China to strengthen privacy, protection of preschool children

China is expected to strengthen the security in and around kindergartens through legislation, with strong protection for preschool children, an official from the Standing Committee of National People's Congress said on Friday.

Huang Haihua, the spokesman for the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, told a news conference that a draft preschool education law will focus more on the protection of children's reputation and privacy, clarifying that kindergartens and relevant departments should handle children's personal information properly.

When reporting news involving preschool children, media also needs to be more cautious and avoid disclosing more than needed details, he said, citing the draft.

The draft law will be submitted for a third review by the NPC Standing Committee next week, he said.

While calling for stronger protection of children, the draft also calls for establishing and improving the security risk prevention systems in kindergartens to guarantee the personal safety of preschool children, he noted.

The NPC Standing Committee is scheduled to hold its session from Monday to Friday, during which it will also deliberate a draft energy law, with review of several other legislative pieces, such as a revision to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics, a draft revision to the Mineral Resources Law, and a draft revision to the Anti-Money Laundering Law.

Furthermore, a number of reports, such as those on financial work, the management of State-owned assets, building world-class universities with Chinese characteristics, and the prevention and control of desertification, are also ready to be reviewed in the session.