A lot of the children she's worked with still stay in touch with her and call her "mum". Maybe that's because Shang Xiuyun believes there are no bad children, just unfortunate ones.
She passes sentences in accordance with the law, but always tries to give young offenders a reprieve or allow them to serve a sentence outside jail. As most of the children she sees are breaking the law for the first time, she believes the environment outside jail is better for rehabilitating young offenders.
CPPCC member Shang Xiuyun [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
"Children are most adaptable. If they commit a crime and are sent to a jail, where there are many serious criminals, they are likely to think they just made a minor mistake. On the other hand, the people outside are law-abiding, so they will make the youngster feel guilty for breaking the law. Based on my experience, I think more children are rehabilitated outside."
Some schools are reluctant to allow juvenile delinquents back into their classes. Shang Xiuyun does her utmost to persuade them to accept the children again for the sake of their future.One student from rural area committed a theft on his school campus. Normally, he would have been sent back to his hometown. But he was allowed to return to his studies after Shang Xiuyun mediated with his college.
"At that time, I felt desperate. Aunt Shang asked me whether I was willing to continue my studies. I thought that if I could regain my freedom, I would surely study hard and never disappoint her expectations of me."
The theft didn't cast a shadow over his future. Now he has a master's degree. He even invited Shang Xiuyun to act as the chief witness at his wedding ceremony because his mother couldn't make it to Beijing.
Meanwhile, Shang Xiuyun's also concerned about the plight of young people in detention. She and her colleagues often visit the youth in detention. They hold ceremonies to celebrate the young people's adulthood when they turn 18 and bring them gifts to encourage them to turn a new page in life.
"You should study hard here, I hope you'll try to make contribution to society when you're free, so you don't disappoint us and your parents. Say farewell to the past and start a new life with a bright future."
After working as a juvenile judge for almost two decades, Shang Xiuyun has discovered the family environment has a vitally important influence on children's character development. This year she has proposed making the first Saturday of every January a day of national family education.
She says it's common to see parents who can't keep up with their children's needs as they grow up, especially during adolescence. This is what she hears a lot of children saying.
"My mom repeats the same words everyday. Before school, they warn don't be late and be careful on way to school. After school, my parents often ask whether I had any exams and what marks I got. Some children say they're tired of hearing the same things day after day for years. Educating families will strengthen the exchanges between parents and children, and provide a platform for parents to discuss how to educate their children."
Shang Xiuyun also says parents in prosperous families are often too busy with their work to spend enough time with their children. They don't think there are any problems as long as their children do well at school. They usually find it hard to believe when their kids are detained by the police.
"I can't believe it. It's like a sword thrusting into my heart. I really can't believe it."
Shang Xiuyun has two children of her own. She often travels to different regions to share her opinions on how parents should educate their kids and prevent them from committing crimes.On average, she gives two lectures a month.
As well as a family education day, she's also proposed improving the way the Internet is managed and getting rid of illegal Internet cafes. She says Internet is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it helps children to learn new things and expand their horizons.
But on the other hand, it holds a lot of unhealthy information, like sex, violence and gambling.
She says a lot of children feel lost in the huge amount of information available on the web.
"Young people who commit crimes often run out of class and don't go home at night. They usually spend the night at Internet cafes. Illegal cafes are hotbeds for creating juvenile delinquents. You can't see many illegal operations in broad daylight, but they hide in the corners so they can continue to earn young people's money."
Shang Xiuyun can't control her excitement when she mentions a proposal she put forward several years ago. She advocated building more venues to enrich children's extracurricular activities and the government adopted it.
"Relevant departments have earmarked 600 million to build a youth palace in every county in the undeveloped regions of the west." As migrants flock to Beijing, the number of street children committing crime has also been on the rise. She says 13 percent of the delinquent children in the Haidian court are street children. Some of them are disabled. She and her colleagues have set up a rescue center to help them.
"They don't have soup in the morning, lunch at noon or a bed at night. Even if they're released, they have no choice but to return to the streets. They have to struggle to live by behaving improperly all over again. At present, we have helped 13 children by contacting their parents. We've also bought hearing aids for deaf children and helped others receive vocational training, like driving and cooking."
Shang Xiuyun likes to read books in her spare time. She says juvenile criminal trials are different to adult criminal trials because you have to shoulder the responsibility of rehabilitating young offenders. So she reads a lot of education, psychology and sociology.
Funny things often happen to her because she's so famous for getting along well with children.
"Some of my pregnant colleagues have even asked me to accompany them on their physical examinations. I'm also a frequent guest at ceremonies held to celebrate weddings and new babies."
Shang Xiuyun says the one thing she regrets the most are the children she sees breaking the law over and over again. In her eyes, saving a child is equal to saving a family. Lots of happy families constitute a harmonious society. She bought 100 commemorative envelopes issued for last year's CPPCC session to send to her children as a gift. This year, she says she will buy more envelopes to tell the children she misses them.
Thank you LPC, for bringing us that touching story, Life in China will be right back.
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