MKS sports who has been abducted for 26 years, in Southwest China's Chongqing. Photo: VCG" />

Parents hug their child surnamed Wang, who has been abducted for 26 years, in Southwest China's Chongqing. Photo: VCG

The public security organs across China successfully solved over 550 current and cold cases of human trafficking in 2024, with a group of trafficking suspects apprehended and a batch of missing and abducted women and children rescued, including an individual missing for up to 30 years, helping to protect the rights and welfare of women and children, China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Tuesday. 

According to a statement released by the ministry, the public security organs nationwide launched a special campaign in 2024 against crimes of human trafficking targeting women and children, swiftly investigating and solving current and cold cases. 

Over the past year, the MPS, in collaboration with multiple departments including the Supreme Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the All-China Women’s Federation, has implemented a strategy combining proactive enforcement, stringent crackdowns, and a dual focus on punishment and prevention to address the root causes of human trafficking.

During the operation, the public security authorities in localities followed the principle of “thorough investigation, meticulous screening, focusing on key areas, and striking with heavy force” to conduct comprehensive and in-depth investigations of criminal leads, making all efforts to solve cases, search for and rescue missing and trafficked women and children, as well as resolutely dismantle the chains of abduction and trafficking crimes.

While vigorously advancing case resolution, the public security departments also worked closely with relevant departments, making full use of traditional and new media platforms to carry out extensive anti-trafficking publicity, to actively foster a strong societal atmosphere of support for anti-trafficking efforts.

In its efforts, the MPS upgraded and improved the Tuanyuan system, or Reunion system in English, which was launched on May 15, 2016, publishing photos, names, and details of missing children, including the time and location of their disappearance, to encourage public participation in locating missing and trafficked children. 

The MPS also integrated the “anti-trafficking DNA information query mini program” into its one-stop service app to improve anti-trafficking and family reunification services. 

Global Times