(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-19 07:42

She was found abandoned near a farmers' market in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, in July 1999, two months after she was born.

Caretakers at a local welfare center named the baby Yang Leyi, after a pair of eyes that seemed to smile and with a wish that she would lead a happy life.

Half a year later, on Dec 12, Leyi met Jon Huntsman and his wife, Mary Kaye, at the center.

The couple knew the baby was meant for them the moment they set eyes on her, local newspaper Today Morning Express reported yesterday.

Jon Huntsman Jr., 49, who speaks fluent Putonghua, is US President Barack Obama's nominee for ambassador to China.

Leyi, whom the Huntsman family named Gracie Mei, is one of the couple's seven children. The couple's other adopted girl, Asha Bharati, was born in India.

Huntsman is the Republican governor of Utah and the son of billionaire philanthropist Jon Huntsman. His family founded chemical company Huntsman Corp, which has operations in China, including a factory in Shanghai.

During Spring Festival in 2006, Huntsman is reported to have sent a card and photo of the family to staff of the center in Yangzhou to tell them how fortunate and happy they are for having Gracie Mei.

"We all love our little princess so much she brings enormous happiness to us," the paper cited the card as saying.

The center's employees were elated upon hearing of Huntsman's nomination for ambassador.

"Jon Huntsman adopted our child and now he is nominated the US ambassador to China. We are proud of him," the paper quoted Huang Wenlong, director of the Yangzhou Social Welfare Center, as saying.

The center also intends to organize a trip to Yangzhou in September for those like the Huntsman family who adopted Chinese children, so that the youngsters better understand their roots.

Families from 17 countries have adopted about 110,000 Chinese orphans, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said in March.

Families in the US rank first among these countries for the number of Chinese children adopted, with about 70,000 orphans joining American homes in the past decade.

China Daily(China Daily 05/19/2009  

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-17 10:25

VANCOUVER: The Duffys' house on the west side of Vancouver has a red-painted door with two stone lions on each side. Inside are rooms decorated with cloisonne, paper-cut, wash paintings, a lion dance mask, embroidery and other examples of Chinese cultural heritage.

The Caucasian owners have arranged the surroundings for their daughters, Charlotte, 7, and Georgia, 5, to live in. Adopted from Chinese orphanages, the two girls have been part of Canadian society for years, but still retain a strong connection with the culture of their birth place.

"It's very important," adoptive mother Susan told Xinhua. "When they get to be adults, they will, may well question, why were they taken from their country of birth. And it's very important to make sure that we do absolutely everything to get that culture in their lives."

MORE CHINESE THAN FAMILIES OF ETHNIC CHINESE

When the Duffys decided to adopt a child, they found it was a "natural calling" for them to go to China. Part of the reason was that the couple worked in Canadian branches of HSBC, a banking group headquartered in London, where they had many Chinese-speaking colleagues and clients. Chinese culture was very much part of their lives and work, Susan said.

When 9-month-old Charlotte first came to this family in 2003, Susan, then 40, made a "wonderful sacrifice" by quitting her job with HSBC to ensure the little baby would be looked after in a stable and caring living environment.

Meanwhile, changes have been continuously rolling out to the interior style of the family home. Susan and her husband, Eamon, brought lots of decorations back to Vancouver from their two Chinese trips of adoption. They also like to go to Chinatown in Vancouver to buy furniture and other Chinese-style things.

Their collection is growing and everything is on display. To add to the family's Chinese style, Eamon artfully pasted Chinese wash paintings from used calendars on the doors of a cupboard.

Not surprisingly, when some of their friends of Chinese origin came to the house, they said "your house is more Chinese than mine," according to Susan. "Having lots of Chinese culture in our house is very important," she said. "We really do like all of the things we have that are Chinese."

LOBBYING FOR MANDARIN-IMMERSION PROGRAM

Chinese language appears to be a huge gift Susan has been trying to bring to the kids. Charlotte has been learning Mandarin for three years and Georgia about one year. They currently spend about two hours a week in Chinese class and Susan usually sits in on Charlotte's Chinese class for the last 20 minutes, taking notes on what's new.

Look and Say is a game which Charlotte and Georgia love to play with Susan acting as mentor, as a way to practise Chinese. Susan shows pictures one by one to the girls and they compete to say the Chinese words of the objects in the picture. Sometimes she helps them with the answers, though her Chinese pronunciation is not so good.

