Child Trafficking: Chinese Police Rescue 92 Kidnapped Children

Source: Voicce of America

China's state media say police have rescued 92 children and two women who were kidnapped to be sold by a human trafficking gang.

Xinhua said Friday authorities have arrested 301 suspects in connection with the case.

Officials say police from eleven provinces were involved in the operation to break up the massive trafficking network that stole and bought children in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces to be sold in other regions.

Child abduction is a major problem in China. A strict one-child policy and a traditional preference for boys have contributed to a rise in the trafficking of children and women in recent years.

The U.S. State Department downgraded China this year to rank among the world's worst human traffickers. The 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report found that although Beijing has created better awareness of the danger of human trafficking, authorities are still not making significant efforts to tackle the problem.

Estimates put the number of children lost every year in China to trafficking at 200,000. Only 0.1 percent of trafficked children are found and returned to their families.

Four years ago, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide anti-trafficking campaign and started creating a nationwide DNA database to help with investigations.