Parents in Nanjing, capital of East China’s Jiangsu province, could be breaking the law if children younger than 6 years or those needing special care due to physical disabilities are left alone, according to a draft regulation released by the local government for public scrutiny.

The move follows the highlighting of child protection by news outlets which reported that two girls had starved to death after being left with no food by their parents at their home in a rural suburb of Nanjing.

The instruction says parents or guardians shall not physically harm minors or expose them to long-term hunger as punishment.

It also forbids adults lacking a sense of responsibility or suffering specific infectious diseases from taking care of minors.

Parents will have their children taken away from them if they refuse to perform their obligations for 6 months or longer.

The draft requires organizations or individuals to notify authorities if they see any left-behind children under the age of 16 living without parents or guardians, and public security agencies shall immediately contact the parents or put the child into institutional care.

The directive was applauded by many netizens, with some saying that lots of minors’ crimes can be attributed to the lack of parental care.

But some questioned its enforceability because China’s social welfare policies are not as good as those in developed countries. In most families both husbands and wives need to work to support their children, meaning they have no time to look after their children during summer and winter vacations.