Asia Wire

Mum And Son Reunite After Being Sold By Human Traffickers 31 Years Ago

This is the moment a mother and son tearfully reunite after being abducted and sold into slavery by human traffickers 31 years ago.

Tao Xiaobing was reunited with his mother in the city of Bijie in the Chinese province of Guizhou on 26th June.

In 1990, three-year-old Tao and his mother Zhou Jiaying were abducted and sold to a family in the province of Shandong by neighbours from the same village, according to the news site Baidu.

Mother and son reunite 31 years later after being abducted at the same time in 1990, in Guizhou, China. (Yong Lu/AsiaWire)

A few months later, the mother managed to escape during a moment when her captors were not expecting it, and managed to go home to Bijie, but she was unable to take her young son with her.

When she raised the alarm and returned to the house where they were forced to work, she found that no one was home and villagers kept telling her to ‘go away’, and local officials appeared to have little appetite to help solve the disappearance at that time.

Despite visiting the location several times over the years, she never had any luck in finding her son, who continue to work in slavery looking after elderly and children in the family where he was being kept.

Mother and son reunite 31 years later after being abducted at the same time in 1990, in Guizhou, China. (Yong Lu/AsiaWire)

He was eventually freed from servitude and adopted by a couple in Shandong Province, but the new couple were also not interested in helping him find his mother because they feared losing their new son.

Tao said that his parents were afraid that he would return to her if he ever tracked down his biological mother.

Tao said that despite that he always thought of his mother and wanted to try to find her while going through university, but did not know where to start looking.

Mother and son reunite 31 years later after being abducted at the same time in 1990, in Guizhou, China. (Yong Lu/AsiaWire)

Years later, Tao felt that the time was right and tracked his mother down with the help of volunteers from Guizhou, Shandong and Xi’an.

He said that by this time he had married and had a family of his own, which had strengthened his desire to overcome the obstacles and find his real mother.

After being informed of his suspected mother’s whereabouts a DNA test was arranged, and as soon as it was confirmed, Tao rushed to the address in Guizhou Province to reunite with his mother.

Mother and son reunite 31 years later after being abducted at the same time in 1990, in Guizhou, China. (Yong Lu/AsiaWire)

While hugging her long-lost son, Zhou said: “Thank you everyone for helping me find my child.”

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