Call for action

Xiaohuamei and her story have triggered heated discussion on human trafficking, with many netizens, legal experts, national legislators and policy advisers suggesting that harsher punishment be given to those who buy trafficked women and children.

Highlighting the importance of amending laws to prevent cases such as Xiaohuamei's, Zhu Zhengfu, a national adviser and a lawyer from Guangdong province, called for people from all walks of life to intensify efforts to prevent human trafficking.

He told China News Weekly that the abduction and trafficking of women and children is not treated as a serious crime in some areas. Zhu suggested that more authorities, including civil affairs bodies, lawyers' associations and charity organizations, should unite to discover potential problems in rural areas and regions where people still believe that human trafficking is not a crime.

In the past decade, the nation's resolve to prevent human trafficking has never weakened, and relentless efforts are being made to fight this crime.

Strong appeals from the public have resulted in some changes to legislation and also achievements in fighting trafficking.

Under the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law, which was amended in 2015, those who buy abducted individuals should be held criminally liable. The revised law took effect in November that year. Previously, such buyers escaped criminal punishment if they did not abuse trafficked women and children or interfere with attempts to rescue them.

Police have also made a significant contribution to fighting human trafficking, for example by launching campaigns and locating missing children through a DNA database.

Latest data from the Ministry of Public Security show that 10,932 missing and abducted children had been found in China by the end of last year, thanks to a system known as Reunion, which was first used in May 2016.