China Deems Human Trafficking About Equal to Wearing Pajamas in Public

Out of the top ten law enforcement crackdowns of 2009 in China, fighting human trafficking was #8. That's right behind blocking file-sharing websites and right in front of preventing pajama-wearing in public. Yes -- you read that right. In China, it seems, ending slavery is just one notch ahead of preventing the "uncivilized" act of parading your pjs on the streets. Why are were China's priorities around ending slavery in their country so messed up in 2009? And will they improve in 2010?

Also beating out human trafficking for Chinese police attention were crackdowns on a couple other widespread and potentially deadly criminal activities, like gang violence and drunk driving. However, along with the file-sharing website crackdown, Chinese authorities devoted more resources to investigating illegal gambling on soccer games than cases of human trafficking. They also chose to crack down on two forms of pornography -- both online and mobile -- but did not prioritize child pornography or look for connections between human trafficking and pornography. But the real slap in the face comes at the end of the list, when we see ending slavery barely beats out regulating celebrity endorsements, and of course, making sure no one leaves their house in their robe and slippers. Such a list would be a bad joke, if the issue of slavery wasn't so serious in China.

China has a significant human trafficking problem. While they do have a number of victims trafficked internationally to and from China, some estimates have indicated that even more internal trafficking is taking place. However, as the Chinese government isn't exactly beating down international doors to chat about internal human rights issues over tea, exact numbers are hard to come by. It has only been in the last few years, however, that China has even admitted they might have some level of a trafficking problem.

To see human trafficking as #8 on the list makes me both hopeful and concerned for the future. On one hand, it means law enforcement have, at some level, acknowledged trafficking exists and are doing something about it. It could also mean that the Chinese government and media are considering human trafficking a serious issue, like gang violence or drink driving. But I'm concerned because human trafficking seems to be lumped into the bottom of the list with crimes that are downright silly. I hope they don't see 2009's #8 largest crackdown as enough.

What will 2010 hold for Chinese anti-trafficking efforts? Call me an optimist, but I think that the crime can't be any more trivialized than being equated to an infraction usually addressed by the fashion police. I think that China, and hopefully the rest of the world, will begin to admit and address their internal human trafficking troubles. Unless, of course, there is an international outbreak of office-appropriate negligees. In that case, we might all be screwed.

Photo credit: flickadoi