Chinese adoptive parents face hurdles in registering children

The following story needs to be taken in context with how the Hague Convention country of China is moving children from province to province to ship out in their Special Focus international adoption program while simultaneously having this domestic adoption barrier.

And for all the whiny PAPs who say that the Chinese will not adopt children with disabilities because it is not their “culture” so ONLY you can save them .

How China can say that they follow Hague rules is beyond me. They have just altered the way that they are corrupt.

“More Chinese are defying tradition by adopting abandoned babies, especially handicapped children. These adoptive parents however, face many obstacles.

14-month-old Cui Keren was born with a cleft palate and abandoned by his parents shortly after birth.

First sent to a children’s home in Shanxi province, Keren was later taken to Beijing for medical treatment.

In the capital, Keren was cared for by 48-year-old volunteer Cui Yaji at a temporary home for abandoned children.

The bond between the two became so strong that Ms Cui decided to adopt the infant.

“Initially I was very hesitant as it means adding another member to the family,” said Ms Cui in Mandarin. “Raising a child is not a small matter but something with long-term implications.”

She had the strong support of her husband and her 17-year-old daughter, Kexin.

Keren is an indispensable part of the family now. He has also undergone an operation for his cleft palate.

The only worry faced by the otherwise happy family is that Keren is unable to obtain his hukou, or household registration, in Beijing.

That is because Keren was abandoned and found in Shanxi province.

Under current regulations, Beijing only allows abandoned children to be registered in the Chinese capital if they are found and abandoned in Beijing.

“This is really troublesome for the child in future, whether in registering for school, finding a job, or going abroad,” lamented Ms Cui.

“I won’t be able to produce his proper registration. I’d only be able to produce the adoption papers. This isn’t good for the child’s healthy development.”

Like most adoptive families, Keren’s does not want him to know that he is an adopted child.

They prefer to break the news to him when he is older. But not being able to register him in Beijing means that it is difficult to keep his adoption a secret.

“Being abandoned by his natural parents meant that he had already been wounded once. I don’t want to see him wounded a second time,” said Ms Cui.

“We decided to adopt and bring him home so as to allow him to grow up in a better environment where he can receive a better education and become a useful member of society. If he knows that he was abandoned, it will be a heavy blow to him.”

Channel NewsAsia contacted but was unable to get a comment from the Department of Home Affairs.

Analysts say that if other first-tier cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai do not have similar restrictions on registering abandoned children, Beijing should not be the exception.

“Whether the adoption is carried out in Beijing or in other places, the policy should be consistent,” commented Li Deming, a writer and social commentator.

“As the capital of China, the people’s salaries are higher here than elsewhere so they have the means to adopt children. Government policy should be relaxed to allow more such adoptive parents to do so.”

The current policy on child adoption was created to control the population in Beijing.”

 

Chinese adoptive parents face hurdles in registering children

[Channel News Asia 10/4/12 by Maria Siow]

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