英语新闻丨Juvenile case shifts focus on social issu

The recent arrest of three boys who allegedly killed a middle school student has once again turned public attention on juvenile delinquents, sparking debates and discussions on the plight of left-behind children.近日，三名涉嫌杀害中学生的男孩被捕，再次引发了公众对青少年犯罪的关注，引发了关于留守儿童困境的争论和讨论。The victim, surnamed Wang, was a seventh-grade student in Feixiang district of Handan, Hebei province. He was killed on March 10, and all suspects were taken into custody the next day, according to an official statement released on Sunday night by the district's joint working group.根据该地区联合工作组3月18日晚间发布的官方声明，王姓受害人是河北省邯郸市肥乡区七年级学生。于3月10日被杀，所有嫌疑人均于案发第二天被拘留。Local authorities are making all-out efforts to comfort the bereaved family and handle the aftermath of the killing, and work regarding all aspects is proceeding in an orderly manner, the statement said. It added that judicial departments will punish the perpetrators of the crime in accordance with the law, and urged residents not to believe or spread rumors, in order to avoid causing further harm to the involved families and to protect the privacy of the victim.声明称，当地正在全力安抚遇难者家属和做好善后工作，各方面工作正在有序推进。司法部门将依法惩处肇事者，并呼吁广大居民不信谣、不传谣，以免给涉案家庭造成进一步伤害，并保护受害人的隐私。Details of why and how the killing happened were not disclosed in the statement. It also doesn't mention the exact age of the boys involved, or say whether the suspects in custody include any adults.声明中没有透露杀戮发生的原因和方式的细节。它还没有提及涉案男孩的确切年龄，也没有说明被拘留的嫌疑人是否包括成年人。According to some Chinese media reports, the victim, age 13, studied in a local middle school and went missing on March 10. His body was found the next day, buried in a vegetable greenhouse in the district's Zhangzhuang village, about 100 meters from the house of one of the three suspects.据一些中国媒体报道，年仅13岁的受害人在当地一所中学读书，3月10日失踪。案发第二天，尸体被发现埋在肥乡县张庄村的一个蔬菜大棚里，事发地距离嫌疑人之一的房子约100米。It is alleged that the accused, who went to the same school and are all under the age of 14, bullied the victim for a long time. Media reports said they are children of migrant workers.据称，嫌疑人和受害人属同一所学校的学生，年龄都在14岁以下，长期欺凌受害人。媒体报道称，他们是农民工的子女。The story of "a student being killed by his three classmates" went viral on Chinese social media platforms, triggering public concern about juvenile victims as well as offenders.“一名学生被三名同学杀害”的故事在中国社交媒体平台上疯传，引发了公众对青少年受害者和犯罪者的关注。Xu Hao, a lawyer at Beijing Jingsh Law Firm, said the suspects might not be exempted from criminal punishment in the case, even if they are minors. He cited the amended Criminal Law to explain that the age of criminal liability in China has been lowered to 12, in order to prevent children from committing serious offenses.北京京师律师事务所律师徐浩表示，本案犯罪嫌疑人即使是未成年人，也可能不能免除刑事处罚。他援引修改后的《刑法》解释，我国刑事责任年龄已降至12岁，以防止儿童实施严重犯罪。Before the Criminal Law was amended, the age of criminal liability was higher, with offenders ages 14 to 16 held criminally responsible if they committed serious and violent crimes, including intentional homicide, intentional injury, robbery or rape.刑法修改前，刑事责任年龄略高，已满十四周岁不满十六周岁的人，犯故意杀人、故意伤害、抢劫、强奸等严重暴力犯罪的，要负刑事责任。The amended law states that offenders ages 12 to 14 will face criminal punishment for intentional homicide, or intentional injury that leads to death or severely disables others, but it clarifies that the decision to prosecute must be approved by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.修改后的法律规定，12周岁以上14周岁以下的犯罪分子犯故意杀人罪、故意伤害致人死亡或者严重致残的，将受到刑事处罚，但明确了提起公诉的决定必须经最高人民检察院批准。Luo Xiang, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, posted a comment on the case on his personal social media account on Saturday, saying that necessary punishment should be given to minors who commit violent crimes, because a "transformative effect could only be achieved through punishment".3月17日，中国政法大学教授罗翔在其个人社交媒体账户上对此案发表评论称，对实施暴力犯罪的未成年人应给予必要的惩罚，因为“只有惩罚才能带来改造的效果”。Zhao Li, another lawyer from Beijing Jingsh Law Firm, said that China decided to lower the age of criminal liability to 12 under special circumstances as it witnessed a number of serious and violent crimes committed by children in recent years.北京京师律师事务所律师赵力表示，由于近年来发生了多起儿童严重暴力犯罪案件，中国有条件地将刑事责任年龄起点降低到十二周岁。However, he emphasized that whether the suspects in the Handan case can be held criminally liable still depends on an approval from the procuratorate, as required by law. In other words, Chinese judicial authorities are prudent when handling juvenile crimes, he said.但他强调，邯郸案犯罪嫌疑人能否追究刑事责任，仍需根据法律规定，经检察院批准。由此可见，中国司法当局在处理青少年犯罪时是谨慎的。Highlighting the principle of "education first, punishment second" when handling juvenile offenses, Chinese prosecutors in 2023 approved the arrest of 27,000 juvenile suspects and decided not to arrest 38,000 others. They prosecuted 39,000 minor suspects and decided not to prosecute 40,000 others, according to data from the procuratorate.坚持教育第一、惩罚第二的原则办理未成年人犯罪，2023年，中国检察机关批准逮捕未成年犯罪嫌疑人2.7万人，决定不逮捕3.8万人。根据检察院的数据，他们起诉了3.9万名未成年犯罪嫌疑人，决定不起诉其他4万名犯罪嫌疑人。While calling for prudence in the fight against juvenile crime, the lawyers also suggested including government agencies, schools, social organizations and volunteers in the management and education of left-behind children.律师们在呼吁谨慎打击青少年犯罪的同时，也建议将政府机构、学校、社会组织、志愿者等纳入留守儿童的管理和教育中。According to a report issued by the National Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF in May 2023, China had 66.93 million left-behind children by 2020, with 41.77 million living in rural areas.根据国家统计局和联合国儿童基金会2023年5月发布的报告，到2020年，中国有6693万留守儿童，其中4177万生活在农村地区。Zhao said these children of migrant workers need more care, attention and aid while growing up, and the law, or punishment, is just one of the many ways to help them tackle their issues, but not the only way. "It is more important to optimize our social services and policies to provide a better environment for children, especially the left-behind ones, to grow up, while focusing on extreme cases," he added.赵力表示，这些农民工子女在成长过程中需要更多的关爱、关注和帮助，法律或惩罚只是帮助他们解决问题的众多方法之一，但不是唯一的方法。更重要的是要优化社会服务和政策，为儿童特别是留守儿童提供更好的成长环境，重点关注并避免极端情况发生。the minors未成年人UNICEF abbr.The United Nations Children's Fund联合国儿童基金会