U.S. Department of State 2001 Trafficking in Persons Report - People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China (Tier 2)

The People's Republic of China (PRC, China) is both a source and destination country for trafficking in persons. Most trafficking is internal. The vast majority of internal trafficking is for the purpose of providing lower-middle income farmers with brides or sons, but a minority of cases involve trafficking of women into forced prostitution in urban areas, and there are some reports suggesting that some victims, especially children, are sold into coerced labor. Internationally, Chinese citizens are trafficked to Malaysia, Burma, Japan, North America, Australia, the Philippines, and Taiwan for sexual exploitation and indentured servitude in sweatshops and restaurants. China is a destination country for trafficked persons from Burma, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Russia, who are subject to sexual exploitation as prostitutes or in arranged marriages.

The Government does not yet fully meet the minimum standards; however, it is making significant efforts to combat trafficking, and has undertaken extensive anti-trafficking efforts. The law prohibits trafficking in women. Sentences for trafficking three or more persons are as severe as those for rape. The Government has signed some international protocols related to trafficking but has not yet implemented them. Officials have investigated and prosecuted many acts of severe forms of trafficking in persons taking place wholly or partly in the country. Many domestic victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons are given assistance and returned to their homes. The central Government has provided funds to provincial and local police to house victims and return them to their homes. Government-funded women's federation offices have provided counseling on legal rights for some victims, including the options for legal action against the traffickers. There have been unconfirmed reports of complicity by some local officials in trafficking and there also have been credible reports of involvement by some local officials in the related problems of alien smuggling and prostitution; the Government strongly condemned and severely punished such behavior. The Government has conducted public education campaigns against trafficking as a preventive measure. Government authorities have engaged in cooperative activities with foreign governments in combating trafficking in persons and the related problem of alien smuggling, particularly with bordering countries.