Realizing it's not easy for Charlotte and Georgia to achieve Chinese fluency in an English-speaking background and by attending classes just once a week, Susan has joined about nine parents in passionately lobbying Vancouver School Board over the past two years for a Mandarin-immersion program in public school system, starting from kindergarten.

The group represents some 140 parents and their 250 children and are hoping for a start in September 2010. She said the the Vancouver School Board had agreed to the proposal in principle and was working on the school curriculum, funding, possible teachers and school location.

"A BEAUTIFUL CHINESE GIRL"

With the Mandarin-immersion program pending in school, the Duffys have already had their own Chinese culture immersion in their family. They celebrate important Chinese festivals with Charlotte and Georgia, including joining parades in Chinatown during Spring Festivals, and admiring the moon during Mid-autumn Festivals. They even celebrate Chinese Valentine Day. On these occasions, Susan likes to tell kids Chinese legends about their origins.

As the children always like food, Susan has managed to make steady progress in cooking Chinese food. She can prepare a table of traditional Chinese food for Spring Festival, comprising a whole steamed fish, long-life noodles, sweet and sour shrimp, dumplings and so on.

It was important for the children to have a mixture of Chinese traditions and North American traditions, Susan said, adding "they can see and make these choices for themselves when they get older."

All the efforts that the Duffys have made in incorporating Chinese culture into the children's lives are rewarding. When being asked what they know about China, Charlotte cited "populous"," Tiananmen Square", "dumpling" and "firecracker" while Georgia said "panda" and "bamboo."

The Duffys agree both Charlotte and Georgia are comfortable with their special identity and proud of who they are. As Eamon recalled, one morning when he and Charlotte were both in the bathroom and looking in the mirror together, he asked her: "what do you see in the mirror?" Charlotte just said: "I see a beautiful Chinese girl." Eamon felt that was "so wonderful."

Eamon said that when Westerners adopt Chinese children, it's very important that they will still be Chinese. If Charlotte and Georgia get older and go back to China for whatever reasons, he hopes the Chinese culture and heritage they learn now will make them comfortable there.

In fact, the Duffys are considering return trips to China as the girls grow up. They hope the first one will take place in the autumn of 2010.

September 5th, 2009 by Key | Posted in Southern Metropolis Weekly

Christian told his foster mother Julia he wanted to return to China, that’s when Julia realized that the 17-year-old Christian’s troubled mind cannot be resolved with “love” alone.

In Easton, Maryland, United Sates, 17-year-old Christian is a good lacrosse player, he is explosive, coordinated and with a friendly personality he has many good buddies. We all agree that he is a typical American boy. But this special boy, who dreams to become a member of U.S. Navy Seals someday, living in the white majority city, his yellow skin is still very conspicuous.

This abandoned child coming from far away China, in the afternoon without lacrosse, he thinks about his vague memory of his own life experience. Eight years have passed by those fragmented memories of China still haunt him, including “Jia Cheng” (家成) – which is a common name Chinese parents name a boy.

“He conquered my heart that day”

Compare to Christian, mother Julia’s memory is more clear and also from an earlier time. The summer of 2000, at the U.S. Agency for International Adoption Association community coordinator Julia Norris is working as a volunteer in Luoyang Children Welfare Center in Henan Province. One day, she took 30 orphans to the zoo, Christian was one of them.

“He conquered my heart that day, especially his smile in the end.” Even nine years later, Julia still cannot forget the moment she met her son. At that time, Christian has a pleasant Chinese name – “Jia Cheng”.

Luoyang orphanage’s staff member told Julia, Jia Cheng who was abandoned because both of his parents are dead. But this is not how Christian remembered. This boy still vaguely remember, he used to live in a small village, father is a farmer, loves him very much. But he does not know for what reason, one day his father sent him to a family of a couple in the city. He says the couple is his stepfather and stepmother. Stepfather once beat him with shoe and belt. He often thinks of ways to escape to his home of the countryside.

Memory is like an erased tape with blanks in the middle. Christian does not remember how he ended up in Luoyang, Henan province alone.

In regards to this mystery, Julia obtained the following information from the welfare center. In 1998, 7-year-old Jia Cheng was found by the police under a bridge in Luoyang. Because the police were unclear about where Jia Cheng was coming from and how he got there, they send him to the children’s welfare center.

April 2001, Julia returned to China, adopted this unforgettable child and became a single mother.

