13 years missing, two children: Rescue or exploitation of mentally ill woman?

A mentally ill female master’s degree holder from Jinzhong city, Shanxi province, went missing for 13 years. She was eventually found living with a man and had two children with him. The local police’s description of her as having been “taken in” (收留) by the man sparked outrage in China.

On 10 December, Jinzhong city’s Heshun county issued an updated report, replacing the term “taken in” with “brought back” (带回). They also confirmed that the man involved is suspected of a crime and is being prosecuted. However, many details remain unclear, requiring further investigation.

It all started when a woman from Heshun county sought help from a volunteer Zhu Yutang on 25 November. She explained that her aunt, who had been living with her uncle for over a decade, was mentally ill and lacked household registration and family information. The woman hoped to help her aunt find her family.

Following the woman’s request, the Heshun County Public Security Bureau announced on the evening of 3 December that officers had discovered a Tuling Village resident named Bu, who was unable to clearly state her identity. After thorough verification, the police contacted Bu’s father on 26 November, confirming their relationship.

The individual referred to as Bu in the police report — the “aunt” in the missing person notice — is also known as “Huahua” in her village.  

Chinese media reports indicate that Bu, now 45, was an exceptional student who earned a master’s degree in engineering in 2008. Unable to pursue a doctorate due to identity card issues, she later developed schizophrenia and received hospital treatment. After being discharged, she disappeared in 2011.

While her reunion with her family after 13 years should have been a cause for celebration, the revelation that she had two children with a man named Zhang, described by media and officials as “simple and honest”, sparked outrage. This was compounded by the use of the term “taken in” to describe her situation, given her mental illness.

The report on 3 December stated that Bu disappeared from her home in Yuci district, Jinzhong city, in May 2011. She was subsequently taken in by a resident of Qingcheng town, Heshun county, also in Jinzhong city. According to the report, the details are still under investigation.

This vague and ambiguous report sparked polarised debates online.  

Many netizens questioned what exactly happened during the 13 years Bu was missing, and if the case can be considered to be a crime such as human trafficking. They also questioned if the woman’s pregnancies were the result of consensual sexual relations, since she was schizophrenic and probably unable to properly consent to sexual advances. 

Others mocked authorities’ usage of the term “taken in”, with some sarcastically commenting that the term was “a synonym for human trafficking”.

Some netizens toyed with the term, joking that “the British Museum has ‘taken in’ Chinese artefacts” and that “Portugal ‘took in’ Macau”. They ridiculed what they saw as an official attempt to downplay or obscure the suspect’s illegal actions through carefully chosen language.

Former Global Times editor Hu Xijin wrote on his Weibo account on 9 December that the term “take in” is indeed too casual — the legal nature of Zhang and Bu’s cohabitation and their two children needs to be clarified. “This is both a matter of justice and an opportunity for legal education,” he said.

But there are also many people who agree with the official “take in” narrative. Some netizens commented: “As a homeless person with mental illness, she is already lucky to have someone take her in — at least she is protected.” 

Other netizens remarked: “If the guy didn’t take her in, she could have died from hunger, cold or contaminated food. Then again, it’s also possible that if he didn’t take her in, she could have reunited with her family quickly. But the latter is clearly much less likely.”; “The guy treated her well and provided her with food and clothes and neither hit nor abused her; that’s already pretty good.”

In a report published by Dawan News (大皖新闻) on 10 December, Zhang — the man who “took in” Bu — recounted that back then, he had returned to his hometown to farm and had brought Bu home after seeing that she was dressed in rags. “She’s free to stay home or go out as she likes. I’ve never hit her,” he said. 

Zhang, 46, also said that he tried to help Bu find her family, but failed. He also pointed out that Bu did not have a household registration document and that the pair did not register their marriage, but they did host a wedding banquet. He has never been married before mainly because they were poor.

On 9 December, the media quoted Zhang’s cousin, who acknowledged the online controversy surrounding Bu being “taken in”. Defending Zhang, the cousin insisted he hadn’t imprisoned Huahua, pointing out that Zhang had even reported her disappearance to the police and posted missing person notices. “If he had imprisoned her,” the cousin argued, “why would he try to find her family?”

A Jiupai News (九派新闻) report on 5 December quoted local villagers describing Zhang as an honest man who stayed in the village to care for his family, making a living by growing corn. They expressed sympathy for his situation.

Faced with public criticism, Zhang’s niece fired back with a video on 9 December, asserting that Bu suffers from mental illness and is “useless to society or the country”. She questioned, “Which company would hire someone with a mental illness?” While acknowledging her uncle’s wrongdoing in taking Huahua in, she also asked, “She has moments of lucidity, so why didn’t she leave?”

The niece’s remarks about Bu’s supposed “uselessness” pushed the controversy to its climax. Some netizens pointed out: “[Bu] may be useless to society, but she is valuable to your uncle — she gave birth to two kids for him.” Other netizens speculated that the family is only trying to find Bu’s family now because she is past childbearing age and is thus no longer of use to them.

Volunteers and Bu’s relatives said that Bu is now receiving treatment at the Shanxi Mental Health Center. Due to the worsening of her mental illness and severe malnutrition, her family is preparing to sell their house to fund her treatment.

The case of Bu and the controversy it sparked is not the first of its kind in China.

In late 2013, a programme on a channel under Hunan Broadcasting System, Finding Love, had an episode titled “a 76 year old man and his 29 year old wife living together affectionately”. It featured a local geriatric, Li Yaxun, who claimed he “took in out of goodwill” a woman named Yang Xiaoping — who had a mental illness and was only 19 years old at the time — when he was 66. The two lived together and had a child.

After the programme aired, some netizens questioned, “isn’t this old man a rapist? Women with mental issues are suffering”, while others asked, “is this not human trafficking?”

Based on currently available information, Li has not faced any punishment.

In 2016, Chinese social media reported that a 73-year-old man in Dongguan, Guangdong, claimed to have sheltered three women who just reached adulthood and who worked in the sex industry. He constructed a house for them and did not charge them rent, but asked that they satisfy his sexual needs.

When questioned at the local police station, the man bemoaned that “it was all consensual; I’m helping them!”

Although he was ultimately sentenced to three years jail and fined, the reason was because he harboured women who engaged in illegal activities. That is to say, if they had not been involved in illegal activities, his act of “taking in” the women might have been turned into a “heartwarming story” akin to the one in Hunan.

Currently, Chinese law does not clearly define the concept of “taking in” on its own. Instead, it is explained in relation to specific regulations such as the Law on the Protection of Minors and the Adoption Law. This leaves a grey area for actions not covered by these specific regulations.

The latest official report from Heshun county replaced the term “taken in” with the more neutral “brought back” to describe Zhang’s actions, stating that he knowingly had sexual relations and children with Bu despite her mental illness. Consequently, Zhang is suspected of a crime and is facing criminal enforcement measures.

Public scrutiny also focuses on whether local departments acted responsibly during population surveys and birth registrations. The report promises severe punishment for any illegal activities or negligence, with further investigation updates forthcoming. The case of the missing master’s graduate demands clarity and accountability, not reductive language and ambiguous pronouncements.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as ““收留”精神病女硕士的黑与白”.

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