I have transformed from a member of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to a member of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC over the past two decades. As head of a local branch of a non-Communist political party, I have witnessed the dynamic development of the multi-party cooperation system under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) since the 18th CPC National Congress, which has went through the new millennium to the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The healthy growth of minors is closely related to the happiness of hundreds of millions of families, as well as to social harmony and the long-term stability of the country. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the firm leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the country has made remarkable achievements in advancing its system and capacity for social governance connected with the protection of minors.

Meanwhile, CPPCC members have closely followed the protection of the rights and interests of minors and come up with their proposals to safeguard children as the future of the country. I have fulfilled my obligations as a CPPCC member with concrete actions by raising one after another proposal on the healthy growth of minors.

1. Focusing on the protection of lawful rights and interests of rural children

The Fund for Children's Physical Safety affiliated to the China Social Assistance Foundation (CSAF) kicked off a special program on the protection of girls in 2014. Learning of this, the Working Committee on Women and Children of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK) immediately set up a research team to contact relevant local government departments and conduct inspection tours in rural areas.

Statistics show that rural areas are the worst-hit areas for sexual harassment against children and that the majority of victims are so-called "left-behind children", whose parents have left home and worked in large cities as rural migrants.

The research team wrote a special report on protecting the rights and interests of minors and strengthening the safety of rural "left-behind children". Later, the report was submitted by the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the RCCK as one of its major proposals to the third session of the 11th Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, in 2015.

The proposal received massive attention from the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), the Guangdong Women's Federation and the Guangdong Department of Civil Affairs. In their response to the proposal, they stressed that they will work together to strengthen the social protection of minors.

On this basis, I submitted a proposal on incorporating the prevention of sexual harassment against children into the curricular programs of the country's nine-year compulsory education at the second session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC, in 2019.

CPPCC Daily gave extensive coverage on my proposal. My colleagues and I received a huge amount of encouragement from the report and agreed that we should continue to work on ensuring the healthy growth of rural "left-behind children".

We collaborated with the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the RCCK to roll out an illustrated publication, documentary film, children’s song and situational play themed on the fight against the sexual harassment of minors.

Relevant situational comedies have become one of the key social service programs and a leading brand for poverty alleviation with the support of the RCCK Central Committee. They have been held in Guangdong and Guizhou province and on the sidelines of the annual "Two Sessions" more than 50 times, benefitting over 70,000 primary and middle school students.

CPPCC Daily, the official website of the Ministry of Education, and cctv.com have covered the play to further raise public awareness of sexual harassment against minors and demonstrate the progress made by CPPCC members in their participation in and governance of political and social affairs.

2. Proposals on preventing online gaming addiction among minors written into the Law on the Protection of Minors

Children and teenagers are the future of China and the hope of the Chinese nation. It is thus of great importance for the country to support their healthy growth. As a frontline worker with over 30 years of education, teaching and managerial experience, I have closely followed the development of the online gaming industry, actions aimed at curbing online gaming addiction among minors, and efforts to give full play to the positive roles of network in education.

Therefore, I have conducted surveys in dozens of primary schools in Guangzhou, listened to the views and advice of teachers and parents, and collaborated with relevant governments to launch a large-scale charitable campaign on promoting the positive utilization of the internet on campus.

I have underscored the prevention of online gaming addiction among minors from different perspectives in my proposals at the annual "Two Sessions" for five consecutive years. More efforts should be made to accelerate the building of standard-setting mechanisms with precise preventive measures to prevent minors from becoming addicted to online games, carry out third-party appraisal for online games, leverage blockchain technology to regulate the online behaviors of minors, to promote the establishment of an assessment mechanism with the joint participation of enterprises, schools and parents, and to ensure the thorough implementation of preventive measures against online gaming addiction among minors.

Wang Yang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, presided over a bi-weekly consultation session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in 2019, to pool the wisdom of CPPCC members on the revision of the draft regulation on the protection of minors in cyberspace. In my speech at the gathering, I called on relevant government departments and network enterprises to roll out real-name registration mechanisms and impose a limit on the consumption of minors, and called on lawmakers to specify the protection of minors in cyberspace in a special chapter in the Law on the Protection of Minors.

The newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors took my proposals into account and clearly stipulated measures to prevent children from getting addicted to online games in a separate chapter, guaranteeing the physical and mental health of minors and their lawful rights and interests.

3. Safeguarding the physical health of minors

A rising number of domestic primary and middle school students have suffered from problems with their spinal health and myopia because of their poor sitting posture and early exposure to electronic products.

I have submitted three proposals to the CPPCC National Committee at the annual "Two Sessions" to highlight the importance of promoting children's eyesight and spinal health, and to support the incorporation of the correct sitting posture of minors into national assessment standards on their physical health.

CPPCC Daily, China Education Daily and tuanjiewang.cn have published such articles as CPPCC Member Yu Xinwei: To Include Minors' Sitting Posture into the Assessment Standards of Their Physical Health, Preventive Measures against Early Myopia among Children Caused by High Exposure to Electronic Products, and Safeguard the Second Lifeline: Non-Communist Parties Voice Their Proposals on Children's Spinal Health to nurture a positive social environment for the physical health of children, and received a warm response from the public.

Although there will be an end to my term as a CPPCC member, I will always support the work on minors and safeguard their healthy growth with perseverance and a strong sense of mission in the years to come.

(The author is Yu Xinwei, a CPPCC National Committee member and director of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang. The article was translated from Chinese to English by en.cppcc.gov.cn.)