In Luoyang Children’s Welfare Institute, number of foreign adoptions each year is more than 50 people. Following the Chinese legal adoption procedures, Julia has been issued the certificate of abandonment by the Luoyang Children’s Welfare Institute. The certificate reads:

Dang Ziyang (党子杨), Male, born on August 6, 1994, was found abandoned in Luoyang City, Henan province, West Central Plains Road on February 27^th, 1999. On the same day, Luoyang City public Security Bureau delivered him to our Institute (Luoyang Children’s Welfare Institute).

About the name, the official record has the name Dang Ziyang. That is because it is a common practice of all children’s welfare homes to give children the surname “Dang” (党 which means “party”, the communist party that is). However the orphanage staffs have been calling him “Jia Cheng”, it’s a name since his birth. As for the date of birth, the record has August 6^th, 1994. But when Julia first asked about adoption, the welfare staff told her he was born on June 1^st, 1992.

After handling a not so complex adoption procedure and paid 3,300 dollars, Julia brought Jia Cheng back to Maryland. As a devout Christian, Julia changed Jia Cheng’s name to Christian.

International adoption of orphans in China began in the 1990s when China was seriously pushing its “family planning” policy (the policy which only allows one child per family). Among them mostly are healthy girls, the phenomenon of abandoning babies in China began to attract more international concerns. In 1992, China implemented the “Adoption Law”, which opens the door for adoption of Chinese orphans to foreigners. Same year there were 252 adoption cases, in 1995 there were almost 30,000 cases and continued to grow. In 2005 total adoption cases reached 15,000. Now there are about 60,000 adopted Chinese orphans living in Norton America, about 15,000 in Europe.

The United States has the most adopted Chinese orphans in the world. In 2005 U.S. citizens successfully adopted 7,906 Chinese children. In 2007 China implemented the new adoption law, this number dropped to 3,909 in 2008.

In a distant country, Lucky Christian rediscovered the warmth and love of a family. He is living an American kid’s life: fishing, surfing, Halloween party, and long after, Julia also adopted a little girl from China to be his sister. As time passes by, Christian speaks a fluent American English and gradually forgets his Chinese.

“Was I abandoned?

“Was I abandoned, or my parents carelessly lost me?”

For a long time, Christian was troubled by the mystery of his life. He said “It is so bad to feel this way.”

He knew nothing about how he got to the bridge in Luoyang. In his mind he only remembered a bus and a man gave him money and food. That man could be his stepfather or could be a stranger, he could not be sure.

Julia said, according to the police records at the time, Christian was frightened and could not tell accurate information. As the coordinator of the association of international adoption, she believes that the police have the responsibility to wait till Jia Cheng to calm down and then conduct investigation. But apparently the Chinese police did not do so, directly sent him to the orphanage.

According to Julia, Children’s welfare center following the rule, made public notices on the local newspaper in Luoyang city, but for this child with an apparent foreign accent, a local newspaper notice obviously was hardly effective. Finally, after what appears to be in line with the regulations, Jia Cheng was “legally” adopted.

Over the years, when Christian recalled his childhood little by little, Julia would always record them. Until April this year, after he was adopted for eight years, Christian told Julia like a serious adult, “I want to find my biological parents.” Julia decided to help him to achieve his wish.

42-year-old Julia had good experiences in finding people. The experience at Association of International Adoption gave her understanding of the adoption business. She also served as a private detective for 10 years in the well-known U.S. television show “America’s Most Wanted”.

She found the Chinese website “Baby Come Home” through internet searches and sent an email to them. “Baby Come Home” was founded in 2007 by Zhang Baoyan (张宝艳), a woman from Jilin, the first Chinese website dedicated to find missing children. Zhang had an experience of losing her son for just a few hours allowed her to fully understand the immense suffering of family separation.

How many Chinese children are lost, abducted? It is currently uncertain. However fighters against child abduction and trafficking claim that the number may run into millions. Having witnessed the tragedy of many separated families, Zhang Baoyan founded the website to bring missing children home. There are now more than 3,000 registered families and nearly ten thousand volunteers.

Julia received a reply from Zhang Baoyan very soon. Zhang expressed their willingness to mobilize volunteers to help Christian’s search.

“We found your biological parents”

During the 8 years, Christian had gradually recalled his childhood, he remembered a village called “Dong Jia Gou” (董家沟), as well as his step-parents’ names, the man is named Jing Gaokuan, woman is named Shao Julian. They are doctors, they own a clinic. The woman delivered many babies. He also remembered the couple already has a child, but obviously there were something wrong with him.

