Poverty causes parents to sell their children

POLICE IN SOUTHWEST China's Sichuan province and East China's Shandong province rescued 15 babies from gangs that planned to sell them. Among the 78 suspects detained, are some of the babies' biological parents. Beijing News says on Thursday:

The cruel reality is that the number of child trafficking cases has declined, while the trade by birth parents is surging.

Xide county in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, is among the poorest counties nationwide, and selling a baby is seen as a way to obtain a large sum of money by some couples. Another large case of baby trading uncovered in North China's Hebei province in 2012 also involved babies from Xide county. It seems the harsh living conditions have distorted people's minds there.