'Scrap' law article to better protect minors

Political advisers at the two sessions have urged legislators to repeal the law that identifies sex with an underage prostitute as a crime, claiming that such crimes should be treated in the same way as the rape of a child, and punished accordingly.

Under the current law, people who have sex with prostitutes under 14 years old face a maximum of 15 years in prison, whereas those convicted of raping a child face the death sentence.

Speaking at a seminar, Zhu Zhengfu, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, slammed the crime of prostituting girls under the age of 14. He said the law improperly treats the victims as prostitutes, rather than children who have been raped.