Zhen Zibao, a shopkeeper in the Kuidou, said that buying a son was widely accepted and that stolen children could be found in most towns and villages.

Meng said the platform will bring together more mobile apps, encouraging the public to help in anti-trafficking work and reunite more stolen children with their families.

By the time the couple got home from work the day they got the news, their son and the three other stolen children with other families had already been taken away by the police.