ChinaGeeks blogger Charles Custer has been busy filming a documentary about the awful practice of child trafficking, which came to public notice after a series of high-profile rescues on Weibo earlier this year. Though media attention has waned, the fact is that child kidnapping is still a serious problem here in China

Human trafficking in China is an unfortunate reality, and over 70,000 children are kidnapped each year to be sold into prostitution, as children to childless couples, for slave labor, or to beg. As Charles Custer writes in an article on the topic for Foreign Policy:

The vast majority of kidnapped children will never see their families again. In China, kids are abducted not for ransom but for sale. Often, they come from poor and rural families -- the families least likely to be capable of tracking their kids down or fighting back. Some children are then sold to new "adoptive" families looking for children. Others are sold into slave labor, prostitution, or a life on the streets. In some cases, healthy children are brutally crippled by handlers on the theory that a child with broken legs or horrific boils looks sadder and can earn more money begging on the street.

Custer is tackling this issue in his film “Living With Dead Hearts: The Search for China’s Kidnapped Children,” which takes a look at the issue through the eyes of families who have lost children, and of children who have been stolen. Slated for release in 2012, “Living With Dead Hearts” is a look at a problem that rarely sees public discussion in China. See trailer below (VPN necessary):

Living with Dead Hearts - Fundraising Pitch and Teaser Trailer from China Geek on Vimeo.

Like many worthy indie endeavors, Custer and his crew need to raise funds to continue. To learn more about the film, and how you can help, check out the film’s website. Custer will also be giving a speech in January for the Beijing International Society on the topic. Stay tuned to City Weekend for the date, time and location.

Making Donations

Of the total money raised for the film, 20 percent will be given to the Xinxing Aid Center. Every donation nets some sort of reward, whether it be a credit on the final film or a signed DVD with a personal thank-you letter (or, dinner with the director!). Donations are made via Paypal--if you have a VPN, check out ChinaGeeks.org (or the movie site for those sans VPN) for donation details.

Producer Leia Li holding the Liu family's daughter (their son Liu Jingjun was kidnapped in 2010). Everyone else in the photo is the relative of a kidnapped child