In Christian’s memory, his home in the rural area, there are yaks. He has been sleeping in the same heatable adobe sleeping platform. His father was a farmer, and loved him very much. Once his father was backing up a tractor and hit him accidently, his father held him tightly in his arms, eyes filled with tears.

Julia’s letter also provided more details about Christian, for example he likes vinegar, likes to eat potatoes with vinegar, and does not refuse to eat raw garlic.

Based on these sporadic information, “Baby Come Home” Volunteers (with their aliases) "Beijing one rice sunshine", "Shandong silently", "Milan how to", "Guangzhou Huadu pocket Mother" and "Beijing lawyer" began the searches.

First they searched the web. Based on the parents’ names provided by Christian, volunteers searched and analyzed repeatedly, actually found a person named Shao Julian (邵菊莲), once published a paper in a medical journal with a co-author. The co-author’s name is Jin Gaoke (靳高科), which the pronunciation is very similar to Jin Gaokuan.

In the end, volunteers targeted a couple, both doctors at the hospital of Ningxia province, Longde County. There is indeed a village called “Dong Jia Gou” nearby. Ningxia province also has the custom of eating vinegar and garlic, and in rural areas, people still use the heatable adobe sleeping platform.

“One Rice Sunshine” soon found Jin Gaoke’s phone number, but unexpectedly, when she called to ask whether there has been a child missing, Jun hung up the phone immediately.

After several twists and turns, “One Rice Sunshine” and the Ningxia local volunteers contacted Jin’s colleagues in the hospital. They found out Jin indeed lost his son, this news gave volunteers more confidence. Since Jin is not answering his phone, volunteers patiently sent him text messages one after another, and told him the whole story. Finally after gaining Jin’s trust, “One Rice Sunshine” had a talk with Jin.

This couple lost a boy a few years ago, the child’s age and experiences etc. are all very similar to Christian’s. In Christian’s memory, he was born in the country side, and sent to some doctors’ home in the city for foster care. But the real fact is Jia Cheng was born on December 1^st, 1991, the step-parents he remembered was actually his birth parents. After Jia Cheng was born, he was sent to the country side to live with his grandmother and uncle (the father in his memory). After awhile, when he was 5, 6 years old, he was sent back to his birth parents to prepare to go to school, until he got lost accidentally on a trip. Jin told the volunteers, in these 11 years, he always feels guilty because he lost the child. To the 70-year-old grandma it was like “tearing her guts out”.

Jin said his son has a hidden scar, was a candle burn mark. Julia confirmed Christian has a scar like this on his leg. After obtaining the information, volunteers initially identified the couple to be very likely Christian’s birth parents.

“I think we have found Christian’s loved ones.” On May 30^th, 2009, when Julian read the letter from the Chinese Volunteers she was ecstatic.

The letter from Jin explained how the child ended up in Luoyang. He said the family did not abandon Jia Cheng. In 1998 Ching Ming Festival, he brought Jia Cheng to the country side to his accentors’ graves. When passing through a farmers market. He left his son on a bus and went to shop for some food. 5 minutes later when he went back the bus was already disappeared.

Jin told the volunteers, he and his family exhausted all surrounding provinces and cities but did not find his son. The search went on for one to two years. At the same time, Jia Cheng appeared in Luoyang which was thousands of miles away from Ningxia Longde. He recalled the man who gave him food and money, but till today we do not know who that person was.

“Basically, I believed these explanations.” Julia went upstairs and woke up Christian.

“We have found your birth parents.” When Julia told Christian the news, mother and son both cried.

“Should not let such tragedy happen again”

August 29th, 2009 all efforts have become a reality. Under the facilitation of “Baby Come Home”, Julia came to Beijing with Christian.

11 years of parting led Christian with mixed feelings, he was excited yet and nervous with anxiety. Looking for birth parents was his idea. However, he was also worried, can they live in harmony? Are the birth parents telling the truth? Was it abandonment or just a careless mistake? Did they fabricate the story because of his appearance? He said “After having gone through all this, it is difficult for me to trust them.”

At this point, husband and wife, Jin Gaoke, Shao Julian as well as the uncle Jin Xiaowang – which is the father in Christian’s memory and the grandmother all came to Beijing.

