China blasts 'irresponsible remarks' by US on fighting human trafficking

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Beijing slammed Washington's move to label China among the worst human traffickers in the world as "irresponsible," reiterating its resolution to combat trade of humans, according to Lu Kang, spokesperson for the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lu said China firmly opposed the US remarks about other countries' efforts against human trafficking based on its domestic law.

"No country can stay aloof from the fight against human trafficking as it is a crime plaguing the whole world, and China will step up cooperation with other countries to crack down on human trafficking based on mutual respect."

On Tuesday, the annual Trafficking in Persons report, issued by the US State Department, placed China in the bottom rung.

"China was downgraded to Tier 3 action in this year's report in part because it has not taken serious steps to end its own complicity in trafficking, including forced laborers from North Korea that are located in China,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang at a daily press briefing in Beijing on June 27, 2017. /MOFA Photo

Unwavering efforts against human trafficking

To any civilized society, human trafficking is a serious crime violating the most basic human rights.

The Chinese government has been fighting modern-day slavery and forced and coerced labor for decades in order to better protect the rights and interests of its people.

China unveiled an action plan to curb human trafficking and appropriately relocate the victims of human trafficking on March 2, 2013, in accordance with relevant international conventions and Chinese laws.

A couple from southwest China's Yunnan Province hold a picture of their abducted son on December 15, 2013. /VCG Photo

Nationwide anti-abduction campaigns have been carried out by public security departments at all levels, as the country sternly and seriously implemented the action plan.

In December 2016, China's Supreme People's Court issued a judicial interpretation, stipulating stricter rules on child trafficking and related crimes.

According to the interpretation, coaxing infants or children under the age of six to leave their proper guardians for trafficking purposes will be deemed as child larceny, and subject to harsher penalties than other trafficking crimes.

China's criminal law states that those convicted of female or child trafficking should be sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years, while those convicted of child larceny will receive punishment ranging from a minimum of 10 years in prison to capital punishment.

Thanks to persistent efforts to crack down on the underground practice, trafficking in women and children has been effectively reduced.

Wang Xiaolei, kidnapped 15 years ago, reunites with his parents on March 6, 2013. /VCG Photo

Official figures show that police across the country rescued over 13,000 abducted children and over 30,000 women in 2014.

Between 2013 and 2016, China solved 3,713 child trafficking cases, according to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China.

US not 'the judge'

This is not the first time the US criticized the situation of human rights in China and other countries this year.

On March 3, the US State Department issued the "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016," painting an unrealistic image of China.

China in response published "the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2016" on March 9, which noted how the US poses as "the judge of human rights".

"Wielding 'the baton of human rights,' it pointed fingers and cast blame on the human rights situation in many countries while paying no attention to its own terrible human rights problems," the report stated.

"With the gunshots lingering in people's ears behind the Statue of Liberty, worsening racial discrimination and the election farce dominated by money politics, the self-proclaimed human rights defender has exposed its human rights 'myth' with its own deeds," it added.

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