A police officer from the People's Procuratorate of Guang'an district in Guang'an, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, explains to students from a primary school how to resist school bullying on March 21, 2024. Photo: VCG

Recent incidents involving campus bullying have struck a nerve with the Chinese public, spurring discussions about how to provide a safe and healthy environment for minors. 

The local people's government in Xiaoyi city, North China's Shanxi Province, released a statement on Sunday about a bullying incident involving minors which happened on Friday night. 

A 15-year-old female victim surnamed Wu was enticed to an alley by a group of 11 juveniles, where she was beaten. The incident was recorded by her attackers on their phones. 

The local police received the report of the incident at midnight and all 11 suspects were apprehended by the police on Saturday. 

Three prime suspects surnamed Fan, Ren and Feng were put under criminal detention in accordance with laws, two of whom are 16 years old. Seven suspects were placed under administrative detention, and one suspect under 14 was ordered to be strictly disciplined by his parents. 

The local authority is still dealing with the case. Wu is in stable condition after receiving treatment and has been going through psychological counseling, according to the statement from the local authority. 

In another bullying case in Yongnian district in Handan city, North China's Hebei Province, a male middle school student in grade seven surnamed Zhao was burnt on his face and chest after his classmates poured boiling water over him on the night of March 27, the local education authority announced in a statement released on Friday. 

Video clips circulating on the internet show that the boy was scalded in his mouth and it was reported that his classmates had poured boiling watered into his mouth. 

According to the authority, Zhao was sent to hospital for treatment by his teachers. He was discharged from the hospital on Friday, the authority said, noting that the school had dealt with the relevant students and educated them to prevent similar cases. 

Also in Handan, the tragic incident of a 13-year-old boy murdered by three of his classmates last month has sparked public concern about juvenile crime and debate on what Chinese society can do to prevent juvenile delinquency. 

These events reflect a lack of life education, especially the understanding of the right to life, Pi Yijun, a professor of juvenile criminology at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

It was previously reported that the three suspects who murdered the 13-year-old were all left-behind children. 

According to Pi, the left-behind children are usually raised by their grandparents who struggle to teach them to grow up to become responsible adults. Children growing up without their parents can easily get out of control, and can easily be instigated by elder children. 

Facing the problem of juvenile delinquency in recent years, China has adjusted the relevant provision on the age of criminal responsibility under the Criminal Law Amendment, lowering it from 14 to 12 years old, and the provision was enacted on March 1, 2021.

Moreover, people who are over 12 years old but under 14 years old will bear criminal responsibility if they intentionally commit homicide or intentionally cause serious injury by extremely cruel means causing death or severe disability, and the case is serious enough to be prosecuted with approval from the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Experts said the murder case in Handan could become the first case nationwide that applies the new provision under the Criminal Law Amendment, thus serving as an "alarm bell" to warn and educate other potential offenders. 

Advanced countries all have independent juvenile justice systems, that is to say, children should be governed by rules for children, not by rules for adults, because children cannot understand the nature and consequences of their actions in the same way as adults do, Pi said. 

To cope with the school bullying incidents, education authorities in localities across the country have rolled out a series of measures to prevent bullying on campus. 

A primary school in Jiangshan city, East China's Zhejiang Province has offered students a bullying-prevention service so they can anonymously contact the school headmaster for help. 

Another school in Southwest China's Sichuan Province has installed an AI alarm system in concealed areas such as restrooms, playgrounds, entrances and hallways. When students shout words like "help" or "beating," or other words indicating they need help, the alarm will immediately sound. The school faculty members can then receive real-time alarm messages and the location of the alarm, allowing them to remotely intervene through voice communication and rush to the scene. 

As China steps up its efforts in strengthening campus security, more than 260 people were prosecuted for school violence and bullying between January and September of 2023, down by 47.5 percent year-on-year, according to statistics released by China's Supreme People's Procuratorate in October of 2023.