The Chinese government is ending its intercountry adoption program, and the U.S. is seeking clarification on how the decision will affect hundreds of American families with pending applications.

China is pressuring Uyghurs living abroad to spy on human rights campaigners by threatening families back home, researchers say. Refugees and activists tell the BBC intimidating tactics are tearing communities apart.

The Chinese government is weaving an even stronger protection net for women and children, with a resolute stance voiced and tough measures pledged against human trafficking.

"China plans to restructure its child welfare services and complete the reform process by 2025, shifting the focus of the service system to the protection of minors, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said at a press conference on Tuesday," says this article from Xinhua Net.

With permission from Uyghur parents desperate for answers, for this video, CNN's David Culver traveled to the heavily surveilled Xinjiang region in search of their children left behind.

"Mass incarceration of Uyghurs in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) has scattered some 500,000 Uyghur children in boarding schools, orphanages, and other institutions run by the Chinese state—a state that experts say is committed to the long-term eradication of the ethnic group," says this article from Radio Free Asia.

"China has forcibly separated Uighur families by taking young children into state orphanages, according to human rights group Amnesty International," says this article from BBC News.

Care for Children is seeking to appoint a consultant to undertake an end-of-project evaluation of a three-year project (January 2017 - December 2019): Care for Children's 'Vision for a Million' National Foster Care Projects in China and Thailand.

This article from the Los Angeles Times shines a light on some of the stories of parents in China whose babies were taken from them to be placed for intercountry adoption.

A former orphanage owner in China, once nicknamed "Love Mother," has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for extortion, fraud, forgery and disturbing social order, according to this article from BBC News.