China's State Council has officially released a new protocol on protecting left-behind children, laying out the specific roles of parents, the government and the community. Left-behind children are those whose parents are forced to travel far away to work.

The new guideline inked by Premier Li Keqiang mandates local government and village committees to keep a tab on the situation of left-behind children within their areas of responsibility. Officials are further instructed to ensure that the needs of these children are catered for.

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Education and school officials are also tasked to help left-behind children study and ensure their safety. Local governments are encouraged to cooperate with charities and non-profit organizations to provide professional services and create a system for reporting, intervention, assessment and provision of help. The aim of the guideline is to gradually lessen the number of left-behind children. 

Meanwhile, in the village of Huangpi in Wuhan, Hubei province, a 30-year-old police officer named Liao Yifeng has become a father to 39 left-behind children. Aside from being known for helping villagers deal with different kinds of problems such as household registration processing and crime investigation, Liao is also popularly known as "my police father."

Coordinating with teachers, Liao investigated the condition of several left-behind children and selected 39 of them who he believes are in the toughest situations. He has built a special "family love room" in the police station that is equipped with books, desks and tables for the kids to do their homework. It is also an avenue where parents can chat or watch their kids online.

In China, there are around 61 million left-behind children. Of which, 40 percent are below 5 years old, while 70 percent do not get to see their parents for up to a year. The lack of adequate arrangements for caring for left-behind children has resulted in several tragedies. For instance, last year, four children allegedly committed suicide in Guizhou province in the southwestern part of China.

Tagsleft-behind children in China, china, police father, Liao Yifeng