Woman executed in China for kidnapping and selling children

China has executed a woman who was convicted of kidnapping and selling children.

The woman, identified only by her surname Zhang, was executed on Wednesday in the city of Nanchong in southwestern China's Sichuan province, according to a statement from the Nanchong Intermediate People's Court.

The court said Zhang was convicted of kidnapping and selling 10 children between 1988 and 2019. The children were sold to other provinces in China and some were even sold to foreign countries.

Zhang was arrested in 2019 after police received a tip-off about her activities.

The court said Zhang's crimes were "extremely serious" and that she had caused "great harm" to the children and their families.

The execution of Zhang is a reminder of the serious problem of child trafficking in China. According to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, there were over 10,000 cases of child trafficking reported in China in 2019.

The Chinese government has been cracking down on child trafficking in recent years. In 2019, the government passed a new law that increased the penalties for child trafficking and established a national database of missing children.

The execution of Zhang is a sign that the Chinese government is serious about combating child trafficking and protecting children.