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China rescues kidnapped children | China rescues kidnapped children |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Police in China say they have recovered more than 2,000 children in a six-month campaign against human trafficking. | Police in China say they have recovered more than 2,000 children in a six-month campaign against human trafficking. |
The ministry of public security has set up a website with pictures of some of those kidnapped, in the hope of returning them to their families. | The ministry of public security has set up a website with pictures of some of those kidnapped, in the hope of returning them to their families. |
The ministry website has pictures of 60 children, ranging from babies to young adults, who were kidnapped from their families. | |
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children go missing in China each year. | Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children go missing in China each year. |
Tragic trade | Tragic trade |
The 2,008 rescued children come from across China, and some have already been reunited with their parents. | |
Some of the older children on the "Babies Looking for Home" website were kidnapped years ago, according to the Ministry of Public Security. | |
Criminal gangs steal the children and sell them to childless couples. | Criminal gangs steal the children and sell them to childless couples. |
Some children have previously been found enslaved in brick kilns | |
State media have reported a string of arrests in recent months, including 42 suspects picked up last week for allegedly selling 52 children in the north of China. | |
In China's patriarchal society, baby boys are especially prized, sometimes selling for as much as $6,000 (£3,670), says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing. | |
Girls are sometimes sold for just $500 (£305), he says. | |
Children of poor farmers or migrant workers are often targeted. The parents of such children have complained in the past of official indifference to their plight. | |
Human trafficking is seen as a growing problem in China. Some families buy trafficked women or children to use as extra labour or household servants. | |
There have been several high-profile cases of abducted children being rescued from mines and brick kilns. | |
Increased wealth and freedom of movement in China have made human trafficking both more profitable and easier, analysts say. | |
Beijing has promised to do more. A national DNA database was set up this year to help trace missing children. |