In this sense, the outlook for people like Wang, whose lives may previously have been blighted by youthful indiscretion and legal inflexibility, are looking a lot rosier across China.

HDPP launched the "Sealing juvenile records" initiative in May 2010 and Wang became the first in Shenyang to benefit from the pilot arrangement.

"We aim to both safeguard the seriousness of the law and also provide humanistic warmth to minors and students," said Zhou Wei, HDPP's chief procurator, when asked to explain the launch.

After a police investigation indicated Wang's involvement in the distribution of lewd pictures and videos on the Internet from campus computers between June 2009 and March 2010, his case was transferred to HDPP for review and public prosecution in late April 2010.

Accused of distributing pornography, the student, who had no criminal record, faced the possibility of up to two years in jail. Wang deeply regretted his wrongdoing.

It was a non-serious offense, but the charges, if revealed or written into his student record, may have been disastrous for his job-hunting and even the rest of his life.

But Wang was lucky, and HDPP's leniency signaled the formal launch of the procuratorate's "Sealing juvenile records" scheme.

"Our concern is to help protect the legitimate rights of minors and students and prevent them from being discriminated against just because of the offense records," according to Zhou.

Recent years have seen surging juvenile offenses, with suspects increasingly younger and crimes committed in a more adult-like and violent manner, posing a challenge to judicial authorities, Zhou noted.

"For offenses committed by juveniles, punishment is only a low-level move made afterward, while preventing offenses from occurring is the real solution," the chief procurator said.

He added the ultimate goal of "sealing juvenile records" is to let the young feel the reasonableness of the law, be truly sorry for the wrong they have done and then encourage them to play a responsible community role.

HDPP is not the only Chinese pioneer to push forward the initiative. Such a practice was introduced by procuratorial authorities in Shanghai as early as 2004, benefiting more than 90 minors there, according to officials.

Nevertheless, the newly amended Criminal Procedure Law will put significant new momentum behind the movement when it takes effect on Jan. 1, 2013.

It means that the pilot arrangement implemented by HDPP and others will be expanded to more regions in China hopefully as a legalized regular practice. As such the legislators' moves have been roundly welcomed by law scholars.

"For a juvenile, who was given a punishment lighter than a five-year sentence for an offense committed at an age of less than 18 years, his or her records shall be sealed off," reads the amendment.

Under the amended law, the sealed records shall not be opened to any organization or individual, except when it is necessary for case investigation by judicial organs or upon inquiries raised in accordance with due regulations. The inquirers shall keep the information confidential. < The revised law also makes it easier for juvenile offenders, or "the lost kids," to find their way home, according to Chen Weidong, a professor with the School of Law of Renmin University of China.

Hou Xiaofeng, a research fellow with Liaoning Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, sees the procedure as better protecting minors' legitimate rights.

"Many offenses involving minors are committed out of more simple, fleeting motives instead of purely evil intention, and the juveniles can be guided back to a normal track of life, if appropriate education and remedy efforts are in place," Hou said.