International News
Current statistics show that China hosts approximately 250,000 victims of human trafficking.
China has been identified a source, transit and destination for forced marriage, forced labor, and
sex exploitation.
Gender imbalance, rural poverty, and the high cost of bride price and wedding are the root causes.
Conditions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have driven many North Koreans to
illegally migrate to China. Some North Korean women are kidnapped at the border. Due to their
undocumented status, they are often at the whim of the Chinese who sell them into sex work and
forced marriage. Many victims end up in Henan province, part of the North China Plain, where
gender imbalance is severe.
Just recently, a young Korean girl was rescued. She was found on the vast stretch of the Gobi
Desert. The Chinese men who were with her were found burned alive in a gunfight incident. It is
believed that the men were sex trade workers transporting her to Henan across the desert. She is
currently recovering.
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