Mystery of the 'missing' orphans

China told UK Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind on Jan. 9, 1996, that Sino-British relations had been seriously disturbed by the screening on British television of a documentary about Chinese orphanage 'dying rooms,' but that efforts to improve diplomatic and military relations should continue. Chinese foreign minister and vice-premier Qian Qichen is said to have assured Rifkind that no abuses are taking place in Chinese orphanages. However US organisation Human Rights Watch/Asia claims that most Chinese orphanages are 'death camps,' and has pointed out that 46,000 orphans are unaccounted for.