Slavery is Alive and Well

Slavery is still alive and well. These girls were kidnapped and brought to China as sex slaves yet we read that after the police found out and arrested their "husbands" the girls "were sent to a Chinese police station, where they were charged with illegal immigration." That doesn't sound right. At any rate they were sent home by the Chinese and authorities in both countries are arresting those involved in the actual trafficking although it is unclear whether the end of the line customers who bought the girls are very severely dealt with outside of being out of a lot of money (one girl cost $26,000). The old Chinese policy of one child only led to an unintended shortage of women in China (the sex ratio is 141 men per 100 women: the culture prefers boys to girls so the missing girls were either aborted or victims of infanticide the CPC has been trying to change this cultural bias but it takes time). China and Burma are not the only places this deplorable trade takes place. It's worldwide -- here is what goes on in the US: "Sex trafficking of women and girls is a devastating crime affecting communities everywhere in this country, including your own backyard. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center has received reports of trafficking cases in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. You might think you’re far removed from this modern-day slavery, but you’re not. How can women and children be trafficked in the commercial sex trade so easily? Hotels, casinos, resorts, nightclubs, and other establishments allow this practice to flourish in your community, because turning a blind eye can be more profitable than actually doing something about the problem."- Morgan & Morgan Law Firm. Where there is money to be made the "invisible hand" of the capitalist market will respond to the demand and supply the commodity -- a system that gladdens the hearts of Ayn Rand followers and other lovers of capitalism.

NYTIMES.COM

Teenage Brides Trafficked to China Reveal Ordeal: ‘Ma, I’ve Been Sold’

With women far outnumbered by men in China, some Chinese men are importing wives from neighboring countries, and using force to do so.