Ninety-two children and two women, kidnapped by human traffickers and destined to be sold, have recently been freed by Chinese police.
After a six-month investigation, the child trafficking ring was broken up and more than 300 suspects were arrested on 11 September.
One branch of the network was in charge of kidnapping children, while another took them to be sold in other Chinese provinces.
Child trafficking is booming in China and has skyrocketed as the number of girls declines in the country. The causes: China’s one-child policy and a traditional preference for boys, which pressures many mothers to abort, sell or abandon their newborn girls.
These customs have skewed the country’s population demographics and now many men cannot find a wife. To overcome this, the gang had also kidnapped two women destined to be sold to men living in regions where there are fewer women. They were liberated along with the children.
The Chinese public is outraged. The police and government must now make every effort to prevent a new child trafficking ring from being established in its place.
