On July 1, police from China and Vietnam began joint investigations into cross-border women and children abduction cases. The two-month campaign is aimed at cracking down on cross-border abduction cases, according to Xiong Jian, a police officer from the Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department.

The campaign was launched just before the start of the second summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program on Monday in Kunming, capital of southwest Yunnan Province.

Human abductions and trafficking has been high on the agenda of the GMS program since it was established in 1992.

People living in border areas are especially vulnerable to being kidnapped and sold.

Yunnan Province borders Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos with more than 4,000 kilometers of boundary. But most of the border is unmarked. There are no fences and there are dangerous passes in many places along the border.

According to Xiong, the campaign will cover 12 counties and cities in Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and six cities and prefectures in Vietnam including Lang Son and Lai Chau, where abduction rates are very high.

Xiong also said that prior to the campaign, police from the two countries had carried out preliminary investigations into ongoing cases. Working together, they hope to solve these cases more efficiently and effectively.

Xiong added that joint investigations will be launched regularly. Police forces hope to develop a long-term mechanism to protect the interests of women and children from both countries.

In the last five years, China has rescued and repatriated more than 1,000 Vietnamese women.

(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan July 6, 2005)