Stepping up the search

As part of their efforts to end child abduction, Chinese police are using both social and traditional media platforms to broadcast information and collect clues.

"Social media and media platforms have widespread influence, and they are proving to be effective ways of locating missing children," said Chen Shiqu, director of the human trafficking task force under the Ministry of Public Security, who claimed that many missing and abducted children have already been found through these channels.

Chen's fight against child abduction has earned him celebrity status in China. His micro-blog account on Sina Weibo has nearly 6.4 million followers, and more than 2 million people read his micro blog on Tencent, one of China's largest web portals.