After being abducted to Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai for three months, a 16-year-old girl was returned to her parents in north China on May 22. The clue to finding her came from a private website.
With the Chinese celebrating Children's Day on June 1, this success story, where police and social groups united, is a reminder of how much work still needs to be done to fight child-trafficking.
The girl, surnamed Wang, was kidnapped in February from Datong City, Shanxi Province.
"Her parents asked for help on our website, and we sent the information, including a mobile phone number the human trafficker left them, to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). Then the police arrested the suspects, freed the girl and sent her home," said Zhang Baoyan, 47, head of the Baobeihuijia website, which means "baby back home."
The website based in Tonghua City in northeast China's Jilin Province, has united more than 10,000 volunteers, mostly parents of missing children, to search, collect and check information. Since it was founded in 2007, Baobeihuijia has helped in the recovery of 36 abducted children.
Zhang and other eight volunteers were invited to Beijing in April by the MPS to discuss anti-abduction work with top police officials.
"The officials accepted lots of our suggestions. For example, how to build a DNA database of abducted children and how to start investigations quickly after receiving reports from parents," Zhang said. "We are really proud of this."
China launched a campaign in April of this year to crack down on human trafficking. The MPS published ten most-wanted list offenders. As of the end of May, three had been arrested.
Also, police at all levels were ordered to conduct more interviews with the public to ask for information on existing cases.
"Lots of useful information lies in our hands as volunteers spread across the country," Zhang said. "After the discussion in Beijing, we are encouraged to provide clues about the possible human traffickers, potential buyers and children who are suspected of having been abducted. "
"We can also report to the ministry if the local police are reluctant or inefficient about investigating."
Rampant abduction
Human trafficking has become an increasing social problem in China, and one which seriously violates human rights. As the country has a traditional preference for male heirs, particularly in rural areas, there is a thriving black market for babies who are often abducted or bought.
Some families who do not have a boy are willing to pay tens of thousands yuan for one.
It's a profitable business for criminals. For the children, it can mean a life of begging for money for their owners, stealing and prostitution.
The Chinese government said police investigate nearly 3,000 human tracking cases every year, a figure that includes both women and children. There is no official figure for how many children are missing, although the US State Department believes about 20,000 Chinese children are kidnapped every year.
Peng Gaofeng, 31, is still searching for his four-year-old son who vanished last year from the street in front of his parent's small shop in the southern city of Shenzhen.
Surveillance cameras showed his son being led away by an unidentified man. Since then, life for Peng and his wife has been a nightmarish journey in the hopes of finding their only child.
"Our life has been totally destroyed," Peng said. "I cannot keep my mind on my job any more. We have gone to many cities to find him. My wife is so sad that her weight dropped to only 35 kg from 45 kg."
More than a dozen parents like Peng have similar stories on the Baobeihuijia website. Then, after media attention, the numbers grew to 200.
Unlike the success of Wang, none of their children have been found. Often times traffickers sell or take the children across the country or even abroad.
"During the process of finding children, every family has lots of information and clues which might be useful to other families. But it is never really shared between them because of lack of communication. Thus, a nationwide platform is necessary in the fight against abduction," Zhang Baoyan said. "That is why I built the website."
On it, parents usually post photos of their children, describe their heights and clothes, and express their gratitude to the volunteers.
"After finding missing children, we usually ask them whether it snows in their hometowns, what plants and animals they have seen, what dialects they speak. Then we match these clues with parents who post information on the website."
The hope is that they might have been in an area where other missing children are being kept.
Joys and troubles
The public's anti-abduction fight has been attracting more attention from the government. "Because of our suggestions, the local police have changed their model in which they waited 24 hours before taking action," Zhang said. "Now, once they receive reports, they must start finding the children immediately."
Based on the public's urging and Zhang's suggestion, the MPS has set up a DNA database. The ministry aims to link all the country's 236 DNA laboratories so that they can share information about missing children by the end of May.
The database will also include DNA from the parents of abducted children and samples will be taken from children who are suspected of having been abducted or vagrant children with an unclear history.
Zhang's successes come with risks. He and other groups are often threatened.
"Some volunteers were exposed to criminals while trying to get clues or reminding parents of being cautious," Zhang said. "We must try our best to protect the volunteers from threats to their lives."
In addition, the social groups' passion may not be echoed by government bureaus. "We hope to put the information of children in orphanages online so that parents have access to this information. But the civil affairs bureau always rejects our plan as they think we are violating the childrens' privacy," Zhang said.
Lack of money is another problem. Zhang uses her three computers to run the website, where volunteers and parents can register for free.
"My husband Qin Yanyou is a professor and I work full time running the website with his income," Zhang said.
"We received donations of about 10,000 yuan and spent it helping the freed children go to school or see doctors," Zhang said, "Now I want to build a foundation to be able to reward those who report useful clues."
(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2009)
