China’s sordid trade in stolen babies

Government officials in southern China are being accused of stealing infants from villagers for purposes of trafficking in infants.

The officials allegedly arrived at people’s houses demanding enormous sums of money from families who violated China’s one-child policy.

Families too poor to pay had their babies taken away. The babies were then sold to foreign adoption agencies, allegedly in the United States and Europe.

The abductions were clearly illegal, as Chinese law does not allow children to be taken away when the one-child policy is violated.

Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan reports from Hunan Province, China.