Chinese cities light up blue to mark World Children's Day

BEIJING - A total of 23 Chinese cities on Saturday lit iconic buildings and monuments blue, including a section of the Great Wall of China, to mark World Children's Day.

The celebration, hosted by UNICEF, was livestreamed due to COVID-19 and called on society as a whole to unite for girls' and boys' rights to health, education, protection and participation.

"We unite on this World Children's Day to recognize progress made for children and to commit to doing even more to realize the rights of every child," said Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF representative to China.

During the livestreamed event, two new UNICEF Youth Advocates were announced: 20-year-old Zhao Chen, who has a visual impairment and has been advocating for digital accessibility and inclusion for children and young people who have disabilities, and 19-year-old Yu Xinwei, an advocate for adolescent mental health.

UNICEF and Xinhua News Agency co-launched an interactive feature through their respective digital platforms to amplify children's voices and their aspirations for a better future.

World Children's Day commemorates the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Nov 20, 1989. China ratified the convention in 1992.