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Q: what is the legal age to buy alcohol?
I was walking into 7/11 on my way to work this morning and this school kid walks out with 2 bottles of Blue Rio I asked him how old he was and he told me he was 13 years old.The boy was in his school uniform.
why would the 7/11 staff sell a 13 year old alcohol?
thats fucked. the staff at 7/11 have no common sense at all.
You could probably ask the clerk about the Rio, and he'd say it's fine, cos it's not an 'alcoholic' drink like baijiu.
The ultimate question is: does this law have any impact on the CCPs control? If the answer is 'no', then it's safe to ignore! If it's 'yes', then that kid would find themselves disappeared in the middle of the night like you wouldn't believe!
Lord_hanson:
I believe that any law broken is an insult to the government. If they allow themselves to be openly mocked by having their laws broken then they lose respect in the eyes of their subjects.
The staff there would probably tell you they have great common sense, they just made some money after all which is all that matters to them.
What they don't have is morals, respect for the law, respect for their community or a conscience.
China has no age restrictions on buying alcohol or tobacco. I remember doing a class about age restrictions on teenagers in a middle school once. They told me how there are virtually no age restrictions on anything. Oddly enough a 13 year old may buy a bottle of vodka and a pack of smokes but he/she can't open a bank account until they are 18.
Stiggs:
That's sort of surprising. I always assumed there was a law in place but it was just ignored.
Lord_hanson:
This information was from teenagers so it might not be 100% true. I have never seen signs commenting on age restrictions though so it probably is true. It is funny, people in the West believe China to have many restrictions on freedoms but in reality I believe the west has more restrictions. But I guess that is called rule of law.
expatlife26:
Not sure about that, I see signs saying they don't sell alcohol to people under 18. I think there is a law on the books it's just ignored.
But that's true in lots of the world. USA takes drinking age laws extremely seriously.
On the other hand, that sign could have been about selling tobacco and not alcohol so feel free to tell me i'm full of shit if it turns out I am.
The explanation the clerks would probably give (and may well be true) is that that kid was picking up a beer for his old man on his way home. Which is fair enough.
Sometimes I'll tell people here about how strict drinking age laws are in the US and the first question they ask is "what if you parents need you to pick up a bottle of wine or something?"
China has massive problems with a lot of things, but I don't think teen alcoholism is a big issue here like it is back home so I can understand a kinda laissez faire approach if a kid is buying alcohol. And far all we know that kid and his parents live next door and the clerk is on a first name basis with them.
Sinobear:
The age for purchasing alcohol and cigarettes is 18 but there are no actually laws concerning consumption.
Shining_brow:
The "no teen alcohol problem" may not be a problem, but the number of people who smoke like a chimney is!
There are other countries with less strict laws regarding alcohol, and they don't seem to have the same problems the US does either... (however, there are some countries with VERY strict laws against alcohol... and we see what happens there!)
ScotsAlan:
I have seen signs saying no ciggie sales to kids in school uniform.
Dude I got my older brother's ID. You need me to pick you up a six pack lemme know.
The drinking age in China is 18, but it's never enforced.
The government seem to have gone down the route of telling people that drinking is immoral and persuading them that they are "allergic" to alcohol, instead of enforcing the drinking age. It does seem to be effective as most of my Chinese friends (mostly girls) almost never touch the stuff.
It depends. But in my opinion, the drinking age is up to 18.
the problem at 7/11 is that they sell these alcohol drinks like Rio in the fridge next to coke and orange juice and you can easily get at them.
You could probably ask the clerk about the Rio, and he'd say it's fine, cos it's not an 'alcoholic' drink like baijiu.
The ultimate question is: does this law have any impact on the CCPs control? If the answer is 'no', then it's safe to ignore! If it's 'yes', then that kid would find themselves disappeared in the middle of the night like you wouldn't believe!
Lord_hanson:
I believe that any law broken is an insult to the government. If they allow themselves to be openly mocked by having their laws broken then they lose respect in the eyes of their subjects.
Who cares, this is China. Parents should be responsible for what their kids do not the state.
In Qingdao you see 8-year-olds shuffling down to the keg man to buy their pops a bag of beer.
The drinking age in ShenZhen is not important, though there is one. The important point is that it is not inforced. I have had an 8 year old walk into my class drinking a Breezer before. At that moment I realize why he was the only one not improving in my class.
The drinking age in ShenZhen is not important, though there is one. The important point is that it is not inforced. I have had an 8 year old walk into my class drinking a Breezer before. At that moment I realize why he was the only one not improving in my class.
royceH:
You have a class where everyone is improving, bar one? Nah...can't believe that.
Don't sweat it Rob. The guy at the corner beer-dian isn't likely to "card" you.
"China has banned alcohol sales to minors prompted by concerns that permissive attitudes among parents and teachers have worsened a growing problem with under-age drinking.
The ban, which came into force on New Year’s Day (earthizen: 2006), outlaws sales of beverages with an alcohol content of 0.5 per cent or above to anyone under 18, ;according to a copy of the regulation on the Commerce Ministry’s website on Friday.
Violators can be fined up to 2,000 yuan $250 (earthizen: USD probably) for serious infractions. However, retailers have being given three months to implement the regulation fully, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The ban is merely a regulation, not a law, and it wasn't clear how it would be enforced.
Many shops already display signs saying they don't sell alcohol to minors, but China has never had a formal ban on such sales. The only previous legal mention was a reference in the law on protection of minors that young people should be prevented from abusing alcohol......" http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-01/06/content_510002.htm
