VZCZCXRO2295
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #2594/01 2530938
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100938Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5993
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 002594 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
EAP/CM; EAP/PPD; EAP/RSP; G/TIP CCHAN-DOWNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SMIG KTIP KCRM KWMN CH
SUBJECT: MPS DISCUSSES CHINA'S ANTI-TRAFFICKING STRATEGY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  China continues to develop its 
prosecutorial and administrative abilities to counter 
trafficking in persons (TIP) and recognizes the importance of 
properly taking care of trafficking victims, the Ministry of 
Public Security (MPS) Official responsible for TIP issues 
emphasized in an August 28 meeting with PolOff. 
Acknowledging the Chinese government has yet to fully 
implement its National Plan of Action law to combat human 
trafficking, the official stressed that standardizing China's 
anti-trafficking policies and ensuring local officials' 
actual practices are in line with those policies takes time. 
Our source maintained that China is cooperating closely with 
international organizations to strengthen its ability to 
protect, and provide services to, rescued trafficking victims 
and would welcome increased cooperation with U.S. law 
enforcement agencies to investigate and solve human 
trafficking cases.  End Summary. 
 
China Takes Human Trafficking Seriously 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In an August 28 meeting with PolOff, Ministry of 
Public Security (MPS) Director of the Office to Combat Human 
Trafficking Chen Shiqu emphasized the high level of attention 
the Chinese government placed on fighting the transnational 
crime of trafficking in persons (TIP).  Chen assured PolOff 
that China over the past few years had stepped up cooperation 
with Mekong region countries and international organizations 
to strengthen China's anti-trafficking strategy, leading to 
passage of the 2008 National Plan of Action (NPA) law to 
combat TIP.  China continued to develop its prosecutorial and 
administrative abilities to counter TIP and recognized the 
importance of properly taking care of trafficking victims, he 
added. 
 
Bureaucracy Hindering Rapid NPA Implementation 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3. (SBU) Acknowledging the Chinese government had yet to 
fully implement the NPA, Director Chen stressed that China's 
size, the scope of its trafficking problem, and the 
complexity of Chinese bureaucracy necessitated the PRC take 
an "appropriate" period of time to clearly delineate NPA 
responsibilities throughout the government system and ensure 
correct implementation procedures were in place.  MPS earlier 
this year issued NPA implementation guidelines that clarified 
roles and responsibilities for relevant government agencies 
and "instructed them to do their part."  In March, China's 
Supreme Court issued NPA implementation instructions to 
prosecutors.  Director Chen's four-person office was 
responsible for coordinating the anti-trafficking activities 
of 29 government ministries, bureaus and departments, the 
majority of which have little-to-no prior experience in 
anti-trafficking work, he lamented.  "Harmonizing" China's 
bureaucratic response to trafficking and making sure 
officials took the correct action took time, Chen argued, 
pointing to a myriad of ministerial- and department-level 
"coordination meetings" held in the last year on China's 
anti-trafficking laws and procedures. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Director Chen told PolOff of several instances in 
2008 and 2009 involving high-level government officials or 
offices issuing orders for all ministries to "seriously 
implement" the NPA, as well as the publication of new 
standards issued to local governments to help guide them in 
implementing and assessing the performance of provincial 
action plans to combat human trafficking.  While Chen's 
office oversaw the overall policy direction of China's 
anti-trafficking work, he repeatedly stressed its primary 
focus was to ensure that local governments and local public 
security bureaus "sincerely and effectively" carried out 
anti-trafficking work as outlined in the NPA.  In particular, 
this meant strengthening local governments' anti-trafficking 
work and instructing local police to change the way they 
address trafficking cases. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Chen would not directly speak to media and 
non-governmental organization reports of the central 
government's difficulty in ensuring provincial governments 
and local security bureaus carried out central government 
anti-trafficking directives.  He asserted, however, that 
funding for most anti-trafficking work should come from the 
local governments, rather than the central government. 
(Note:  Embassy contacts indicate that provinces with high 
 
BEIJING 00002594  002 OF 003 
 
 
instances of human trafficking are usually more advanced in 
developing and implementing provincial action plans, while 
other provinces are more likely to merely copy the central 
government's plan without considering provincial-specific 
anti-trafficking needs or proactively implementing 
anti-trafficking measures.) 
 
Institutionalizing Anti-Trafficking Special Campaigns 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Institutionalizing the anti-trafficking mechanisms 
employed during the "Sixth Special Campaign to Combat 
Trafficking of Women and Children" would be Director Chen's 
focus once the campaign ended in December, he said.  The 
sixth campaign's primary objective was to ensure that local 
public security bureaus knew how to handle TIP cases.  While 
the special campaigns were effective in commanding central 
government attention and resources, substantially fighting 
China's trafficking problem required a long-term, 
institutionalized approach, Chen acknowledged.  "In order to 
prolong the effects of the special campaign," Chen noted, "we 
have to take what we have learned and the procedures we have 
developed to combat trafficking and make it a part of routine 
policy work."  This meant changing China's local security 
bureaus' fundamental approach to anti-trafficking work, he 
added. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The anti-trafficking campaign had introduced three 
procedures to improve police work.  First, the campaign had 
changed prior practice under which police did not classify a 
missing person case as a crime and typically would wait 24 
hours after a person was reported missing before conducting 
an investigation.  Now, local and central government security 
organs had to treat missing persons as a criminal 
investigation, and the local security bureaus were required 
to immediately start investigation procedures.  Second, MPS 
had established China's first DNA bank and database to 
genetically link trafficked or abducted persons -- typically 
children -- with family members.  DNA of rescued children or 
children suspected of being trafficked could now be matched 
with samples collected from family members of abducted 
children free of charge.  In early August, the first child to 
be reunited with family through the DNA bank had returned 
home to Yunnan Province after 10 years' absence.  Lastly, MPS 
had established a "Most Wanted" list for traffickers, issuing 
Class A warrants for their arrest, which effectively boosted 
prosecution efforts.  By August, according to MPS data, 
security forces had nabbed 15 of 20 of China's most heinous 
traffickers.  Chen explained that once one trafficker was 
caught, another trafficker was added to the Most Wanted list. 
 
