China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced on March 1 a nationwide clampdown on the abduction and trafficking of children and women which will last from March 1 to December 31.
The nine-month campaign comes after widespread outrage about abducted and trafficked women and children after an allegedly abducted woman in Feng County, Jiangsu Province was found chained in a brick shed by her “husband” who bought her and boasted that she had given birth to seven sons and one daughter.
Official data showed that the number of recorded cases of human trafficking involving women and children increased from 2,884 in 2005 to 20,735 in 2013. Although the number started decreasing in 2016 due to more police attention and improved monitoring systems, media alleged that many victims are still left unnoticed, especially in poor, rural areas.
The MPS pledged to concentrate more efforts on solving long-pending cases and trace suspected traffickers and victims by streamlining existing evidence and looking for new evidence with the help of local communities, social assistance organs and grassroots government departments. The MPS will set up a reporting system for the public to report suspects or search for missing family members.
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