China Voice: Harsh punishment for traffickers as China looks to protect women's rights

Severe punishments were given to 11 suspects who kidnapped and trafficked 16 Vietnamese women on Thursday as Chinese courts vow to better protect women's rights. .

Most of the women, who were sold for prostitution in booming Guangdong province, have been rescued by Chinese police and will go back to Vietnam soon.

Depending on their role, the kidnappers recieved sentences ranging from 2 years to life imprisonment. The final ruling from the higher people's court of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is sending a clear signal that anyone who violates the rights of women, whether Chinese or foreign nationals, will be punished according to law.

It coincides with the official visit of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, who vowed to beef up the law enforcement cooperation with China in a joint communique released on Wednesday.

There would be no market for trafficked women if nobody is willing to buy.

High profits from prostitution have driven criminals to take risks despite government crackdown and severe punishment by law.

Meanwhile, buying Vietnamese brides, which are cheaper than domestic brides in the eyes of many rural families', have become sought after. There are hundreds of agents who help Chinese men find Vietnamese brides, some of whom were trafficked.

The gender imbalance in China's rural areas caused by the traditional preference for boys has created a shortage of women for marriage. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that, as of the end of 2014, the Chinese mainland held 33.76 million more males than females, with the sex ratio standing at 115.88 to 100.

China is spending no efforts in cracking down on women trafficking. The number of cases of abducting and trafficking women and children continued to drop in China in 2014 because of harsh punishments the country has imposed for the crimes, according to the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

Courts across China handled 978 cases of women and children trafficking in 2014. The number was 1,313 in 2013 and 1,918 in 2012, according to the SPC.

A total of 12,963 traffickers and buyers have been punished in 7,719 cases from 2010 to 2014. Of those punished, 7,336 received severe punishments ranging from serving at least five years in prison to the death penalty.

At the same time, the law should be more strict on the buyers, who are exempt from criminal responsibility under the current law if they did not maltreat the women or hinder the rescue.

The law should be revised to severely punish the buyers of women and ensure the crime be stifled in the cradle.

More efforts need to be put in rural areas where an extensive publicicing of law should be in place and a more balanced gender structure should be encouraged. Endi