HANOI - At least 12,000 Vietnamese women have been sold to Chinese brothels or forced into marriages with Chinese men since the easing of tensions between Beijing and Hanoi in 1991, reports here said.
The women are mainly from 12 northern Vietnamese provinces close to the Chinese border, the Thank Nien Youth newspaper said, quoting statistics issued by the Vietnam Women's Union. Most of the women were seized by Vietnamese or Chinese traffickers and sold on to brothel owners who prevent them from returning home, the paper said.