Crackdown on human trafficking tightened

Chinese courts are ramping up efforts to tackle new forms of human trafficking.

The Supreme People's Court in a release on Thursday said the number of abductions and trafficking crimes involving children and women in China has shown a significant decline, with a nearly 78 percent drop in 2025 compared with the peak in 2012.

However, while traditional methods of trafficking, such as abductions, have declined, there has been a rise in cases where the internet and fraudulent relationships are being used to facilitate trafficking.

For instance, the use of coded language to post information and conduct transactions online transcends geographical boundaries and is highly covert, posing challenges to investigations and judicial processes, the nation's highest court said.

The top court said that it is intensifying research into these new challenges and working to clarify legal standards to ensure consistency in rulings by formulating relevant judicial interpretations or documents and by publicizing notable cases.

In one case revealed on Thursday, an individual surnamed Qiu was sentenced to life imprisonment for exploiting six women with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities under the guise of arranging marriages from 2018 to March 2021. He sold them as wives for a profit of 190,000 yuan ($27,600) and raped two of them.

In another case, a woman surnamed Chen received a seven-year prison sentence and a 100,000 yuan fine for obtaining children's information online and deceiving others by claiming she was infertile and eager to adopt. She used these pretenses to acquire and sell three infants, illegally profiting over 130,000 yuan.

Zhao Li, a criminal lawyer at Beijing Jingsh Law Firm, acknowledged these new trends, revealing that traffickers also lure people with group travel and online romances, in addition to arranging marriages and promises of high-paying jobs.

He noted that trafficking of normal adult women under the guise of marriage is rare, and most victims are intellectually disabled individuals from economically disadvantaged areas. "Once these women are taken to remote areas and sold, their ability to seek help or report the crime is severely hindered, posing a big challenge to current legal practice," he said.

Moreover, with the rapid development of the internet and the widespread use of social media, cases of online trafficking have become more frequent, he added. "Criminals often use coded language online, referring to boys as 'blue' and girls as 'pink', making it difficult for police to detect initially," he said. He said that once these codes are deciphered, they serve as evidence to prosecute the traffickers.

Zhang Zhiwei, head of an international cooperation and protection center against human trafficking at the China University of Political Science and Law, said new forms of trafficking have emerged in the sex and telecom fraud industries.

"Unaware minors are sometimes lured into working in karaoke bars or bathhouses. Gradually, they're forced into sex work," he told Jiemian News, a Shanghai-based media outlet. "While appearing voluntary and nonviolent, these are traps set by traffickers to exploit minors, especially girls."

He added that telecom fraud hubs have become hot spots for trafficking, noting that foreign gangs usually use "high-paying job offers" to deceive individuals into traveling abroad, where they are held captive, have their passports confiscated, and are sold and enslaved.

"Despite the overlap with fraud, these acts meet the criteria for human trafficking: recruitment through deceit and violence, followed by exploitation and control," he said, suggesting that legislation should evolve to address these changes and ensure the comprehensive crackdown on such crimes.

Zhao, the lawyer, also called for increased use of DNA technology, artificial intelligence and big data to combat crimes and decode secret languages, thereby enhancing the chances of busting human trafficking networks.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn