Progress report on China's youth development

7) Social Integration and Participation

Young people are more willing to take part in volunteer service. By the end of 2020, 54.06 million young volunteers have registered on the "China Volunteer" platform, 4.58 million more than the previous year. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, more young people have been devoted to volunteer service, with over 1.37 million young volunteers participating in joint prevention and control efforts in various localities.

Youth international exchange has been affected greatly by the pandemic. In 2020, a total of 14.6 million overseas trips were made by young people in Chinese mainland, down about 79.8 percent from the previous year.

8) Safeguarding the Lawful Rights and Interests of Adolescents

Legal protection of minors continues to be improved. In 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress revised the Law on the Protection of Minors, in which contents of protection by family, school and the society were enriched and new chapters on protection by the cyberspace and the government were added. The Law on Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency was revised, after which a system of differentiated treatment of juvenile deviant behaviors based on seriousness was established. The Amendment (XI) to the Criminal Law was deliberated and passed, so as to crack down on sexual assault against minors. Opinions on a Mandatory Reporting System for Cases of Infringement on Minors were jointly formulated by the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the CYL Central Committee. Thus, a judicial social support system for minors is established.

Rule of law and rights service have been more widely accessible. The lawful rights of minor victims are fully protected in judicial proceedings, and a "one-stop" inquiry and assistance mechanism is in operation for obtaining evidence, psychological guidance, judicial assistance, etc. By the end of 2020, there were more than 1,029 case processing zones for "one-stop" inquiry and assistance, and minors across the country have received more than 120,000 times of legal aid.

More qualified and caring staff have been involved in the protection of minors and their level of care service has been improving. By the end of 2020, nationwide there were a total of 29,000 community service centers for children, 249,000 community service stations, 360,000 parent schools in urban and rural communities, and more than 320,000 children's homes, places for children's activities in urban and rural communities. At county level, there were 55,000 children's supervisors and at village level, there were 667,000 directors of children.

9) Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency has been effectively curbed. Compared with 2019, the number of juvenile offenders was significantly reduced in 2020 by more than 10 percent. Of the total, the proportions of juvenile offenders and minor offenders declined.

10) Social Security

More young people with disabilities receive education. The number of disabled college students rose from 23,615 in 2016 to 49,565 in 2020. In secondary vocational schools (technical schools not included), the number increased from 18,407 in 2016 to 26,597 in 2020. For youth with disabilities, their employment status has been improving.

Housing problems faced by young people are being tackled. The country is accelerating the establishment of a housing system featuring multiple suppliers and various channels of support that encourages both housing rentals and purchases. The goal is to develop a well-regulated market for long-term house rental by increasing the supply of affordable rental housing. By the end of 2020, 180,000 young medical doctors and 380,000 young teachers became beneficiaries of the public rental housing.

[1] China's data is from national censuses, and the first census after the reform and opening-up was conducted in 1982. The data for other countries is from United Nations World Population Prospects Report 2019.

[2] Young people of right age refer to the youth population aged 35 and under and having reached the legal age of marriage.