Undercover volunteer “Shang Guanzhengyi” on the Chinese mainland spent half a year infiltrating and uncovering illegal surrogacy factories in Lujiachang Village and Dashakan Village in Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province. These factories were collaborating with retired doctors and anesthesiologists from top hospitals to carry out illegal egg retrieval and embryo transplants. However, when local authorities were informed of the situation, all suspects had fled before law enforcement officials arrived, leading Shang Guanzhengyi to suspect the presence of a “mole” within the local law enforcement department.
According to Shang Guanzhengyi’s disclosure on Weibo on August 20th, the surrogacy factory consists of three floors and boasts as the “largest underground surgical room in the North.” The operations of this surrogacy system are highly organized, including roles such as egg donors, surrogate mothers, clients, doctors, delivery staff, and transportation personnel, each with specific responsibilities.
At the core of the laboratory was a retired doctor surnamed Zhao from a top hospital, referred to as the “director” within the facility, earning an annual salary of over one million RMB. The anesthesiologist surnamed Wang hails from Northeast China, while the embryologist named Dong comes from Beijing. Nurses were replaced by general support staff with no medical experience.
Based on incomplete data obtained during the undercover operation, the underground surgical room conducted up to 150 surgeries per month, reaching a peak of 17 surgeries in a single day. On the morning of August 18th, five surgeries were already in progress.
What is particularly alarming is that some women undergoing egg retrieval were not properly anesthetized, resulting in cries of pain echoing throughout nearby rural homes. There have been cases of women experiencing severe bleeding during surgery, and in an attempt to avoid exposure, they were not taken to a hospital but hastily treated on site by the attending doctor.
Shang Guanzhengyi mentioned that this operation has been running for several years and that the group also operates a similar laboratory in Dashakan Village, Zhuozhou City.
On August 20th, Shang Guanzhengyi reported the situation to local authorities. However, all suspects had escaped before law enforcement officials arrived. The key person responsible for their escape, “Wang Duodan,” successfully fled to Singapore from Beijing Daxing Airport in the afternoon of that day.
Shang Guanzhengyi pointed out that a similar report was made on July 15th, which led to the relocation of some medical equipment and personnel after the boss caught wind of the impending investigation. Approximately 20 days later (around August 5th), after the investigation was concluded, the group returned to resume their activities at the same location. Shang Guanzhengyi suspected that there might be a “mole” within the law enforcement department in Zhuozhou City and demanded an explanation from the authorities in Hebei.
On August 21st, the joint investigation team in Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province, issued a public notice stating that the public security organs had initiated an investigation, resulting in the arrest of six individuals involved and the sealing of the locations and equipment related to the case.
In response, Shang Guanzhengyi criticized the official announcement for downplaying the severity of the situation. He pointed out that the notice failed to mention the key mastermind, Wang Duodan, who had already left the country, nor did it address the issue of identifying the “mole” who leaked information. He urged the authorities to thoroughly investigate the protective umbrella within the law enforcement team.