According to Chinese authorities, police have rescued more than 123,000 women and children in a crackdown on trafficking over the past six months.

Around 13,000 children and 10,000 women have been rescued, Public Security officials said. Most of the women were abducted and sold as brides or into prostitution; the majority of children were sold to childless couples.

The Government vowed to make its campaign against trafficking a priority this year. The Ministry of Public Security and the All-China Women's Federation launched the campaign in April.

The trade in human beings affects every continent - both domestically and internationally. A US Government report published in April 2000 stated that between 700,000 and two million women and children are trafficked across borders each year.