China has become gripped by an internet campaign to trace children abducted and forced to become beggars, and reunite them back with their families – a movement that seems to have received a rare stamp of approval from the government.
Two weeks ago, Yu Jianrong, a prominent government critic, began a micro-blog to help rescue such children by urging people to post photographs of young beggars. The blog has since gathered 1,000 pictures, 100,000 followers and made several families happy.
On Tuesday, Peng Gaofeng, a migrant worker in Shenzhen, was reunited with his son who was kidnapped three years ago. Five other children whose pictures were posted on the blog were also identified by their parents, Chinese state media said on Wednesday.