¶8. (SBU) According to Chen, from April to mid-August, MPS 
through its special campaign had solved 1,214 female 
trafficking and 1,174 abducted children cases, resulting in 
the rescue of 2,291 women and 1,460 children.  During that 
same time period, MPS had cracked down on 574 criminal 
organizations or rings involved in TIP and had effectively 
used the DNA data bank in 64 investigative cases.  In August, 
a month-long anti-trafficking campaign in train stations in 
the south of China led to the rescue of more than 800 
trafficking victims.  Since trains and buses were the 
cheapest modes of transport in China, they were heavily used 
by traffickers to transport their victims, Chen remarked. 
 
Problems Persist 
---------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Embassy contacts referencing media reports of local 
security officials ignoring requests to investigate 
trafficking or missing person cases point out that a change 
in security officials' attitude is unlikely absent 
significant reform of cadre promotion criteria.  Partially in 
response to this criticism, the Central Administration 
Committee on Comprehensive Public Security in 2008 set 
"anti-trafficking" as one of the indicators to evaluate 
cadres' performance.  Security officials unable to make 
efforts on anti-trafficking were disciplined or demoted, 
"according to committee rules," Director Chen said.  Despite 
this change, and perhaps because local security officials' 
performance are primarily rated by the number of cases solved 
and not the number of cases opened, the difficulty in solving 
trafficking or missing person cases almost certainly 
influences security officials' decision whether to take on a 
case, Embassy NGO contacts have argued. 
 
BEIJING 00002594  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Director Chen refused to comment on media reports 
of corrupt local officials' or security bureaus' possible 
complicity in the lucrative trafficking trade, asserting that 
Chinese criminal law stipulated that whoever impeded law 
enforcement efforts to rescue trafficked victims would be 
punished with sentences ranging from 5 years' imprisonment to 
the death penalty. 
 
Protecting Trafficking Victims 
------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (SBU) Turning to the protection of TIP victims, Director 
Chen explained that China was cooperating closely with 
international organizations, such as the United Nations 
Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking, the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM), and the International Labor 
Organization, to strengthen its ability to provide services 
to rescued victims of trafficking.  Stressing the need for 
various Chinese ministries, such as the Ministry of Civil 
Affairs, to better understand how to effectively organize to 
assist trafficking victims, Chen expressed appreciation for 
USG funding of IOM's project to train Chinese government and 
non-government entities on best practices in providing 
services to trafficking victims. 
 
China Asks for Help 
------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Turning to China's partnering with other countries 
to combat human trafficking, Director Chen asked whether the 
United States would be willing to work more closely with 
China.  Chen raised China's collaboration with the Australian 
government to shutter illicit Chinese labor recruitment 
agencies known for trafficking Chinese persons to Australia 
as an example of China's willingness to work with other 
countries to combat trafficking.  Director Chen stressed the 
Chinese government also wanted to cooperate with U.S. law 
enforcement agencies to investigate and solve TIP cases.  In 
particular, China would welcome any information the U.S. law 
enforcement community could provide on Chinese nationals 
trafficked abroad or on pedophiles seeking entrance to China. 
 Chen stated that MPS had noted the Secretary's call for a 
partnership to combat trafficking and welcomed the inclusion 
of a report on the United States in the next USG TIP report. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Noting that the USG funded training opportunities 
for MPS officials attending International Law Enforcement 
Academy courses in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as the State 
Department's acceptance of his subordinate, Yin Jianzhong, to 
attend the October 2009 MRP Trafficking in Persons course, 
Director Chen underscored China's appreciation for these 
training opportunities.  Stressing the importance of these 
training opportunities to increasing the capability of MPS 
officers in handling domestic as well as transnational TIP 
cases, Chen made clear China would welcome any increase in 
training to combat human trafficking.  Such training was 
essential to boosting the local security bureaus' ability to 
carry out NPA responsibilities, Chen added. 
 
¶14. (SBU) China continued to have a particular problem with 
the abduction of children, most for illegal, in-country 
adoption, but some into exploitative labor or sex industry 
situations, Director Chen observed.  He affirmed China's 
position that abducted children for these purposes were 
considered trafficking victims.  Development of China's 
strategy to prevent and combat child abduction, recover 
abducted children, and return them to their families was 
still in its early stages, he added.  Director Chen asked for 
information on how the U.S. law enforcement community was 
organized to respond to child abduction cases, and what 
particular procedures or best practices were used by U.S. law 
enforcement personnel. 
 
HUNTSMAN