Jin Gaoke felt extremely guilty for the terrible mistakes. He said because of the “Family Planning” policy, in order not to get punished by the government, he sent Jia Cheng to the country side with his brother Jin Xiaowang who gave Jia Cheng the fatherly love. When Xiaowang found out his brother lost Jin Cheng, he went to the city and gave Jin Gaoke a severe beating. Bothers never talked to each other again till this day.

9 am in the morning at Gloria Grand Hotel in Beijing.

Julia, her sister and brother took Christian into the lobby. After looking at their son for only one second, Jin Gaoke and Shao Julian threw themselves forward and burst into tears. “My son! Finally we found you!” Grandmother and uncle were also crying. Jin Gaoke even surprisingly kneeled in front of his son and asking for forgiveness. Everyone in the room was all in tears, the only sound in the room is the sound of camera shuttering and sobbing.

But Christian’s face was expressionless. When Jin Gaoke attempted to pet his head, he was almost running away in disgust, the situation was a little awkward.

“The Child had too much to bear.” one volunteer said. This is such a miraculous story which brought out more than 10 media from U.S. like NBC and Los Angeles Times. But at this moment, no media was going to disturb the reunion. They all went outside and shut the door.

No one knew what they talked about alone in the room. When they came out, Julia told the reporter, Christian already believed Jin Gaoke’s explanations and he now believes it was a careless mistake. “He has already hugged his birth parents.”

In the crowd, the saddest person was the uncle – Jia Xiaowan. This dark skinned simple farmer had deep feelings for Jia Cheng. He still remembers Jia Cheng calling him “dad”. After Jia Cheng was missing, Jin Xiaowang relied on drinking to ease his pain. He was emotional and said “Jia Cheng grew big. He has hairy legs just like an American.”

“I just don’t know why he can’t even speak any Chinese anymore.” Jin Gaoke said, “I hope he can forgive our mistakes.”

“Such tragedy should not happen again. In the case of parents are still around, lost children were adopted, such thing should not happen again.” Julia said. Now her youngest daughter often asks her “Mom, can I find my birth parents?” Julia cannot give her any promises because her daughter was found right after she was born.

Statistics show that now there are about 75,000 Chinese children have been adopted overseas. They can go back to China as tourists when they are adults, but not many of them can be as lucky as Christian to capture the mystery of their early lives. And how many of these children have the same experiences, when it was possible to find their love ones, but were adopted overseas?

Lawyer from “Baby Come Home” Zhang Zhiwei (张志伟) said, in recent years the opacity of children living in institutions is a serious problem. In fact, on July 1^st “Nandu Daily” reported the scandals on the welfare center in Guizhou Zhengyuan county. They will take babies away by force if parents cannot afford to pay the fines. They will then announce the baby was “abandoned” and send them overseas for adoption in order to profit. "We hope to introduce more stringent regulatory measures to regulate welfare adoptions." Zhang Zhiwei said.

Memories of the past and life of the present, connected at last after 11 years, two families from US and China were linked together because of one child. After this, Christian is going to go back to U.S. for school. His dream is to join the U.S. Marines. Julia said, “His roots are in China. Regardless of whether he decides to return to China in the future, I will support him.”

Suffering from long-term depression because of the loss of her son, mother Shao Julian has to once again suffer the pain of parting. However, she carefully said, “We want to keep in touch with him, but will not force him to return to China. We do not want to hurt him twice.”

 Family brought the abacus Jia Cheng used to play when he was little

 Jin Jia Cheng and Julia and her sister in U.S.

By Alison Klayman, VoA News

Beijing - August 19, 2009 - In the early 1990s China made it easier for families from abroad to adopt Chinese orphans, most of whom were girls. Today about 60,000 adopted Chinese children live in North America, and about 15,000 live in Europe. Many families take special tours to give their adopted daughters a chance to experience Chinese culture and visit their orphanages.

When parents from other countries adopt a Chinese orphan, they are often asked to promise that they will teach their child about Chinese culture.

Many families go a step further and bring their children back to China. They often sign up for what are called homeland tours.

American Sharon Whitney adopted two daughters from different Chinese provinces. She says there are many reasons for bringing the girls on a homeland tour this summer, at the ages of seven and 10.

"To connect with their home culture, to see where they came from and have some understanding where they came from, and without doing it in a heavy-handed way, show them what their life might have been," said Whitney.

