A policewoman attends to a boy in Xinxiang, Henan province, after he was rescued in March from a child trafficking gang. [Photo/China Daily]

Police in southwest China's Sichuan province and East China's Shandong province rescued 15 babies from gangs that planned to sell them. Among the 78 suspects detained, are some of the babies' biological parents. Beijing News says on Thursday:

The cruel reality is that the number of child trafficking cases has declined, while the trade by birth parents is surging.

Xide county in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, is among the poorest counties nationwide, and selling a baby is seen as a way to obtain a large sum of money by some couples. Another large case of baby trading uncovered in North China's Hebei province in 2012 also involved babies from Xide county. It seems the harsh living conditions have distorted people's minds there.

Compared to developed areas where overall fertility is reduced, many poor areas have high birth rates. Living in extreme poverty, the parents do not have much ability to give their children proper care. The children often grow up fending for themselves, and do not complete compulsory education. In such circumstances, some parents will even sell a child to another family in the hope that it may mean the child has a better future.

Besides severely punishing the parents involved in the present case to deter others, more efforts are needed to lift people in these poor counties out of poverty. Until that is achieved, aid needs to be given to parents so they don't sell or abandon their children.