Guangdong takes bullying by the horns

THE EDUCATION BUREAU of South China's Guangdong province recently issued a regulation together with 12 other departments, which prohibits bullying in primary and secondary schools, including the use of insulting nicknames. Thepaper.cn comments:

Nicknames are not necessarily harmful. However, some of the nicknames pupils give each other, such as "fatty" or "four eyes" or worse, are a form of bullying.

Calling someone such a name might not seem as serious as physical violence, but they can be just as wounding. Those on the receiving end of such verbal victimization often suffer from heavy psychological problems that might scar them for life.

Besides insulting nicknames, the regulation also unambiguously lists other deeds as school bullying, such as forcibly removing another's clothing or posting another's photos on social media without the person's consent. That follows the trend of the times in which bullying continues online.

More important, compared with past regulations that defined school bullying in a rather vague way, the new regulation classifies what constitutes school bullying in a detailed way and gives each of the deeds its deserved legal penalty.

That's giant progress forward because it will better protect pupils and gives them have a clearer sense of rules. Some might argue that not all nicknames are meant meanly, but as soon as the one given the nickname rejects it, their choice should be respected.

Campuses are also part of society, and schools should protect children's rights and dignity, which are important for their healthy growth. We hope the new regulation will achieve this purpose in Guangdong, and other provinces will follow Guangdong's example.