Kindergarten children play with water on May 31, 2023 in Congjiang, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, in an activity to celebrate International Children's Day on June 1. Photo: VCG

Chinese children happily celebrate first International Children's Day after country downgraded COVID-19 epidemic management. The holiday fell on Thursday, with authorities planning more protective steps to ensure their health and happy childhoods. 

The Chinese Young Pioneers (CYP), a national mass organization for Chinese children, had about 114.7 million members across the country at the end of 2022, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing figures unveiled Thursday.

The CYP boasted 261,000 primary-level work committees, of which 200,000 were based in primary or middle schools, according to Xinhua.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday visited Beijing Yuying School, Xinhua said.

During the visit, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed the all-round development of children in the new era, and extended festival greetings to children across the country, according to Xinhua.

A series of sports events such as fancy skating, fancy rope jumping, traditional martial arts, ball games and folk games were held in the China National Children's Center in Beijing on Wednesday to celebrate Children's Day, and help children have a better knowledge of China's excellent traditional culture and build their cultural confidence. 

Children from minority ethnic groups are also celebrating the festival. A group of 40 teenagers from the Children's Welfare Center of Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Northwest China's Qinghai Province began a five-day tour to Beijing on Tuesday. In addition to visiting places of interest including the Palace Museum, the National Stadium (also known as the Bird's Nest) and the Great Wall, they will see exhibitions, performances and movies showcasing how people from different ethnic groups in China have fostered a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, media reported.

The journey aims to enrich the children's vacation, enabling them to learn about the cultural aspects of Beijing and the country's development, and to broaden their horizons at the same time, Gongque Qiuwang, head of the Civil Affairs Administration of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, told media.

Students in the village of Dulongjiang Township, Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, prepared performances including songs and dances to celebrate Children's Day. 

In the Shenzhen Mingde Experimental School, a lively food market was held on campus on Wednesday with students and teachers setting up stalls to sell various delicious food, including bubble tea, China crayfish (Xiao Long Xia) and even roasted suckling pig.

"It is the first Children's Day after the country downgraded COVID-19 management. We and the children can get close to each other again without any limitations or concerns, everyone is so happy and excited," Zhang Yi, a teacher at the school, told the Global Times on Thursday.   

While Chinese children are enjoying happier and more colorful childhood along with the country's development, national authorities and forces from various social fields are enhancing their efforts to protect youngsters. 

Chinese procuratorial organs have been focusing on the crux of problems in cyberspace to protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors online. According to data released on Wednesday, in 2020-2022, the Supreme People's Procuratorate dealt with a total of 7,761 crimes concerning infringements against underage people on the internet, among which about 60 percent of the cases were related to sexual assault. 

Na Yanfang, head of the the ninth procuratorial office of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the cyberspace supervision and regulation is increasingly complex and severe, and it is becoming more and more difficult to create a good network environment for minors. 

The China National Children's Center on Wednesday launched the Light Every Moment of Childhood campaign together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in order to help promote the Law on the Protection of Minors and the Law on the Promotion of Family Education, consolidating family responsibilities, promoting services for the care of children, and strengthening cooperation among various institutions, the Global Times learned from the UNICEF.

This campaign is part of joint efforts by China and the UNICEF for the protection of children. UNICEF, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the All-China Women's Federation, together with local authorities and communities, have carried out a program in 15 pilot counties and districts in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, East China's Jiangxi and Shandong provinces, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Southwest China's Yunnan Province.

They are developing and strengthening the building blocks of a local child protection system through a county-township-village service delivery network, providing a positive parenting program, a psychosocial sport and play program, and specialized support services for families that are navigating multiple challenges.