Parents’ plea over missing children

Five parents, whose children were abducted and who have been driving around the nation to draw attention to the scourge of child trafficking, told the Global Times Monday that China's laws on the prevention of child trafficking are too weak.

Xiao Chaohua, whose 5-year-old son was taken in February 2007 from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, has devoted his life since then to the search.

"I called local police, but there were no results. So I decided to work on my own," he said, adding that he found the alleged suspects, but claimed that police declined to investigate further.

Xiao drove his minivan, plastered with photos of the missing children and pleas to help rescue trafficked children, from Jiangxi Province, departing on September 2.

En route to the capital, he and the other four parents made stops in towns and cities to publicize their cause, arriving in Beijing on September 14.

"Our purpose is to send notices to let the public and media know about the parents' suffering," he said.

Xiao, who owned a fashion store in Guangdong, has spent over 300,000 yuan ($4,761) of his savings on the search, and lives apart from his wife.

Another father named Yang Zengjian, a farmer from Hebei Province, told the Global Times that he has been walking from city to city since his 7-year-old son went missing in August 2008.

"When I reported this to the local police they said they had started an investigation, but they left me waiting for the result," he said.

Yang has divorced his wife and has only a little money to live on after leaving his home and farmland.

According to Chinese law, those found guilty of the crime of trafficking women or children could receive a jail sentence of up to five years and a heavy fine, said Zheng Jiewen, who works at a law firm in Tongzhou district.　

"Those who buy children will not be punished by law if the child is not maltreated and they don't stop police taking the child away from them," said Zheng. But if the buyers harmed the child, they could also be fined or jailed.

In July this year, Chinese police announced they had broken up two major child trafficking rings across 15 Chinese provinces, arresting 802 suspects and rescuing 181 children and babies.

At the time, police pledged to continue to crack down on child trafficking, while admitting the problem was serious in some regions, according to the Xinhua News Agency on July 7.

Around 200,000 children disappeared nationwide annually, Xinhua reported in April 2010.

Zhang Baoyan, founder of Baobei Huijia, or "Baby Back Home," a voluntary group dedicated to helping parents find their lost children, told the Global Times that one of the main causes of child trafficking is the lack of pressure from Chinese authorities on those who buy the abducted children, as there is no reason for them to be punished unless they abuse the child.

"And traffickers may only get five years in jail, but some of them will continue to do it after being released from prison," Zhang noted.

Li Bangfeng, cofounder of Xunzi Foundation of China Population Welfare Foundation, which offers government support to families who have lost a child, said that although he sympathizes with their plight, he would not encourage these parents to give up everything for their search.　

"These people already have a poor life situation after their loss; they should start a new life instead of giving up their career and families," he said.

"But in November, we will organize a nationwide program to offer free hotel accommodation in cities and towns to parents who are searching for their lost children, and also we'll give them some financial support," said Li.　

However, the support money will be limited since they still expect the parents to return to their homes and retain their normal lives, said Li.

Meanwhile, in a month, a group of around 30 parents who have lost children are expected to arrive in Beijing to continue to attract more public attention to their cause, said Yang.