Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BEIJING4697
2008-12-31 03:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

CHINA: YUNNAN PROVINCE LEADS THE WAY IN CHINA'S

Tags:  PGOV PHUM SMIG KTIP KCRM KWMN CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7543
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #4697/01 3660344
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 310344Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1661
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 004697 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM; EAP/RSP DTIKVART; G/TIP CCHAN-DOWNER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2033
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SMIG KTIP KCRM KWMN CH
SUBJECT: CHINA: YUNNAN PROVINCE LEADS THE WAY IN CHINA'S
FIGHT AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 004697

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM; EAP/RSP DTIKVART; G/TIP CCHAN-DOWNER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2033
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SMIG KTIP KCRM KWMN CH
SUBJECT: CHINA: YUNNAN PROVINCE LEADS THE WAY IN CHINA'S
FIGHT AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.
4 (B) and (D).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Yunnan Province in 2005 was one of the first regions
in China to formulate its own action plan to combat
trafficking in persons (TIP),thereby attracting
international organizations early on and helping establish
itself as a forerunner for anti-TIP programs around the
country. Save the Children UK in Kunming focuses its
anti-TIP programs on protection of migrant children in Yunnan
and Guangxi provinces, while anti-TIP programs implemented by
the Yunnan Provincial Women's Federation focus on prevention.
Victim identification and repatriation of foreign victims
still face challenges due to a lack of resources. Our
contacts on this trip disagreed as to whether TIP cases have
decreased or not. The National Action Plan, implemented in
December 2007, has had limited impact in Yunnan so far,
according to one contact. End summary.

Protecting Migrant Children
--------------


2. (U) Save the Children UK (STC-UK) focuses its anti-TIP
programs on protection of migrant children in Yunnan and
Guangxi provinces, said Liu Chunhua, STC-UK's Communications
and Program Support Senior Officer, in a meeting with PolOff
and ConGen(Chengdu)Off December 9. The organization, which
has been operating in Yunnan since 1995, supports 16
"Activity Centers" for children across the two provinces,
working with the Yunnan Provincial Women's Federation (YPWF).
At these centers, children aged seven to fifteen from rural
areas whose parents have migrated from the province and
children of migrant parents who are from elsewhere in China
are given schooling and training.


3. (U) To date, 6,000 children have been given anti-TIP
awareness training and vocational training at these centers
to prevent them from being lured into trafficking networks.
At STC-UK's center in Pingxiang, Guangxi Province, many of
the children's parents are Vietnamese, having crossed China's

border with Vietnam, but are nonetheless welcomed into the
centers along with Chinese children despite their lack of
legal status.

Difficulties in Victim Identification
--------------


4. (C) STC-UK admits that it is difficult for Chinese law
enforcement to identify trafficking victims and that this is
partially due to the fact that Chinese criminal law does not
consider certain types of exploitation to be trafficking.
Furthermore, in cross-border trafficking, STC-UK admits that
it is difficult for Chinese authorities to determine whether
or not victims are being trafficked into the country or
whether they are illegal immigrants looking for work.

Typical scenario
--------------


5. (C) He Ye (protect),STC-UK's Anti-Trafficking Program
Manager, notes that a typical scenario would start in a
province outside Yunnan, from where victims would be lured
into traveling to Yunnan for work. The victims would end up
in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan's southern-most prefecture on the
border with Thailand and Burma, thinking they would be
provided a job. Soon afterwards, however, the victims would
be forcibly transported across the border into Burma and then
into Thailand where they would transit through Bangkok and
eventually end up on the Thai-Malaysian border. Once they
were outside of China, the victims, usually young, female
Chinese women, would be raped and physically abused. Some of
them would manage to report their situation to the police,
usually in Thailand, at which point the Chinese authorities
would be notified.

Repatriation Complex
--------------


6. (C) STC-UK is periodically asked by YPWF and Yunnan Public
Security Bureau (PSB) to assist with the repatriation of
trafficking victims. In 2004, the organization was asked to
help resettle approximately 45 Chinese women who had been
trafficked to Thailand. STC-UK also assists law enforcement
officials in repatriating Vietnamese and Burmese trafficking
victims to their home countries. This task is often more

BEIJING 00004697 002 OF 003


difficult, He notes, as many Vietnamese women who were
initially trafficked into China are well-integrated into
their communities and do not want to return to Vietnam.
While repatriation usually occurs after complex negotiations
between law enforcement and immigration officials of the
countries involved, He pointed out that the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) often provides both
technical and financial support during such operations.

