On September 8th, the highly anticipated “Aunt Mei Case” has received the latest updates, according to a recent interview by Shen Junliang, the father of the victim Shen Cong, to “Lightning News”. Shen Junliang disclosed more details about the suspect Xie Jiamei’s case.
Xie Jiamei, approximately 65 years old, originally from Guangxi, had her own family and children but lived a transient lifestyle. She moved from place to place cohabiting with different men, never having a stable source of income. Selling children became her means of survival, sustaining her life by trafficking minors.
In 2005, Shen Cong, then only 1 year old, was abducted from a rental house in Zengcheng, Guangzhou, triggering Shen Junliang to quit his job, sell his assets, and distribute missing person flyers while searching for his son across Guangdong. He printed over a million missing person flyers, traveled to Zengcheng, Zijin, and other places in Guangdong, sometimes staying for months. He spent all his savings and accumulated hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt in his quest to find his son.
In 2016, multiple suspects involved in Shen Cong’s abduction were apprehended. In 2017, one of the suspects, Zhang Weiping, confessed to trafficking 9 children between 2003 and 2005, including Shen Cong, all facilitated through a woman known as “Aunt Mei” who connected buyers and orchestrated the sales.
Thus, “Aunt Mei” transformed from a mysterious moniker in a single case to a figure of public interest.
To find his son and the central figure believed to be part of the child trafficking chain, Shen Junliang embarked on a mission to trace “Aunt Mei”. Armed with a police sketch, he searched for clues in Guangdong’s Heyuan, Zijin, and other places. Over the following years, he continued his dual pursuit of finding his son and uncovering the identity and whereabouts of “Aunt Mei”.
In March 2020, after 15 years of disappearance, Shen Cong was finally located by authorities. By then, Shen Junliang had spent a decade and a half searching for his son. Upon reuniting with his biological family, the father and son needed to rebuild their relationship, while Shen Junliang helped his now grown-up son adapt to a new life.
However, finding his son did not halt Shen Junliang’s investigation into “Aunt Mei”.
In his view, although Shen Cong had returned, other families awaited the return of their abducted children. Questions surrounding Aunt Mei’s true identity, the number of children she trafficked, and the extent of accomplices involved remained unanswered.
According to the “New Beijing News”, despite Shen Cong’s return after 15 years and another 10 years spent pursuing “Aunt Mei”, Shen Junliang persisted in his quest. Before the 2026 Chinese New Year, he even took Shen Cong to Guangdong in search of further leads.
On March 21, 2026, the Guangzhou police reported the capture of Xie Jiamei, suspected of child trafficking. Shen Junliang revealed that he had been “waiting for nearly 10 years” for this day. Subsequently, he and Shen Cong went to Guangzhou to cooperate with the special investigative unit, supplementing relevant evidence. Shen Cong mentioned that the firsthand experiences they provided played a crucial role, with physical evidence contributing significantly to capturing “Aunt Mei”.
The once elusive “Aunt Mei”, existing solely in suspects’ confessions and police sketches, has now materialized into a criminal suspect in reality.
Accompanying the interview with “Lightning News,” Shen Junliang disclosed that Xie Jiamei, approximately 65 years old and from Guangxi, had her own children. Shen Cong mentioned she “had a family”. Public reports revealed that Xie Jiamei had cohabited with others during her marriage, leading to imprisonment due to marital issues.
Currently, Xie Jiamei’s child trafficking case has entered the judicial process. The Guangzhou Procuratorate has filed charges, and the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court has taken over the case. On September 2nd, the court notified the victims of their right to initiate criminal derivative civil litigation, with the specific trial date yet to be announced.
For Shen Junliang, even though his son has returned home, his pursuit is far from over.
His primary concern remains clarifying how many children Aunt Mei trafficked and identifying others behind this trafficking chain.
From his son’s abduction in 2005 to Shen Cong’s return in 2020 and Aunt Mei’s apprehension in 2026, Shen Junliang spent over two decades seeking answers. Although the case has now reached the trial stage, for families still searching for their missing children, closure is far from sight.
According to the “Yangtze Evening News,” insights obtained from informed sources show discrepancies in the number of children Aunt Mei trafficked compared to the previously reported 9 children, with the specific figures yet to be disclosed.