Can anything be worse than this ?

[michel]

'Babies for sale' on Chinese eBay
Chinese police are investigating a report of attempted baby trafficking on an internet auction site, according to a state-owned newspaper.



The advertisement was reportedly placed on eBay's Chinese website, Eachnet.

Boys were advertised for 28,000 yuan ($3,450) while girls were offered for 13,000 yuan ($1,603), Eachnet manager Tang Lei told the China Daily.

The offer could have been a hoax, but it comes as baby trafficking is seen as an increasing problem in China.

China's strict "one child" birth control policy, coupled with the traditional bias for male children, has led to widespread reports of child abductions, and several people have been sentenced to death for their part in smuggling rings.

According to Eachnet, the advertisement was registered in Shanghai on 16 October.

The seller, under the user name "Chuangxinzhe Yongyuan" or "innovator forever", said the babies would be available within 100 days of their birth.

The seller said the service was being provided for the benefit of China's millions of infertile couples.

All the children were described as coming from Henan province in central China.

Although no deals were struck, more than 50 people browsed the listing before it was removed, including one who left an enquiry.

According to Tang Lei, the website automatically screens all the postings it receives. But the word "baby" is not seen as a forbidden term because so many baby products are advertised on the site.

Mr Tang admitted the posting may have been a hoax - but he added that, if not, the person responsible for the attempted sale could face many years in prison or even the death penalty.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4359570.stm

Published: 2005/10/20 09:18:00 GMT

© BBC MMV

 

[robtex]

China is a mess population wise. Between late abortion, madatory sterlization and inficide I would call this more of a symptom than a problem. The problem is the population. If there is a way to work on that civilly (which there may not be) much of this kind of things will work out in turn.

 

[Aqualung]

Holy Crap!

 

[Fluffy]

I disagree robtex. I feel that China's problem stems from the way it differentiates between men and women. If a male child is seen as worth more, both in terms of being able to generate more income and aquiring a dowry, than a female child, and parents are limited to one child, then infanticide etc will happen.

If people viewed men and women equally in China then I feel that most of their problems, in this area, would go away since then their one baby policy might actually work without having these terrible outcomes.