No more tattoos for minors, says China

BEIJING: China on Monday banned minors from getting tattoos, saying body art for those under 18 is against “socialist core values” and urging families and schools to discourage it.

Any tattoo artist or shop found to be tattooing minors will be strictly punished according to law, the Chinese ministry of civil affairs said in a statement carried by state media on Monday.

Children who already have tattoos but are willing to remove them will be given medical guidance to do so, the statement added.

The ban was part of the Measures for the Personal Governance of Minors, a set of rules designed by China’s cabinet after it consulted several government departments, including the Communist Party of China (CPC) Youth League and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) - which regulates visual and streaming content.

The measures say that the “state, society, schools and families should educate and help minors to establish and practice socialist core values, fully understand the harm that tattoos may cause, enhance their (minors’) awareness and ability to protect themselves, and rationally refuse tattoos”.

The rules stipulate that no “enterprise, organisation or individual shall provide tattoo services to minors, and shall not coerce, i nduce or instigate minors to tattoo”. Tattoo parlours would have to ask for identification, the rules said.

Shanghai, China’s financial hub, was the first city to restrict anyone under the age of 18 from getting cosmetic surgery or tattoos on March 1.

“The Shanghai government said people under 18 years old will be prohibited from cosmetic surgery without approval from their guardians. Tattoo parlours are completely banned from offering their services to minors,” the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) had reported.

The anti-tattoo campaign is not only aimed at minors though - the CPC is targeting entertainers, sportspersons and celebrities too. Members of China’s national football team were told to cover up or outright remove tattoos to set a “good example for society,” last December.

READ THE FULL STORY: The ban was part of the Measures for the Personal Governance of Minors