The central government has vowed that local government leaders will be held accountable if an area is found to have a serious problem of 'street children', in the latest move to curb the problem. Such youngsters are often kidnapped or sold into a life of begging and crime.
In a circular posted on its website yesterday, the State Council called on local governments to do more to help return these children to their guardians and to provide the children with legal assistance if their rights have been violated.
It said that, because of problems such as increasingly frequent migration and irresponsible parents, more and more children were ending up living on the streets, where some are forced to beg and commit crimes.
Xinhua reported that police had rescued 9,400 kidnapped children by the end of last year, in a two-year operation that started in April 2009.
The central government has asked police to be more diligent in cracking down on child abduction and trafficking, as well as on forcing of children to beg.
To help track down parents, police should collect DNA samples of the children as well as conduct background checks on them, the circular said.