The Whitney family is on a tour with a U.S. company called China Cultural Exchange. Minghua He says she founded the company because of her experiences as an adoption coordinator. She saw families wanted to return to China, and orphanage employees were curious about what happened to children after they were adopted.
 
"I think it's more important just to show them how the child is being loved and cared for, and that's very important for the orphanage staff," added Whitney.

Parents say child development specialists advise them to bring children back before adolescence. Younger children are more likely than teenagers to remain open and excited about the experience, like nine-year-old Sarah Lapino.

"We're going to see the Great Wall of China," said Sarah. "I'm excited about that because I think that's the longest wall."

A homeland tour group usually visits traditional tourist sites, such as the Great Wall or a panda reserve. Then the group disperses so families can go to orphanages where their children lived.

Many families do not actually go inside the orphanage. The experience might be overwhelming for a child, and many orphanages have strict rules about who can enter. Instead the family will take the orphanage director and other staff out for a meal, and exchange gifts.

Lapino's older sister, 13-year-old Julie, is looking forward to meeting the staff when she visits her orphanage in Anhui province.

"We're giving them some photo albums of us when we were younger and how we grew up basically," she said.

The other big feature of an orphanage visit is going to where an abandoned child was found. Most adoptees know they were left in front of a police station or a temple, near a factory or at a train station.

He says through these visits a family can gradually unravel the history of a child.

"For example talking to the orphanage director you find out this child was brought over by staff from the civil affairs office," said He. "Then we go visit the person from the civil affairs office, and that person says, 'I remember the person who brought her over to us.' Then from that we track down the person who actually found her. So there are many interesting moments linked with that orphanage visit."

In rare cases, families meet the birth parents of their child. Jane Lietke runs the non-profit Our Chinese Daughters Foundation. She knows 11 families over the past 12 years who found their child's birth parents by going to where they were abandoned and talking to local people.

Lietke says that because of China's population control laws, most orphans are not orphans in the sense of having no living parents.

"I call the children over-quota kids more than orphans. A family had one girl, then they had a second girl and they wanted to have a boy," said Lietke. "Then they abandoned the second child and waited to have a son. Is that child really an orphan? No, they've got siblings, they've got aunts and uncles, they've got grandparents."

China limits most couples to having just one child. There is a cultural preference for boys, so most abandoned babies are girls.

Tour guide He says the most important goal of homeland tours is to give adopted children a sense of pride in their Chinese identity.

"We have many girls when they came to China they didn't want to come, but when they came to China they say, 'Mom, I love Chinese food! I love the rice, I love to use the chopsticks, I love the Great Wall.' And the Mom is just so happy, she says 'Ming, you're right, they fall in love with China,'" said He.

He says that homeland tours require a lot of money and preparation, but families who come back to China always feel it was worth the effort. 

Since China’s implementation of the “Adoption Law” in 1992, the door has been opened to foreigners to adopt Chinese children. Hence, more and more Chinese children have sailed across the ocean to be adopted by foreign parents. The children leave a mother’s worries a thousand miles away: are these children used to life in a distant land Do they have good lives Are they able to blend into the local life and environment Furthermore, how do overseas families care for Chinese children Are adoption rules and regulations complete in countries across the globe Consider the investigative news from reporters in New York, Madrid, London, and Paris:

USA: “We are fortunate to have a Chinese child”

On a New York street corner, one often sees blond, blue-eyed Caucasian mothers and fathers holding by the hand a black-haired, olive-skinned child. Upon meeting these Caucasian parents, most people stop, enthusiastically say hello, and sometimes even chat for a while.They seem to be especially friendly with Chinese faces.After many points of contact, this reporter has learned their identity: they are all Caucasian parents who have adopted a Chinese child.

These parents who have adopted from China, on behalf of their children, have fallen in love with China and Chinese culture, and are even filled with warm and friendly feelings for the Chinese people.They eagerly study Chinese culture and regularly bring their children back to China to trace their roots.They have become spreaders of Chinese culture and emissaries of friendship between our two nations.