Rehabilitation Services Lacking
--------------


7. (C) While IOM assists in repatriation, STC-UK often steps
in to provide assistance to victims once they return home to
China. Providing continued care for victims is a challenge,
STC-UK's He told PolOff and ConGenOff, due to limited
resources and geographic dispersion of the victims. For
example, He said that the next day, she and her staff plan to
visit two trafficking victims who had recently returned from
Malaysia but had to spend two days using public
transportation to get there as there was no vehicle
available. She added that the women receive periodic support
but that STC-UK is not able to provide the full range of
rehabilitation services needed for such victims.

Yunnan Provincial Women's Federation
--------------


8. (U) Anti-trafficking programs implemented by the YPWF in
the province focus on prevention, said YPWF Vice President
Zheng Lu in a meeting with PolOff and ConGenOff on December

9. To date, the organization has reached 16 cities and
prefectures in Yunnan through anti-trafficking training or
educational programs with the support of the International
Labor Organization (ILO),Zheng said, and are currently
cooperating with the women's federation in Guangdong Province
to raise awareness of the issue among female migrant workers
and to offer them vocational training in order to render them
less vulnerable to traffickers.

Continuing Public Awareness Campaigns
--------------


9. (U) YPWF's anti-TIP public awareness campaigns are
especially effective, noted Wu Tao, Deputy Director of YPWF's
Rights Department. A range of media, including radio
broadcasts, brochures, performances, poster shows, hotlines
and targeted campaigns to commemorate special occasions such
as International Women's Day, are used to spread the word
among Chinese women of the dangers of trafficking and how to
avoid becoming a victim.

Yunnan Province a Forerunner
--------------


10. (U) Zheng pointed out that Yunnan was in 2005 one of the
first provinces in China to formulate its own
anti-trafficking action plan. She noted that international
organizations established anti-trafficking programs in Yunnan
before moving to other provinces and that this helped Yunnan
establish itself as a forerunner for combating trafficking
around the country. Commenting on the National Action Plan
(NPA),Zheng said that it was a welcome development, but that
for now, programs in Yunnan will not be affected by its
implementation. She pointed out that all of the funds used
for anti-trafficking programs are provincial, not national,
funds.

Ten Best Practices
--------------


11. (U) Through their work with the International Labor
Organization (ILO),YPWF representatives said they have
helped approximately 40,000 women since their cooperation
with the international organization began eight years
earlier. To build on their experience, YPWF issued a list of
ten "best practices" for anti-trafficking programs, including
integrating government ministries into programs, keeping
children in school to reduce their risk of being trafficked,
and placing an emphasis on prevention.

Challenges Remain
--------------


12. (U) YPWF Rights Department Deputy Director Wu admitted
that YPWF's programs are not without challenges. For one,
there is a constant lack of funds and capacity needed to deal
with anti-trafficking issues and to manage general programs

BEIJING 00004697 003 OF 003


on women's rights protection. Providing rehabilitation
services to trafficking victims who had returned home is also
a challenge, as some victims continue to migrate from their
villages to the big cities after having been rescued.

Cases have decreased
--------------


13. (U) YPWF Vice President Zheng said she thinks it is too
early to tell what sort of impact the economic crisis will
have on trafficking trends in Yunnan. Wu pointed out that in
general, the number of trafficking cases in Yunnan has
decreased, due to the effectiveness of YPWF prevention
programs and increased crackdowns by law enforcement.

Or have they?
--------------


14. (C) Professor Wang Qiliang (protect) of Yunnan University
disagrees. In a meeting with EmbOff and ConGenOff on
December 9, he noted that although anti-trafficking programs
such as those carried out by YPWF have been successful, his
research has shown an increase in trafficking cases across
China. Basing his conclusion on research conducted in two
specific locations in Yunnan, Professor Wang noted that new
trafficking trends are emerging. The most common form of
trafficking used to be marriage trafficking, where young
women would be tricked into becoming wives of rural farmers
in far-flung communities. Now, Wang claims, the trend is
closer to forced labor, where men are also involved, and
traffickers exploit people's desire to migrate to build a
better life.

Lack of information
--------------


15. (C) Wang noted that reliable statistics on trafficking in
China and information on the impact of anti-trafficking
measures are lacking. He said that through his research
center on social development at the university, he and a few
colleagues are focusing on addressing this deficiency.

NPA impact limited
--------------


16. (C) The National Action Plan (NPA) is useful, added Wang,
but due to lack of funds and resources, it will probably not
have an immediate impact on anti-trafficking programs across
the country. Wang said he thought provinces such as Yunnan
have not yet realized that the NPA can be used to obtain
financing and support for ongoing anti-trafficking
activities. He added that he thought the NPA is unlikely to
bring change in the next five years.


17. (U) This is a joint Embassy Beijing-ConGen Chengdu cable.

RANDT
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