‘Two sessions’: China targets human trafficking in wake of ‘chained woman’ scandal

China’s premier has pledged to target the trafficking of women and children, becoming the first national leader to address the problem since the plight of a woman chained up in a shed came to light more than a month ago.

Addressing legislators in Beijing on Saturday, Li Keqiang said a crackdown was on the way along with greater support for community groups and public welfare.

“[We will] severely crack down on the crime of abduction and trafficking of women and children, and resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of women and children,” Li said at the opening of the annual session of the National People’s Congress.

Deputies responded to the pledge with applause, which continued when he took officials to task for “formalism”, a reference to bureaucracy.

“[Officials are] often out of touch with reality and go against the will of the masses. Some adopt a one-size-fits-all and only-for-show style in policy implementation … Some ignore serious violations of the rights and interests of the masses and seriously neglect their duties,” Li said.

He said officials needed to have a better “sense of urgency”, and “live up to the expectations of the people”.

China’s latest statement on chained woman ‘only leads to more questions’

The comments come in the aftermath of a national uproar triggered by a video of a woman sold to a man in Xuzhou, in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

She appeared chained to a shed and had given birth to eight children.

Local government officials were accused of failing to respond quickly to the incident and trying to cover up the abuse.

Last week, 17 local officials in the county were sacked, punished or put under investigation for alleged negligence or wrongdoing in the case.

While China has made progress in combating human trafficking over the years, the problem remains prevalent, especially in poverty-stricken areas where unmarried men seeking brides turn to traffickers and abduction.

The problem is partly driven by rural poverty and the gender imbalance resulting from the country’s former one-child policy and traditional preference for boys.

National census data released last year showed there were 17.52 million more men than women among those aged between 20-40.

Spurred by the Xuzhou video, a group of NPC deputies said they would propose reforms to address human trafficking.

NPC deputy Jiang Shengnan suggested that anyone involved in detaining, coercing or abusing a victim should be considered complicit in the abduction, trafficking and buying.

Anyone who obstructed the rescue of trafficking victims should also be prosecuted, Jiang said.

China’s ‘two sessions’ will see calls for action on human trafficking

The Ministry of Public Security has also been spurred into action, announcing on Tuesday the launch of a year-long campaign to crackdown on the trafficking of women and children.

A Chinese government white paper in 2019 said a total of 320 cases of trafficking of women were uncovered by the police that year.

In addition, the police said it had rescued more than 10,000 children from traffickers since it started a national DNA database of missing children in 2009.