Man in China reunited with son abducted 24 years ago

A Chinese father has been reunited with his son 24 years after he was abducted by human traffickers in front of their home in Shandong at the age of two in 1997. Guo Gangtang spent 24 years crisscrossing the country, travelling more than 300,000 miles on a motorbike, with two banners each showing a photo of his son, Guo Xinzhen.

After nearly a quarter-century odyssey, the tearful reunion on Tuesday – held in front of camera in a police station – captured the imagination of the nation. On Tuesday, the Guo family’s moving reunion was reported across the country. On social media, related hashtags have been read hundreds of millions of times, with many people sending well wishes to them.

In 2015, the story of Guo’s search for his son also inspired a movie, Lost and Love, starring Hong Kong mega-celebrity Andy Lau. Lau said on Tuesday that he felt “extremely happy and inspired” to learn of the news, while pleading with the public to support the government’s anti-human trafficking campaign.

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