An illegal market in children has developed in China. Babies are being openly sold online. Police say many of the victims are from the estimated 20,000 children abducted each year - a crime with a devastating impact on separated children and parents. Thousands of Chinese parents have their children abducted every year. The Chinese government provides no figures but the US State Department estimates 20,000 children are abducted annually, that is 400 a week. Chinese state media suggested the true figure could be 200,000 per year. A baby boy can sell for £10,500, that’s double the price for a girl because there is a traditional preference for boys in Chinese culture. Boys carry on the family name and provide financial support for elderly parents. Once abducted the children are most often sold for adoption but some are forced to work as beggars for criminal gangs. The vast majority of those abducted are simply lost forever. To read the disturbing story of one father searching for his lost son click the more button.