability through particularly cruel means, subject to approval for prosecution by the SPP. The provision conditionally lowered the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 for particularly serious violent crimes. 根据2021年3月1日起施行的刑法修正案，已满12周岁不满14周岁的未成年人，犯故意杀人、故意伤害罪，致人死亡或者以特别残忍手段致人重伤造成严重残疾，情节恶劣，经最高人民检察院核准追诉的，应当负刑事责任。该条款将特定严重暴力犯罪的刑事责任最低年龄由14岁有条件地降低至12岁。 The SPC report said that courts continued to apply a balanced approach of strictness and leniency. A 14-year-old student who killed a classmate was sentenced to life imprisonment, while 2,356 juveniles convicted of serious violent crimes received prison terms of more than five years. At the same time, 5,822 minors who committed relatively minor offenses received more lenient punishment. 最高法工作报告指出，法院坚持宽严相济的刑事政策。对杀害女同学的某14岁学生依法顶格判处无期徒刑，2356名实施严重暴力犯罪的未成年人被判处五年以上有期徒刑；同时，对5822名犯罪情节较轻的未成年人依法从宽处罚。 Through a combination of education, rehabilitation and corrective measures, the previously rising trend in juvenile crime has been effectively curbed, the report said. 报告称，通过教育、感化、挽救相结合的综合措施，未成年人犯罪高发势头得到有效遏制。 Authorities have also strengthened a coordinated child protection system. Courts handled criminal, civil and administrative cases involving minors in an integrated manner to better align the country's "six protection" framework, which involves families, schools, society, the online sector, government departments and the judiciary. 相关部门还加强了未成年人保护协同机制。法院对涉未成年人刑事、民事、行政案件实行"三审合一"融合办理，以更好对接国家的家庭、学校、社会、网络、政府、司法"六大保护"体系。 Procuratorial authorities also worked with other agencies to improve systems for handling juvenile misconduct, including expanding specialized schools, strengthening graded intervention and correction mechanisms, and promoting policies such as mandatory reporting in cases involving minors and background checks for jobs involving close contact with children. 检察机关还联合其他部门，完善未成年人罪错行为分级干预体系，包括推动专门学校建设扩面提质，强化分级干预矫治机制，以及推动落实侵害成年人案件强制报告、密切接触未成年人行业从业查询等制度。 Yang Jianbo, director of the SPP's Law and Policy Research Office, said the simultaneous decline in crimes against minors and juvenile offenses sends a "positive signal", reflecting progress in both protecting minors and preventing youth crime. 最高人民检察院法律政策研究室主任杨剑波表示，侵害未成年人犯罪与未成年人犯罪案件量同时下降释放了"积极信号"，反映出我国在未成年人保护和预防未成年人犯罪方面取得的进展。 Yang said that prevention is a form of protection, and punishment can help rehabilitate juvenile offenders. Those whose crimes involve malicious intent or cause serious harm are punished in accordance with the law. 杨剑波说，预防本身就是保护，惩治也是为了挽救。对于那些主观恶性深、危害严重的未成年人犯罪，必须依法予以惩处。 rehabilitation /ˌriː(h)əˌbɪlɪˈteɪʃən/ 挽救；改造（罪犯） prosecution /ˌprɒsɪˈkjuːʃən/起诉；检举 remorse /rɪˈmɔːs/悔恨；自责 be held criminally liable /biː held ˈkrɪmɪnəli ˈlaɪəbəl/被追究刑事责任 leniency /ˈliːniənsi/宽大；仁慈 life imprisonment /laɪf ɪmˈprɪzənmənt/无期徒刑 procuratorial authority /ˌprɒkjʊərəˈtɔːriəl ɔːˈθɒrəti/检察机关
