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All the pictures in this article are from Shangguan News

Most of the summer vacation has passed, and the "back-to-school economy" is in the works. Schools are often crowded with all kinds of small shops, including stationery stores, toy stores, snack shops, eyeglass stores, breakfast shops, milk tea shops, cake shops, etc., but there are also business restricted areas.

According to the newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors, commercial entertainment venues, bars, Internet cafes and other places shall not be set up around schools and kindergartens. It is also prohibited to sell cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets or redeem lottery prizes to minors.

So, how many meters is this "periphery"? In the view of Pan Jingfang, a deputy to the Municipal People's Congress and principal of the Municipal No. 3 Girls' High School, if the definition of the "periphery" distance is not clear, it will lead to problems such as difficulty in law enforcement and insufficient social supervision. It is recommended to clarify the "periphery" distance and measurement method, and strengthen legal publicity.

What distance does "periphery" refer to?

Pan Jingfang's No. 3 Girls' High School has encountered such a "question". At the end of last year, a restaurant opened near the No. 3 Girls' High School. One corner of the counter was selling alcohol, and it was discovered that some merchants were selling alcoholic beverages to students.

According to Article 59 of the newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors, tobacco, alcohol, and lottery sales outlets shall not be set up around schools and kindergartens. It is also prohibited to sell tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets or redeem lottery prizes to minors.

"Under the organization of relevant departments, our school participated in a hearing in March this year. The topic was whether social management should be carried out on enterprises that sell alcohol." Pan Jingfang said that during the hearing, the distance of the "surrounding" of the school became a focus of controversy. Because the restaurant was only more than ten meters away from the school, after many negotiations, the restaurant finally adjusted the time-sharing and zoned alcohol sales and shielding measures, and other catering businesses remained in normal operation.

"The regulations clearly prohibit the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes to minors, and make these products difficult to obtain around schools, which is conducive to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of minors. But how many meters the 'surroundings' is and how to measure it are not specified in the regulations," said Pan Jingfang.

The reporter noticed that it is not only tobacco, alcohol and lottery outlets that are prohibited around schools. Article 58 of the newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors stipulates that "commercial entertainment venues, bars, Internet access service venues and other places that are not suitable for minors to engage in activities shall not be set up around schools and kindergartens."

During her visit and investigation, Pan Jingfang found that during the implementation of the Juvenile Protection Law, the implementation of the "peripheral" was not uniform. Some districts calculated it based on a distance of 50 meters, while others calculated it based on 200 meters.

Many schools are located in the city center, adjacent to street shops. The definition of the "peripheral" distance not only affects the "safe" radius of students, but also affects the distribution of the regional small shop economy. "If it is not clear what the reasonable range of 'peripheral' is, it will make it difficult for schools and relevant departments to enforce the law, and it will not be conducive to supervision by parents and society."

How to define local regulations

"We strongly agree and support the representatives' suggestions." The responsible department believes that as a national law, the Law on the Protection of Minors must take into account the differences in urban development and it is difficult to be comprehensive, so the specific scope of "surrounding areas" is not specified. This requires local governments to refine and improve it by formulating local regulations based on their own conditions.

In fact, after the revision of the "Law on the Protection of Minors", in February 2022, Shanghai revised the "Shanghai Regulations on the Protection of Minors" in accordance with the superior law and in combination with the actual situation of the city, which involved the definition of "surrounding distance".

According to the Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, during the revision of the regulations, the Office of the Municipal Committee for the Protection of Minors, together with relevant departments, conducted repeated studies on the definition of the distance around schools and kindergartens and finally clarified the range of "distance around schools" to 200 meters.

Article 44 of the revised "Shanghai Regulations on the Protection of Minors" (referred to as the "Minor Protection Regulations") stipulates that "commercial entertainment venues, bars, Internet access service venues and other places that are not suitable for minors to engage in activities shall not be set up within 200 meters around a school or within a certain range around a kindergarten."

The reporter noticed that the newly revised Regulations on Child Protection only made principled provisions with reference to superior laws regarding the "distance around kindergartens", but did not give a specific range. Instead, it stipulated that the cultural and tourism department shall work with relevant departments to specifically define the range around kindergartens.

As for sales outlets for tobacco, alcohol, and lottery tickets, Article 45 of the newly revised Regulations on the Protection of Minors clearly states that "no tobacco (including e-cigarettes), alcohol, or lottery sales outlets shall be set up within a certain range around schools and kindergartens. The specific range shall be determined by the tobacco monopoly, market supervision, civil affairs, sports and other competent departments."

The tobacco monopoly department has a specific definition of the distance range for tobacco sales outlets, and has formulated the "Shanghai Tobacco Product Retail Outlets Reasonable Layout Regulations" and the "Shanghai Electronic Cigarette Retail Outlets Layout Plan", which clearly state that "if the business premises are located within the shortest walking distance of 50 meters from the entrances and exits of primary and secondary schools and kindergartens for teachers and students, tobacco product retail outlets shall not be set up (electronic cigarette retail business shall not be engaged)."

It is reported that the above two "Regulations (Plans) on Reasonable Layout" were formulated through statutory procedures such as soliciting public opinions and holding hearings, and are legally binding. The distance has been generally accepted by the society, and no related complaints or letters have been received so far. The overall implementation effect is relatively ideal.

How to land at 50m and 200m

It can be seen from this that local regulations have specific definitions of the "surroundings" of schools, which provides practical implementation standards for the relatively vague "surroundings".

The Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism stated that in accordance with these regulations, each department has strengthened corresponding management in its own field and clarified the surrounding distance and measurement methods. For example, in accordance with the relevant guidance of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee, the Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism strictly implements "the area extending 200 meters in a straight line from any point on the wall of a middle school or primary school or the perimeter of the campus" when applying for approval for the opening of new commercial entertainment venues and Internet access service venues. According to relevant standards, when applying for approval for the opening of new commercial entertainment venues and Internet access service venues, the requirement that they must not be adjacent to existing kindergartens is implemented.

"Protecting the physical and mental health of young people requires the joint efforts of the whole society." Pan Jingfang believes that to protect the legitimate rights and interests of school students and prevent harm to minors caused by tobacco and other substances, the key is to increase law enforcement, strengthen daily management, and increase publicity for the law so that the specific regulations of "200 meters" and "50 meters" can be implemented in place.

In order to effectively implement the legislation, the cultural and tourism departments require that singing and dancing entertainment venues and Internet access service business premises all place "No Minors Allowed" signs at the entrance; electronic game equipment in amusement and entertainment venues is operated in different areas; the tobacco monopoly department requires that all tobacco product retailers and electronic cigarette retail licensees place "No Selling Cigarettes to Minors" and "No Selling Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes to Minors" signs in prominent locations in their business premises. It is reported that the Shanghai Tobacco Monopoly Bureau Inspection Team and its subordinate district tobacco bureau inspection detachments have included these signs in their daily supervision work as "must be checked when entering the store" and "must be thoroughly investigated when reporting" items, and will strictly give warnings, order rectification, and even cancel their tobacco monopoly retail qualifications and other administrative penalties to licensees who violate the regulations in accordance with the law.

The cultural and tourism departments stated that they will further strictly abide by various policies and systems, continue to increase the frequency of inspections, strengthen law enforcement efforts, continue to increase the publicity of laws and regulations on the protection of minors, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors.

(The original title is "No alcohol or cigarette sales or Internet cafes are allowed around schools. How many meters is "around"?)

(Source: Shangguan News)

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