VZCZCXRO2379
RR RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #2240/01 2440725
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010725Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3256
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 1730
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 5077
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6759
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0715
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5564
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 3587
RUEHVN/AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE 3839

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002240 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS; INL/AAE; G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN KOCI PHUM KCRM CH VM
SUBJECT:  RECENT VIETNAM-CHINA ANTI-TRAFFICKING COOPERATION 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Vietnam's border region with China accounts for 
the majority of its trafficking in persons cases.  To tackle this 
problem, both countries are bolstering their law enforcement 
cooperation, including through bilateral agreements and operational 
cooperation.  Their efforts have yielded results, including rescuing 
victims and rolling up gangs involved in trafficking.  Furthermore, 
both countries are working to raise public awareness about the 
problem of trafficking in persons - and their cooperative activities 
to combat it -- through the co-hosting of an international 
anti-trafficking forum and a border area public awareness campaign. 
End Summary. 
 
--------------------------- 
A LONG AND DIFFICULT BORDER 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The problem of trafficking in persons (TIP) along the 
1,463-kilometer border between Vietnam and China is endemic. 
Earlier this month, Vice Minister of Public Security Le The Tiem 
said in an article in the "People's Police" newspaper that the 
hotspot border provinces in northern Vietnam include Quang Ninh, 
Lang Son, Cao Bang, Lai Chau and Lao Cai.  During a conference on 
human trafficking sponsored by the GVN earlier this year, the 
Ministry of Public Security (MPS) reported that they had identified 
23 TIP routes and 105 hotspots in Vietnam, with the Vietnam-China 
border being the "worst TIP region."  According to a recent MPS 
survey, trafficking cases in the Vietnam-China border region account 
for 70 percent of the country's trafficking total.  According to a 
recent report issued by the Vietnamese police, more than 550 
Vietnamese women and children were trafficked to China in the last 
two years.  Out of that number, about 185 were from Quang Ninh, 137 
from Lang Son, 90 from Lao Cai, and the rest from Cao Bang, Ha 
Giang, Lai Chau and Dien Bien provinces. 
 
------------------------------------- 
BILATERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On June 1, public security officials from Vietnam and China 
signed a Memorandum of Understanding to combat trafficking in 
persons across the two countries' border.  According to an MPS press 
release, this MOU serves as the basis for the two countries' law 
enforcement personnel and anti-TIP task forces to combat 
trafficking, rescue victims and receive returnees.  Law enforcement 
efforts have recently yielded some notable successes.  In a joint 
effort between the two countries' police forces, four Chinese 
children trafficked to Vietnam were returned to their homes in 
Guangzhou.  The children, three boys and a girl between nine and 14 
years' old, were kidnapped in Zhejiang Province, China, on May 5, in 
an attempt to traffic them to a third country, according to Vietnam 
News.  Police reported that they rescued these children in Ho Chi 
Minh City.  Furthermore, in July and August, Vietnamese and Chinese 
police rolled up more than 30 gangs involved in trafficking in 
persons. 
 
----------------- 
RAISING AWARENESS 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In a bid to raise the profile of bilateral anti-trafficking 
cooperation, on August 28, 2006, Vietnam and China co-hosted in 
Hanoi the first-ever Children's Forum on Anti-Trafficking in Women 
and Children Across Borders.  The initiative was jointly sponsored 
by the Vietnam Women's Union and All-China Women's Federation, with 
support from UNICEF.  Over 120 children between the ages of 11 and 
18 from the border provinces of Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Hung 
Yen of Vietnam, and Guangxi and Yunnan of China, participated, 
together with government officials from both countries and 
representatives from Vietnamese and Chinese mass organizations, 
UNICEF country offices in Vietnam and China and international 
organizations in Vietnam. 
 
¶5. (SBU) During this forum, Vietnamese and Chinese children shared 
views and concerns about the cross-border trafficking situation. 
Messages from the children were presented to Vietnamese and Chinese 
officials in the hope of developing new national strategies and 
further strengthening cross-border cooperation.  Prior to the forum, 
the children also participated in a two-day workshop, where they 
shared their experiences and discussed the negative impact that 
trafficking had on their lives.  Speaking at the forum, Vice 
Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women's Union Nguyen Thi Oanh said that 
"trafficking in women and children flagrantly violates their rights 
and we must respect children's views. Children also need to actively 
 
HANOI 00002240  002 OF 002 
 
 
participate in the prevention of trafficking and combating against 
these unacceptable crimes." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Separately, Vietnamese and Chinese authorities launched 
earlier this year a large-scale campaign in their respective border 
provinces to raise public awareness about the problem of 
cross-border trafficking in persons.  According to a Vietnam Women's 
Union official, the program has enhanced significantly the local 
people's knowledge about the crime.  In this official's overall 
estimation, "Vietnam and China are working well with each other to 
resolve the trafficking issue." 
 
ALOISI