Woman Executed for Kidnapping 17 Children in Southwest China

A woman, Yu Huaying, was put to death on Friday after being found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking 17 children for 10 years. Between 1993 and 2003, Yu collaborated with others in kidnapping children in several locations such as Guizhou, Chongqing, and Yunnan, for illegal gain.

Yu was convicted of her crimes and sentenced to death in October 2024, and her assets were confiscated as well. She appealed the conviction, but the verdict was upheld by the Guizhou Provincial High People’s Court. The death sentence was approved after review by the Supreme People’s Court.

Yu’s case went viral on social media, with millions of people commenting on it on platforms like Weibo. The majority of them were relieved, hoping that human trafficking would stop and the victims would be punished.

One of the victims, Yang Niuhua, was abducted by Yu when she was 5 in 1995. Yang was trafficked into deep rural regions and only knew her real family in 2021. She cried after hearing Yu’s live streaming execution.

The Chinese government has actively been cracking down on human trafficking activities, resolving over 550 cases and rescuing many victims, including long-missing women and children.