Making a child their own
Ten years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Williams adopted Laura from Yiwu, China.At the time, she was only seven months old, and now she has grown into the pearl in her parents’ hands.When her beloved daughter is mentioned, Marjorie’s face lights up with happiness and love.She says that even ten years later she still remembers what she felt when seeing Laura for the first time in Hangzhou. “When we were waiting for Laura in the hotel, I was like a nervous rabbit, constantly pacing back and forth.”Marjorie gestures, recalling the exciting story of that year.When an orphanage nanny appeared in front of her, carrying a baby girl, Marjorie says, “I fell in love at first sight with those wide eyes, that nervous ‘don’t touch me’ expression…”

Today, this child named Laura is a fifth grader in New Jersey.Marjorie describes the baby of their hearts as “iron-willed, charming, and a delightful child.She has brought so much joy to our lives.We are so fortunate to have her!I can’t imagine our lives without her.”

When Laura was four years old, she became fascinated with Chinese dance, so Marjorie found a local Chinese national who was starting a dance troupe.very week Marjorie drives her two hours to study Chinese dance.Marjorie says that Laura loves to read and write, and she loves Chinese food.There are lots of wonderful Chinese restaurants in New York, and the whole family often goes out for delicious Chinese food.Laura often complains about why she can’t have Chinese noodles for breakfast.

When asked the question of what are the differences between her adopted child and her birth children, Marjorie says she sees Laura as her own.She feels there is no difference between her child by adoption and her child by birth.

Emissaries of Chinese culture
In America, there are many families who have adopted Chinese children, like the Williams and the Drinans.According to statistics provided by the greater New York area branch of the American Families with Children from China Association (New Jersey and Connecticut), there are more than 3,000 American families in the greater New York area with children who have come from China.Most of these families have only one child from China, although some have two.A few of these families have three or even five Chinese children.Former senior editor of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Section William McGowan has adopted three children from China.Among adoptive families there are famous people, such as McGowan, and ordinary people, such as the Williams and Drinans.But all of these adoptive mothers and father share one characteristic: they adore their Chinese children and are filled with gratitude for the joy these children have brought to their families.

Some American adoptive families have set up websites for their own Chinese children and post information on their growth and their pictures as they grow, sharing with others the joy of having a child.Some American adoptive parents have written books for their Chinese children.New York poet Joan Siegel wrote a collection of poems called Peach Girl for her own Chinese daughter.

Chinese children not only bring their American adoption families much joy, they also bring with them the Chinese culture. Before adopting a Chinese child, most American families know very little about Chinese culture and history.But following their child’s arrival, families begin to come into contact with and fall in love with Chinese culture.Ms. Jo Kelly, from Brooklyn, New York, knew very little about Chinese culture and history before adopting her Chinese daughter.But after having a Chinese daughter, she read many books on Chinese culture and history in order to understand her adopted daughter’s Chinese background.

In order for adopted children to remember their Chinese roots, many American adoptive families encourage their children to study Chinese and attend Chinese cultural activities held by their local Chinese community so as to stimulate their interest in Chinese culture.Every year the greater New York area Families with Children from China organization holds events to celebrate Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival, and each May they host a large-scale Chinese Culture Day.Earlier-mentioned Marjorie’s three children all now study Chinese at the Huaxia Chinese School, which is profoundly touching to this reporter.Marjorie explained that if they do not respect and understand their child’s Chinese individuality and background, how can they possibly understand and love their own Chinese child She also emphasized that they never force their child to do anything, but their Chinese homework is an exception, that must be completed.

Spain: Chinese children are gifts from Heaven

On the streets of Madrid, capital of Spain, one may often see a blond, blue-eyed Spanish woman pushing a lovely Chinese child in a stroller – a Spaniard who has adopted a Chinese child.In recent years, the number of Chinese children adopted by Spaniard has rapidly increased.Currently Spaniards may adopt Chinese children for love and glory.

Feeling a child is one’s own
Not long ago, this reporter was at the Madrid International Airport to welcome a guest coming to Spain from Beijing.While waiting at the airport gate for arriving passengers, suddenly more than ten Spaniards, each holding a Chinese girl of about two years old, quickly came through the gate.At the same time, also waiting at the airport gate for arriving passengers, were some ten more older Spaniards, all happily calling loudly to these Chinese children.Waiting for these children’s parents to carry them or push them in strollers out of the gate, these older people’s hands were filled with beautiful toys or sweets.They crowded together, giving these gifts to the children.One saw only happy children, grinning, playing with toys, or eating candy.These grandmothers and grandfathers, perhaps maternal, perhaps paternal, beside themselves with joy, lifted the children from their parents’ arms or strollers, kissed them, and loudly said things like “This child is so pretty!” and “How are you?” in Spanish, a language the children have never heard before.But some of these children were not used to this strange environment and cried loudly.At this, the mothers, fathers, and grandparents all rushed to comfort the child, resulting in the child crying even harder the more she was comforted.In a word, these Spaniards love their Chinese children dearly and yearn for them day and night; they are precious gifts from Heaven.

