Ministry of Public Security Cracks Down on Abduction and Sale of Women and Children

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced (via Chinanews.com) on November 5, 2009, that it had rescued more than 6,000 victims (2,169 children and 3,851 women) during a nationwide anti-trafficking campaign that began in April. According to a separate November 5 announcement on the official MPS Web site, as part of the campaign, the MPS set up a national DNA database to help identify missing children and match them with their biological parents. The MPS posted 60 photos of children who could not be identified on a special Web site dedicated to the campaign, and as of October 27, 2009, 3 of the unidentified children had been reunited with their parents, according to the site.

Lack of reporting and investigation of cases, as well as official and parental complicity in child abduction remain challenges in the Chinese government's fight against human trafficking. According to an October 29 China daily article, 30,000 to 60,000 children are reported missing every year. "Many, if not most" cases of abduction in China are not formally registered or investigated as authorities are "unwilling or unable to investigate crimes that involve crossing provincial borders," according to an October 29 Ottawa Citizen report. According to a September 20 Los Angeles Times article, parents in China have reported that their children were "taken away by coercion, fraud or kidnapping—sometimes by government officials who covered their tracks by pretending that the babies had been abandoned." The Associated Press and CNN (via Google) reported on October 23 and 29 respectively that returning children to their parents can be problematic as some children were sold by their parents.

Reports link the growing problem of human trafficking in China to, among other issues, imbalanced gender demographics resulting from the government's one-child policy and a traditional preference for male offspring, as well as continued demand for inexpensive labor. According to Lu Dongxiao, a judge at the Shouguang City People's Court in Shandong province, referenced in a May 2 China Daily article, the demand for male heirs is one factor driving trafficking in children. The BBC reported on October 28 that baby boys sometimes sell for as much as US$6,000, while girls are sometimes sold for just US$500. An October 28 Telegraph (UK) article noted that abducted women and girls are often sold as wives in regions where men outnumber women. According to the aforementioned September 20 LA Times article, some Chinese parents of abducted children believe the money adoptive parents pay to orphanages may be incentivizing family planning officials to abduct and sell the children of parents who exceed quotas outlined in the population planning policy.

The Ministry of Public Security's campaign against the abduction and sale of women and children addresses only certain aspects of the problem of human trafficking as defined by international standards. As noted in the Commission's 2009 Annual Report, the legal definition of trafficking under Chinese law is narrower in scope than the definition provided in Article 3 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which China has not yet signed. Chinese authorities' anti-trafficking efforts are focused disproportionately on the abduction and sale of women and children while giving less attention to other forms of trafficking―such as trafficking for forced labor and for commercial sexual exploitation. This narrow focus has negative implications for anti-trafficking work in China, including the government's prosecution efforts, protection of victims, and funding.

For more information on human trafficking in China, see Section II―Human Trafficking in the Commission's 2009 Annual Report.

For more information on the Chinese government's population planning policy and its impact on Chinese society, see Section II―Population Planning in the Commission's 2009 Annual Report.