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Parents in China have voiced concerns over extracurricular books for children which contain “violent and pornographic” themes.According to a report in Legal Daily, a Beijing-based father, surnamed Zou, was appalled to discover that a book recommended for his child which was advertised as a “Story Collection Recommended for Children Under 12,” portrayed sexual harassment as a legitimate form of love.In one of the stories, a boy falls in love with a girl at first sight. After multiple rejections, the male character begins stalking her, harassing her acquaintances and eventually resorts to violence.When the girl files a lawsuit, the boy, while being sentenced, defiantly declares in court: “I may have lost my freedom, but what I will never lose is my love for you!”Astoundingly, his actions move the girl and the two end up in a loving embrace in the courtroom, then live happily ever after.The book uses this story to advocate the virtue of perseverance, suggesting to children that persistent effort will eventually yield the desired outcome.The content disturbed Zou and he told Legal Daily: “When harassment is portrayed as a tenacious pursuit of love, what kind of impact will it have on the values of children aged no more than 12 years old?”Zou's sentiments were echoed by a mother from the northern city of Tianjin, surnamed Lai, who also expressed concern after reviewing a purported children’s sex education book she bought online for her four-year-old daughter.The text is highly recommended by many bookstores and boosted by online sales outlets.However, after leafing through a few pages, she discovered it contained intolerable dialogues and illustrations.One image even shows a man holding a little girl with her underwear exposed and his hand placed on her private area.“Under the guise of sex education, this book only focuses on sex and fails to provide any positive educational value,” said Lai.Sex is traditionally a taboo subject in China and this has resulted in a national deficiency of formal education and literacy on the subject.Data from the recent Girls’ Protection Survey revealed that 332 cases of child sexual abuse were publicly reported by the media in 2020 and that the victims are getting younger, the majority being of primary and middle-school age.
Also, the age at which youngsters start having romantic relationships is dropping leading to more casual sex.In 2013, the National Health Commission announced that the total number of induced abortions in China reached a staggering 13 million, the highest in the world.More than half of these women had undergone multiple abortions, and nearly half of the total abortions were performed on women aged 25 or younger.In an attempt to address the issue, a revised law on protecting minors, which mandates that “schools and kindergartens must provide age-appropriate sex education for minors”, was implemented in June 2021.
*The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.* Follow Us
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