Human Trafficking Within China

Introduction

The forced ownership of another human by humans has been practiced since the dawn of mankind. Greeks had slaves. Romans had slaves. Slaves were even an integral component of Chinese and Korean culture. Many people have been under the illusion that the slave trade was abolished with the African slave trade in the 19th century. But unfortunately, the trade in humans is very much alive under a different name, human trafficking.

Human Trafficking can be seen in the same two familiar forms of old: sexual and forced labor. The problem is most problematic within the developing world where international norms have largely been ignored. Places such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela. But even places that have or are beginning to adopt international norms are affected by human trafficking. One of these places is China.

The Situation

Sitting close to the edge of being a “developing” and a “developed” country, China is a difficult country to define neatly. It is a country with an ancient and traditional culture trying to position itself higher within the international community. Plus it is also a communist country that has come to embrace its own form of capitalism to fuel its economy. China’s economic boon has been beneficial to many people within the country. But not to all people within China evenly.

While cities have grown more prosperous due to the economy, China’s rural areas have seen little growth. Many Chinese have migrated from their rural homes to cities in order to gain better prospect for a job so they can take care of their families. Some even migrate to foreign countries for better economic prospects. It is estimated that the internal Chinese migrant population within China is around 145 million people. Wom...

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