On April 8th, online anti-human trafficking volunteer Shang Guanzheng reported to mainland media that, after receiving a tip-off from a netizen, he conducted on-site visits and discovered the existence of illegal surrogacy agencies in two villas hidden in Xihu District and Gongshu District of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
According to Yangzi Evening News, Shang Guanzheng said that he received a lead in March this year, learning that there was a surrogacy agency in Hangzhou. The informant claimed that illegal medical procedures such as egg retrieval, embryo transplantation, and embryo cultivation were conducted in a villa in Gongshu District. Shang Guanzheng stated, “Someone provided me with the tip-off, and I conducted verification at the scene.”
Shang Guanzheng explained that these two locations may also be involved in illegal activities such as buying and selling birth certificates.
He mentioned that in April of this year, to ensure safety, the group of people involved planned to relocate the operating room within the laboratory.
According to him, the so-called operating room in the illegal surrogacy agency is where egg retrieval and transplantation take place, while the laboratory is used for embryo cultivation and nurturing. By separating the operating room and the laboratory, they aim to ensure safety.
On April 7th, Shang Guanzheng’s group first went to a villa in Gongshu District of Hangzhou, but they couldn’t enter as the doors and windows were tightly locked with curtains drawn. Later, they visited a villa in the Xihu District, where they found no signs of activity from the outside. When they returned to the villa in Gongshu District, they were followed by two vigilant women. This unusual behavior alerted Shang Guanzheng, prompting them to observe and wait nearby.
At 2:30 pm that day, a black commercial van with covered windows arrived at the villa in Gongshu District. The woman who had been following them opened the door. Combining the provided information with the informant, they identified it as the location of illegal surrogacy. Shang Guanzheng and his team then notified the relevant local authorities for intervention on the spot.
Videos and photos related to the incident showed medical equipment and drugs at the scene, indicating activities related to egg retrieval and embryo transplantation.
“There were operating rooms and laboratories in the villa. The medical supplies, prescription drugs, and records of embryo transplantation were found on the scene,” said Shang Guanzheng. When the local authorities and health department officials arrived at the villa in Gongshu District’s Longhu Di small community, the people inside refused to open the door. It was only through the assistance of the property management that they were able to enter.
The local authorities on-site found relevant medical equipment, including an operating room, and arrested three people involved. Among them were two women who had been tailing Shang Guanzheng. However, one woman claimed to be working on hygiene there, while the other said she had only been there for a few days and hadn’t done much. Currently, these two women have been taken away for investigation.
In the basement of a four-story villa about 10 kilometers away in Xihu District, the renovation had just been completed. The operating table had been assembled, and many medical equipment and electronics appeared to have been recently brought in. Moreover, the upper three floors of the villa were mostly unfinished, with basic bedding and opened medical supplies stored, some still in their original packaging.
An employee of the illegal surrogacy agency posted several pictures on their social media account, with a watermark indicating “Ziwei International” claiming to be from Nanchang.
According to insiders, the illegal surrogacy agency with the “Ziwei International” watermark on the pictures is actually located in the Longhu Di small community in Gongshu District and the Shifang Villa Area in Xihu District in Hangzhou, where an underground operating room and laboratory were set up. The facility contained hospital beds, medical equipment, and embryo storage tanks, and allegedly hired former Maternal and Child Health Hospital doctors to perform illegal surgeries.
On the afternoon of April 8th, Wu, a man who rented the villa in the Shifang Villa Area of Xihu District in Hangzhou to set up the underground operating room and laboratory, stated that he was asked by a friend to rent the place and had no knowledge of its actual use. “My friend said it would be used for cosmetic medicine, and I didn’t understand. If I knew it was for surrogacy, I definitely wouldn’t have rented it.” Wu said.
Wu explained that his friend asked him to sublet the house, receive packages, and pay him ten thousand yuan per month. He had received one month’s salary but hadn’t received the salary for this month yet. Wu also mentioned that his friend had been taken away and was currently unreachable.
On April 8th, the local authorities confirmed that they were dealing with the case, and the specific details would be announced by the health department.
Subsequently, the Hangzhou Health Commission issued a “Situation Report” stating that the premises involved had been sealed off, and related medical equipment and items had been sealed for further investigation and handling based on the investigation results.