A database to help abducted children find their birth parents will go live on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs Thursday.
The database, qgdgxq.mca.gov.cn, will provide information on missing children, and those that have been rescued by the police, the ministry said in a statement.
There is no official figure on the number of abducted children in China. A large part are sold to couples unable to conceive or those who want a boy.
Often when police discover a human trafficking ring and locate abducted children, they do not have enough information to locate their birth parents because most smugglers do not keep precise records and the victims are too young to remember.
Also on Thursday, the ministry along with the Ministry of Public Security issued protocol on how to handle child abduction cases.
Police are required to collect the DNA of parents when a child is reported missing and log it into a national DNA database. Once they rescue an abducted child, police should also collect his or her DNA and check it against the database.
Social welfare institutions, such as an orphanages, are often temporary caregivers to rescued children. They are required to publish information on the database, too.
If it takes longer than 12 months to identify the child's birth parents, the child will be put up for adoption.
If the birth parent find the child after he or she is adopted, and they are deemed fit by the government to raise the child, the adoptive parents should willingly end the adoption, according to the document.
