For a high school student, Lu Hailin has a mature attitude to bullying, a common phenomenon in schools worldwide. She did not approve of it when a friend of hers in school—Zhenhai High School in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province—became jealous of a peer and got people from outside the campus to bully the student.

"My friend was punished by the school authorities and the matter ended there," Lu said. "Incidents like this can be avoided."

On the other hand, Lu realizes the reason why her friend became a bully. He had psychological issues probably stemming from the fact that he came from a single-parent family. "Bullies also need sympathy and care," Lu said.

The high school student's thoughts about bullying were heard at an unusual place: the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, which ended mid-March.

This year, there were 5,210 proposals from CPPCC National Committee members at the session, and how to tackle bullying in school was one of them. Students now have a voice in the key policymaking gathering, thanks to an innovative practice started in 2012 known as the National Youth Model CPPCC campaign.

"The essence of promoting the National Youth Model CPPCC campaign is to listen to students' voice and foster their awareness of participating in public affairs, where they can think more," the People's Daily said, commenting on the approach.

Youngsters' proposal 

This year's National Youth Model CPPCC campaign also heard students' thoughts and suggestions on safety in school, care for the elderly, first-aid training and training in agricultural e-commerce.

The proposal on how to deal with school bullying caught peoples' attention since it has become a growing public concern in China as well.

In 2016, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, China's top prosecuting authority, reported that more than 2,400 students, most of whom were at high school, were charged with bullying and inciting violence on campus nationwide. Over 1,100 students were arrested.

To highlight the issue at the National Youth Model CPPCC campaign, a team consisting of Lu and seven other students in Zhenhai conducted surveys and random interviews to collect people's opinions on bullying. They also went to the local education bureau, law firms and the court for expert opinions on how to deal with the problem.

They found that students lack legal and moral education, while teachers need more knowledge to deal with bullying and guardians need to improve their knowledge of the education method.

On the basis of the consultations, the team came up with three recommendations to address bullying in schools. They suggested a committee should be formed in every school to exclusively deal with bullying incidents.

Moreover, the prevention mechanism should be upgraded. Most schools have some way to deal with bullying, such as using the school media or class meetings to provide students relevant legal information. Some schools invite legal professionals to give students a legal overview, while some have psychological counseling for students.

The recommendations also said the existing solutions should be improved and there should be a mechanism to prevent reoffending. The students also called for legislation to prevent bullying and ensure teenagers' safety in school.

Before the proposal was finalized, members of the team kept up a discussion on WeChat, a popular messaging app, for half a year. The finalized proposal was then conveyed to CPPCC National Committee member Xie Zhaohua, who tabled it at the CPPCC National Committee session.