Law must come down on buyers of trafficked children
The one-child policy and traditional preference for boys has fuelled the market for stolen infants, but the courts are at fault, too
For parents, there is no greater devastation than having their children abducted and sold like commodities in far-flung places, particularly so on the mainland where most families have just one child.
Sadly, trafficking in children and women has become a booming industry on the mainland, despite repeated and high-profile government crackdowns.
On Friday, the Ministry of Public Security announced police had rescued 92 abducted children along with two women following raids in 11 provinces.
In all, police detained 301 suspected members of an organised gang with clear divisions of labour, with kidnappers, delivery people and sellers operating independently to avoid detection.
The abductors "kidnapped and purchased" children in Yunnan and Sichuan , and delivery people took public transport or drove to the designated provinces where the sellers would find the buyers.
While the case may be shocking in terms of the numbers of abducted children and gang members, it is merely the latest in the multitude of similar cases that have come to light in recent years. Over the past five years, prosecutors have indicted nearly 19,000 traffickers of thousands of women and children, but analysts say that represents just the tip of the iceberg.