Six government departments including the ministries of finance,
education, public security and civil affairs as well as the State
administrations of industry and commerce and sports jointly issued
a document on the weekend banning the sale of lottery tickets to
minors.
Minors refer to those under the age of 18 in China.
It was reported that some grocery stores, stationers and street
vendors near schools have been selling lottery tickets to primary
and middle school students in some areas. The vendors have been
taking advantage of the curiosity of minors in the prize draws by
making lottery tickets themselves and encouraging students to buy
them.
Making lottery tickets without official permission is illegal.
Selling lottery tickets to minors is likely to lead them astray by
cultivating the mentality of speculation, which the document
believes is detrimental to the healthy growth of minors.
The rule bans lottery ticket sellers of any kind from within 200
metres of a school. Those who violate the rule will be
penalized.
It is indeed necessary and imperative to protect minors from
anything that may have a negative impact on their growth. That is
why we have laws and regulations banning the sale of cigarettes and
liquor to minors and banning Internet cafes from admitting
minors.
But for those vendors who put making money before anything else,
minors are a group who are easy to persuade to buy something they
are not supposed to have.
Can this ban stop lottery ticket sellers from targeting minors
as a source of their profit? Issuing the ban is one thing, but
effectively putting it into practice is another.
Both the central and local governments have regulations
prohibiting Internet cafes from allowing entry to minors. But
watchdogs always find minors in these venues during their
inspections. Vendors are banned from selling cigarettes to minors,
but it is not unusual to see middle school students dragging on
cigarettes.
It is always a start to put a ban in place. Putting up posters
about the bans in relevant venues and inspections by watchdogs once
in a while do work, but only to some degree.
In such circumstances, apart from strengthening random
inspections and inflicting heavier penalties on those who challenge
the bans, schools and parents need to co-operate in carrying out
the bans.
Schools should educate students not to buy things that they are
not supposed to use, and parents need to make sure all the money
they give their children goes to its intended purpose.
Minors are the hope of our future and their healthy growth is a
matter that can never be overemphasized. We hope that the
departments will make earnest follow-up efforts to enforce the bans
after they have issued them.
(China Daily December 19, 2006)