China | Bridal paths

Demand for wives in China endangers women who live on its borders

Local residents often turn a blind eye to trafficking

|BEIJING AND LAO CAI

HUONG was only 15 when she went out to meet a friend in Lao Cai, a city in northern Vietnam on the Chinese border (see map). She thought she would be gone a few hours, but it was three years before she managed to return home. Her friend had brought with her two acquaintances—young men with motorcycles. They squired the girls around town and took them to a karaoke bar, where their drinks were spiked.

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Fear on the border”

Do social media threaten democracy?

From the November 4th 2017 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from China

An installation that is part of an exhibition by Ai Weiwei, a Chinese artist, depicts his detention

An outrage that even China’s supine media has called out

Anger is growing over a form of detention linked to torture and deaths

Signage of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Why foreign law firms are leaving China

A number of them are in motion to vacate


Electric vehicles in a factory car park in Chongqing, China

An initiative so feared that China has stopped saying its name

“Made in China 2025” has been a success, but at what cost?


A pay rise for government workers sparks anger and envy in China

The effort to improve morale has not had the intended effect

A big earthquake causes destruction in Tibet

Dozens are dead, thousands of buildings have been destroyed