Guarding Privacy

Protection from the media and the Internet for young offenders requires improvement By Yin Pumin

On August 29, the trial of a high-profile gang rape case in Beijing concluded.In the months leading up to the trial,the case, which involved the son of a famous Chinese singer, attracted a great amount of attention from the media and the public.

Meanwhile, the debate over the privacy of juvenile offenders was also brought to the forefront of public discourse by experts who raised concerns over the publicity of the case. Some claimed that the relentless media reports and online sharing of every-minute detail of the suspect infringed on his right to privacy, particularly since he is legally still a minor.

On February 21, the Public Security Bureau of Beijing’s Haidian District said that fi ve young men had been detained under allegations of gang rape. All fi ve suspects were only ident ifi ed by their surnames, as guaranteed by police, due to concerns over their privacy.

However, within hours, it was reported that anonymous police insiders had confi rmed one of the suspects was the 17-yearold son of a prominent singer and public fi gure. The case immediately became sensationalized in the media and on the Internet.

With public interest in the case growing continuously, especially after the prosecuting authority filed rape charges against the five suspects, more and more personal information regarding the juvenile offender Li surfaced online and in the media, including photographs, the schools he studied at and even his nicknames.

Liu Xiaoyuan, a lawyer with the Beijingbased Fei Rei Law Firm, believes that the actions of media outlets and the netizens in releasing the personal information of the juvenile Li has violated the article in the Law on the Protection of Minors regarding privacy.

Article 58 of the law stipulates that with respect to cases involving crimes committed by minors, the names, residences and pictures of the said minors, or other material from which information about the minors can be deduced, may not be disclosed in news reports, films, TV programs or openly circulated publications or online.

“All people are equal before the law. No matter what family or background they come from, every minor deserves the right to privacy,” Liu said.

Withholding information

In July, the Hunan-based newspaperXiaoxiang Morning Postcarried out a survey on the protection of privacy for young offenders. The results showed that out of the 679 respondents to the survey, 72.9 percent supported the public release of Li’s information in spite of him still being a minor. Some respondents said that they worried that without public supervision, judicial injustice may occur during his trial.

“The root cause of this situation lies in public’s mistrust of well-connected individuals,” said Xu Zhongyuan,a distinguished visiting professor at Central South University in Changsha,capital of Hunan Province. “They fear that the network and resources available to Li’s parents will allow them to interfere in the judicial process.”

Cao Yanzhi, a professor at the Law School of Xiangtan University in Hunan, believes that celebrities must accept the relinquishing of some parts of their privacy due to their high social pro fi le.

“When con fl ict occurs between the public’s right to know and individual’s right to privacy,privacy should give way to the reasonable requirements for information from the public,”Cao said.

However, Cao admitted that the privacy of juveniles involved in criminal investigations should be protected. “The protection should not be overstated though. It must have limits,”she added.

Cai Yijun, a professor at the School of Criminal Justice under the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, insists that only the private information that concerns public interests can be released to the public.

“According to law, all kinds of private information irrelevant to public interests are within the range of privacy and should be protected by law,” Cai said, adding that when concerning juveniles, the public have no rights to require any private information.

Yang Lixin, a professor at the Center for Civil and Commercial Law of Beijing-based Renmin University of China, thinks that minors’ right to privacy is more important than the public’s right to know. “When the public’s right to know cannot be satis fi ed, the only thing we sacr ifi ce is public supervision. However, when privacy is infringed, the thing we sacr ifi ce is the future of our nation,” he said.

According to Xu, today’s con fl icts between the public’s right to know and the right to privacy originate from the vague legal de fi nitions to these two kinds of right. He advised speeding up the legislation process needed to clarify the two de fi nitions.

“There should be a balance between the two rights. I believe legislators have the wisdom and good judgment necessary to fi nd a method for guaranteeing citizens’ right to supervision,whilst also protecting privacy,” Xu said.

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT: Meng Ge (second right)on August 28 attends the trial of her 17-year-old son who was charged for his involvement in a gang rape case that occurred in February

Proper procedures

According to Zhang Wenjuan, Deputy Director of the Beijing Children’s Legal Aid and Research Center, articles concerning protection of privacy for juvenile offenders have been included in several laws, including the Law on the Protection of Minors, the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency and the newly revised Criminal Procedure Law.

The Law on the Protection of Minors stipulates that police of fi cers, prosecutors and judges are forbidden from revealing any personal information relating to minors involved in criminal investigations, including their name,address, photographs or any other material that can reveal their identity.

The Criminal Procedure Law states that no cases involving crimes committed by persons under the age of 18 shall be heard in public.As well as introducing adult representatives to prevent abuse during interrogation, the revised procedural law also makes it possible for young offenders to have their criminal records sealed.

“In practice, however, media outlets, the public and even some concerned authorities often ignore the laws, leading to the prevalent infringements on the privacy of young offenders that we see today,” Zhang said.

Pi Yijun, a professor at Beijing-based China University of Political Science and Law, attributes the current situation to the lack of detailed legal provisions. “The articles concerning the privacy of minors should be more detailed,” he said.

Ruan Chuansheng, a lawyer with Shanghai Hengtai Law Of fi ces, warned that loopholes in legal articles, especially those covering support agencies such as social welfare of fi ces, have put the identities of young offenders and victims at a risk of being exposed.

“There should be more awareness among legal of fi cers about how vital privacy protection actually is,” Ruan said.

According to the Criminal Procedure Law,non-legal authorities, such as the social workers who write up reports on juvenile suspects for court hearings or represent legal guardians, and those who must be present during all interrogations, are not bound by the same privacy rules.

Gao Xiang, an officer with the Chao Yue Social Work Of fi ce specializing in the writing of juvenile suspects’ reports before prosecution,confirmed that youngsters’ names can sometimes be carelessly exposed during their work.

“The more information we have about a suspect, including school performance and their background, the more help we can provide for juveniles,” he said. “But it’s hard to balance fi nding that information and protecting a minor’s privacy.”

Lin Feng is a judge with the Juvenile Division of the Gusu District People’s Court in Suzhou,east China’s Jiangsu Province. He said that juvenile offenders are more fragile than their adult counterparts. “Society as a whole, including judicial departments, media outlets and ordinary citizens should be more tolerant toward young offenders and provide more opportunities for them to return to society after accepting their legal responsibilities,” Lin said.

“I hope that all juveniles committing crimes can receive protection from society,” Zhang said, adding that the whole of society, especially judicial officers, should receive more training so that they can guarantee the protection of minors’ privacy during the whole process of law enforcement.

Xu Xun, a professor at the Research Center for Media Law and Policy at the China University of Political Science and Law, said that judicial authorities should also extend their control to sources of information related to juvenile offenders.

“If the information concerning juvenile offenders is leaked during the investigation stage, the laws stipulating closed hearings and the sealing of records will be rendered useless,” Xu said.

Although most experts agree on the need to boost privacy protection, amending laws can take time.

Wang Ping, Managing Director of the Chinese Society for Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Research, urged authorities not to rush. Pilot programs can be developed in major cities to help legislators iron out any problems,he said.