The Fuyang City government, which is responsible for Gongxiao Village in Anhui Province, has called on villagers who organized disabled children to beg in cities to turn themselves in. According to media reports, child trafficking and organizing disabled children to beg had become a way of life in Gongxiao. Even village officials were involved. But this is not the first time Gongxiao has been in the headlines. The child trafficking scandal was originally exposed a full seven years ago but, incredibly, no action was taken.

The depressing situation in Gongxiao Village has re-energized anti-trafficking campaigners. They should focus their attention on the irresponsible behavior of the local government. Why was the issue left to fester for seven years? The officials responsible should be held to account. We need a proper system to investigate and prosecute offenders. Periodically mobilizing popular outrage is not enough.

News headlines change like gusts of wind and the anti-trafficking campaign needs to ditch its dependence on the media. Seven years ago, press reports put Gongxiao in the spotlight and gave birth to the movement. But as soon as the press moved on to the next hot topic, activists began to lose momentum. The recent micro blog campaign that published photos of child beggars, was also fanned by the media and its impetus is just as likely to wane when the media shifts its attention.

When they have published their reports, the media have completed their mission. It is then up to other agencies such as politicians and law enforcement to step in.

Fighting child trafficking is a duty of government. Public protest cannot fill the gap left by local government's dereliction of duty. No matter how committed anti-trafficking campaigners are, the primary responsibility rests with the government. After all, it is the only agency in a position to enforce the law. Ordinary people can do little more than supply information. The government is to blame for the fact that child trafficking was allowed to continue unchecked for seven years in Gongxiao. It has all the resources needed to do the job but it lacks motivation. Some local officials even had a hand in the filthy business. The government's scandalous dereliction meant the situation got worse and worse over seven years and the villagers became more and more dependent on profits gleaned from child beggars.

The currently campaign against child trafficking deserves the highest praise. But its priority should be to investigate government misconduct. If criminal and irresponsible officials are not rooted out and punished, the activists' efforts will have been in vain.

(This article was first published in Chinese in The Beijing News and translated by Li Huiru.)

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