Latest Trafficking Scandal a Wake-Up Call for Adoption Reform

Publication date: 30 January 2015

Yang Xin ?January 30, 2015 ?0

Police in Shandong province busted a child-trafficking ring earlier this month, rescuing 37 abducted children who had been living in a cellar under squalid conditions and capturing their 103 traffickers.

But unlike most child-trafficking cases, which involve child abduction, the children discovered in Shandong had been sold by their parents or other family members.

Traffickers first reached out to pregnant women through black channels and made deals with potential buyers to sell newborn girls for 60,000 yuan and boys 80,000 yuan.

China has seen numerous child-trafficking cases in the past few years. In 2013, police rescued 92 children and arrested 301 suspects. Last March, Chinese police uncovered four child-trafficking rings and arrested more than 1,000 people for using websites and instant messaging groups to trade in infants.

While the crackdowns have kept child abduction on the decline, traffickers have been finding new ways to continue the black-market trade: especially by inviting suppliers to complete the chain.

In his recent study on children abduction, Li Chunlei, a scholar at Chinese People’s Public Security University, found that 67 of the 133 cases reported by media since 2000 involved the child’s natural parents or relatives as the original seller.

Laws to Target Buyers

Men and women found guilty of trafficking face heavy penalties ranging from five years’ jail to death. But that does not include the buyers who, under current law, are immune from criminal prosecution unless they are found to have abused the children or hindered rescue efforts.

While Article 241 of China’s Criminal Law stipulates that “adopters who acquire children through illegal channels may face up to three years prison,” it also states “adopters may be exempt from criminal liability as long as they have not abused the abducted children or interfered with police rescue efforts” in Article 6.

Article 241 rarely ends up being applied in judicial practices while Article 6 acts as a powerful legal shield for buyers of trafficked children.

But buyers have another reason to feel lucky. When a trafficked child’s natural parents are convicted and sentenced to prison, the court often rules that the child should stay with his or her adoptive parents – even if they acquired the baby through illegal channels.

Too Many Barriers

“Poverty is the root of trafficking,” said Pia MacRae, China’s director of Save the Children. “Trafficking routes go from poor, remote areas to more developed, affluent regions.”

When asked whether the sale of children by families too poor to raise a baby should really constitute a crime, Liu Huisheng, deputy chief of a criminal investigation brigade under the Changting Public Security Bureau, said yes.

Last year, Changting, Fujian province was singled out for its child trade. Local police found that five children raised by local families were trafficked with three being sold by their natural parents.

“I thought it was fine as long as the adoptive parents treated my child well,” said one of the parents surnamed Feng.

Feng’s confession sounded more like an appeal for adoption reform.

Qin Xiyan, head of Hunan Qin Xiyan Law Firm, said 10 percent of Chinese couples are unable to conceive and 10 percent of the children born suffer from physical disabilities. With the addition of families who lose their only child, the demand for adoption is growing.

But China’s only legal path to adoption is the Child Welfare Association: private adoption exists on the fringes of the law.

“The legal process of adoption from the Child Welfare Association is hampered by excessive requirements. That’s what makes private adoption so popular, which in turn creates the need for trafficked kids,” said Yang Xiaolin, a lawyer at the Beijing YueCheng law firm.

An editorial on the Guangming Daily analyzed the allegedly high requirements in detail. China’s Adoption Law requires applicants to be childless, qualified to “implement family education,” free of diseases or disabilities that could affect their ability to raise a child and older than 30.

Few couples can meet all the requirements at once.

Another barrier is the formalities. Those eligible for adoption must submit a series of certifications and go through five checks by both local authorities and authorities in the child’s birthplace.

The cost of the formalities can exceed 35,000 yuan.

Families yearning for healthy children can easily be led to search the black market when legal options are placed beyond their reach.

Learning from Abroad

Wang Linghong, a Chinese national living in France, had much to say about the European country’s adoption system.

“France has a higher degree of child adoption than its European neighbors due to vastly simplified procedures. It’s very helpful in suppressing the black market,” Wang said.

“You only need to prove to the social welfare department that you can give the child a healthy environment, access to school education and safety. That’s it,” she said. “You can even apply to adopt multiple children at once. The examination procedure takes about six months.”

France has many protective measures granting children’s rights. Families living in poverty, once they have a child, can access to tax breaks, subsidies and a small allowance when the school year begins. Single mothers receive the most assistance.

“The law and social security support each other, which leaves the underground market nowhere to thrive,” she said.

Countries: China