Lost Children Exhibition in China

　　A special exhibition displaying the portraits of lost children was held in Beijing to raise awareness¹ of the tens of thousands of missing children across China. Li Dong has the details.

 

　　Portrait artist Li Yueling spent a year on these works in the aim of raising public awareness of the serious issue of missing children in China.

 

　　"After exhibiting the portraits in Beijing for two weeks, we're planning on displaying them in several other big cities like Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and Chongqing. We want the whole country to know how widespread the missing children epidemic² is in China, and we must help the families suffering from this."

 

　　For some parents, such as Liu Quanwei, pictures are all that remain of their children.

 

　　"My daughter, Liu Ziying, disappeared in the city of Zhengzhou on October 8, 2009. She was playing outside my house, but ten minutes later she was gone. In order to find my child, I quit my job and searched across the country."

 

　　Although Liu was able to find the alleged³ kidnapper⁴, the woman was released after only one year in prison due to a lack of evidence regarding the abduction of Liu's daughter. Liu feels helpless.

 

　　"I just want to know if my child is alive. I don't have any other expectations."

 

　　A special exhibition displaying the portraits of lost children was held in Beijing to raise awareness of the tens of thousands of missing children across China. [Photo: weibo.com]

 

　　Between 2009 and 2012, Chinese police rescued 54,000 children from abduction and trafficking.

 

　　In 2009, an online campaign against child abduction was launched to encourage people to view photos of lost children in the hopes of locating them. Many children were reunited with their families. The charity has since developed into an NGO to help parents find their missing children.

 

　　Professor Yu Jianrong of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is one of the pioneers of the campaign.

 

　　"From a legal point of view, I suggest increasing the legal responsibility of those who buy abducted⁶ children. Buying abducted children is now illegal in China, but the punishment is still too light. As long as they do not mistreat the children and agreed to their subsequent rescue, the buyers are not punished."

 

　　A mother of a missing child says she hates child traffickers.

 

　　"Those who buy children should be seriously punished. If they didn't buy children, there wouldn't be so many people abducting⁷ our children."

 

　　Considering the difficulty of tracking the children, Professor Yu has suggested setting up a national DNA⁵ database for children.

 

　　"If we set up a DNA database when a child is born, and require this to be used in hospitals, schools as well as many other things, then it would be impossible to traffic children. Our country's current technology can fully⁸ achieve this."

 

　　The Lost Children exhibition began in Beijing on June 1, World Children's Day, and the exhibition will also move to other major cities across China.

 

　　For CRI, I am Li Dong.

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 kidnapper   

n.绑架者，拐骗者

参考例句：

• The kidnapper was shot dead then and there by the armed policeman.绑架者被武装警察当时当地击毙。
• The kidnapper strangled the child with a piece of string.绑票的人用一根绳子把这孩子勒死了。

5 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

6 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

7 abducting   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的现在分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• She was charged with abducting a six-month-old child. 她被控诱拐一个6个月大的孩子。
• At the same time, the rate of abducting foreigners is going down. 同时，发生在外国人身上的绑架案正在下降。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。