http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/chinese-blogger-bringing-stolen-kids-home/story-e6frg6so-1226004016713
Chinese blogger bringing stolen kids home Leo Lewis From: The Times February 11, 2011 12:00AM A CHINESE academic has harnessed the power of the country's huge, frenetically innovative blogosphere in a stand against child-trafficking. The crime has become a national scourge in which as many as 60,000 children a year are abducted from the streets and sold. In the 15 days since Yu Jianrong established his Twitter-style account, the microblog -- entitled Take a Picture to Rescue Begging Children -- has exploded in popularity and commands a network that reaches into local government and media. The site created a dramatic reunion between father and kidnapped son yesterday: a tearful encounter after nearly three years of separation. Peng Gaofeng wept as he finally glimpsed Wenle, who was snatched from outside a store in early 2008 and had been forced to live 1700km away with a fake family and false name. Child-trafficking in China overwhelmingly involves minors from the larger cities being stolen from their parents and sold for between 20,000 and 70,000 yuan ($2995-$10,475) to families in rural provinces. In many cases, the children are bought by families who either cannot have children or have a daughter but would prefer a son. The blog's success lies in amplifying the might of China's existing crusade against child-trafficking, a campaign that had scored only limited victories and done little to staunch the annual flow of kidnappings. In just a few days of operation, the blog is thought to have saved half a dozen children from misery, reuniting them with their parents after years of separation. The professor has nearly 110,000 readers following the updates and, more critically, a 1000-strong and rapidly swelling national photo archive of possible child-trafficking victims. Users can upload pictures of children who may have been abducted. Professor Yu said the idea came to him after he received a letter from a mother desperate to track down her missing child. The pictures have been recirculated to some of the best-read microblogs in China, where their potential audience has morphed into the tens of millions. Crucial to the anti-trafficking site's success has been its "re-tweeting" by a handful of celebrities who include Yao Chen -- the "queen of the microblogs", with nearly six million followers. Many of the abducted children are beggars collecting small change for their families. Some abducted beggars are maimed to increase income for their captors. The simplicity and anonymity involved in creating the professor's online network of photographs overcomes a major reason that the child-trafficking crisis remains so acute: the unwillingness of the public to intervene. That problem was given grim illustration in the case of Peng Wenle's kidnapping. Security cameras captured the boy's screaming, struggling abduction in daylight outside a busy supermarket. Passers-by can be seen ignoring the boy's ordeal. Estimates for the number of children abducted each year vary. Chinese media recently quoted officials at the Ministry of Public Security as giving a range of between 30,000 and 60,000 kidnappings per year. Many believe that figure significantly understates the true extent, and that as many as 200,000 children a year may be wrenched from their families. THE TIMES Related Coverage a.. US baby thief faces kidnapping charge The Australian, 24 Jan 2011 b.. Woman surrenders after 1987 kidnap Herald Sun, 24 Jan 2011 c.. Police bust child-selling ring The Australian, 18 Jul 2010 d.. Australia named, shamed in slavery report Adelaide Now, 17 Jun 2010 e.. 'Abducted' Haiti orphans all had parents The Australian, 17 Mar 2010 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
