What is the government of China trying to do about the problem of kidnapping and trafficking?
In the film, the parents of some kidnapped children seemed to embarrass their local governments when they lobbied Beijing. KJ: I think you are right about the local government feeling admonished and maybe even receiving black marks for this. But “the government” is many different levels and Beijing often reacts by trying to help in these situations. It depends on whose attention you can get. Same in the US, I would think—if you can grab the attention of a big shot in the FBI you may get more resources mobilized on your behalf if your child is missing. But it is not about saving face; it is about political power, related to political reputation. Anyway, the point is the government is not trying to hide kidnapping as a problem. The filmmakers seem to say the government wants to keep this a secret, but really what they say is that the Chinese government doesn’t “want the world to know”—whatever that could mean in the era of the Internet. In fact, this is the hottest story in China today.
