More than 225,000 suspects have been arrested for crimes against minors from 2019 to 2023 since procuratorate organs around China stepped up efforts to strictly punish crimes against minors including violent injury, rape, and child molestation, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Wednesday.

In cases involving young offenders, the procuratorate organs continued to adhere to the practice of a combination of punishment and rehabilitation and actively implementing the policy of "education, persuasion, and rescue", it said in a statement released after a meeting on key works of SPP from 2019 to 2023 was held in Fuzhou city, Fujian province.

The SPP firmly believes that "prevention is protection, and punishment is also rescue". Based on the nature of the crime, the subjective malice, and the consequences of the harm caused by minors, corresponding disciplinary and educational measures have been adopted.

From 2019 to 2023, the SPP has strictly punished minors who committed serious and egregious crimes according to the law, with zero tolerance. Over 120,000 individuals were approved for arrest and over 170,000 were prosecuted. Meanwhile, for minors who committed less severe crimes, first-time offenders, or occasional offenders, lenient measures were applied according to the law. Over 120,000 individuals were not approved for arrest, over 130,000 were not prosecuted, and over 90,000 were conditionally not prosecuted, it added.

Meanwhile, from 2019 to 2023, procuratorate organs nationwide have prosecuted over 75,000 cases involving more than 210,000 individuals for telecom fraud. Additionally, over 333,000 cases involving more than 559,000 individuals were prosecuted for related crimes, including aiding and abetting cybercrime activities and crimes involving the concealment or disguise of criminal proceeds obtained through the internet, the statement said.

Also, the SPP, in collaboration with the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, launched a special operation to apprehend major leader and key members of overseas telecom fraud criminal groups. And 53,000 individuals have been repatriated to 28 provinces across China after a special operation targeting telecom fraud was carried out in northern Myanmar.

Furthermore, the SPP has attached great importance of creating a clean cyberspace. From 2019 to 2023, the SPP has launched special actions to improve cyberspace governance, prosecuting over 15,000 individuals for crimes such as online insults, defamation, and infringement of citizens' personal information. Also, the procuratorate organs have combated and rectified the activities of "internet trolls". collaborating with multiple departments to lawfully punish crimes like rumor-mongering for traffic and online extortion.