"It's high time to enact laws on minors' welfare to ensure children's rights are duly protected. Parents who abandon their children must be penalized according to law."

Meanwhile, he said it was necessary to designate a government agency to take care of homeless children. "The role is now divided among too many government agencies, including civil affairs department, women's federation, public security authorities and many more. So in some cases, every party tries to evade responsibility."

Wang Zhenyao, a former civil affairs official and now an academic at Beijing Normal University, said the government was "lagging too far behind in the protection of children's welfare".

He said individual families should be encouraged to adopt orphans, as "foster homes often provide a better environment than welfare homes".

However, foster parents need adequate training and sometimes financial aid from the government to ensure adopted children are cared for, he said.