China steps up regional collaboration on human trafficking

A six-party rescue mission . . .

A press conference held today by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security revealed details of a series of joint operations with five Southeast Asian countries – Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand – to crack down on transnational human trafficking. Between July and December of last year, police said they cracked 760 cases of abduction and marriage fraud, rescuing 1,130 foreign women and 17 children. A total of 1,332 suspects were detained, of whom 262 are non-Chinese citizens. In the operations, law enforcement primarily targeted China’s glaring ‘bride trafficking’ problem in which women from neighbouring countries are lured by smugglers with promises of marriage and job opportunities only to be ‘sold’ against their will.

Anti-human trafficking efforts still rank poorly . . .

The 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the U.S. State Department, meanwhile, continues to list China as one of the countries lacking sufficient government efforts in addressing human trafficking, along with Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela. China’s designation as a ‘Tier 3’ country in the report means it could be restricted from receiving certain types of assistance from the U.S.

Lending a helping hand . . .

While there is arguably very limited space for activist groups to play a part in complementing law enforcement efforts and assisting human trafficking victims in China, Canadian NGOs and other organizations have been active forces in Canada’s anti-trafficking efforts – one example being the multilingual nationwide human trafficking hotline launched last month. Canada should consider sharing such positive programs through more active involvement in international collaboration in this area.

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