China has tried hard to resolve child labor issues as much as any other country in the world, Chinese experts said at the first Sino-European Forum on Human Rights, held in Strasbourg, France on Friday.  Professor Liu Huawen (2nd from left), vice director and general secretary of the Center for Human Rights Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, gives a presentation concerning child labor at the first Sino-European Forum on Human Rights held in Strasbourg, France on Dec. 4, 2015. [Photo by Zhang Rui / China.org.cn] Xia Yinlan, professor of the China University of Political Science and Law and president of the China Marriage and Family Law Society, listed four major reasons why China still has child labor issues at the meeting held at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. "Poverty and a less developed economy are major reasons," she said. "The economic exploitation of child labor is due to the fact that child labor is much cheaper than adult labor." At the same time, she added, current laws are insufficient and law enforcement cannot supervise the entire country as China is big and its economy has developed with regional imbalances. There's also a lack of a complete and perfect social security system, especially in rural China. Professor Liu Hainian, director of the Center for Human Rights Studies at China's Academy of Social Sciences, said education is also an element. The nation supports 9-year compulsory free education. However, many students aged 15 abandon further studies due to financial or other reasons, and this creates an age gap for those underage children to become child laborers. |