One day at the beginning of this year, this reporter was walking on the street outside the Xinhua Agency branch station in Madrid, and suddenly I saw a Spanish mother pushing a stroller, in which a Chinese child, about two years old, was sitting.Curious, I stopped her.This Spanish mother told me that she had just brought the child home from China, and she was very bright. She was already speaking some simple Spanish, and she could understand certain things her mother or father said.I asked the child, in Spanish, “What is your name?”This child, with her olive skin and big, spirited eyes, replied in halting Spanish, “Laura, Laura.”She also amiably offered this reporter the bread she held in her hand.

On October 4, this reporter was in front of the gate of a kindergarten, and I saw a Spanish gentleman of about forty driving his Chinese daughter to school.When the child got out of the car with her little backpack to leave, the father kissed her and they both said goodbye.As she walked toward the entrance, one could see this Spanish father, intense love in his eyes, watching her until after she had entered the school.Only then did he get in the car to leave.

England: “Chinese daughters deserve extravagant praise”

Fifty-two year old Ann Logan lives in Abingdon, Oxford County, more than an hour’s drive from London.Unlike many couples who choose to adopt because they are unable to have children, she and her husband choose adoption by sheer chance.That was in 1996.At that time, Ann’s two sons had already grown up.On day, Ann and her husband were sitting in the garden when they suddenly had the idea to adopt a child.Later, they put their plan into action.

The course of love
The course of an adoption is long and slow.From gathering information and making initial contact, to the application, physical exams, home study, social worker visits, adoption agency evaluation, to determining a match, introducing the child, and finally becoming adoptive parents, runs two and a half years.

In 1998, Ann finally received a picture and health information from China for her child, Yang Zhen, now named Rachel.Rachel is just like “a flower bud waiting to bloom,” and she studies violin, math, and reading.In addition, as Ann hoped for her, she has been baptized into the Christian faith, and she goes to Sunday School every week.As Rachel grows older, Ann helps her to develop fully by having her study ballet, judo, and swimming, of which Chinese language and culture have become an important part.Since 2003, Rachel has attended Chinese class once a week, learning to read and understand Chinese.Every year she goes to Sussex, England, for a week-long summer Chinese school held for children adopted from China, along with some 60 or 70 other children. The children play all kinds of games, study Chinese, and watch Chinese dance and acrobatics.Thus, each year, three to four hundred adopted Chinese children and their families gather together from all over England to eat and dance and enjoy performances.The children play to their hearts’ content for four days, and the parents hear various lectures, sharing the joys, woes, and experiences of adoption.

New laws
Inter-country adoption began in England at the end of the 1980’s.Beginning in June 2003, England implemented a new set of regulations concerning inter-country adoption in order to further protect children.failing to obtain the government’s approval for an adoption can carry a sentence of up to one year or a fine following acknowledgement.

China is England’s “designated adoption country.” A Chinese legally adopted child immediately receives legal acceptance and safeguards from England. Currently, England has about 600 families who have adopted from China, and they fall into about three categories: those who are unable to have children, those affluent families who have children and still wish to adopt from China, and those who do not wish to marry but still hope to have a child of their own.

Yvette Gayford, director of England’s Association of Children and Families, states that English families adopt about 300 children internationally each year.Her organization is England’s largest service agency for inter-country adoption, and they place about 60 children internationally each year, half of whom are Chinese children.

France: “She has filled our home with joy and happiness”

“My name is Margaret Vachette, and I am 34 this year.My husband is Rafael Vachette, 31, and he works for an insurance company.Our daughter is named Marie, and her Chinese name is Huang Hui Yue.On April 5 this year, with help from the World Doctors’ Association, we went to Wuhan, Hubei, to adopt her, along with nine other couples.

“When we saw our child, she was already twenty-seven months old, and she had congenital heart disease.Ten days later we all returned to France together.The trip was very smooth and Marie was very quiet.Once she got to her new home, she quickly fell asleep in her own little bed, surrounded by lots of stuffed animals.

“After we came back to France, we quickly consulted with a physician, and by the end of May Marie had completed all kinds of physical exams.In June she received surgery to repair her heart.The doctor said she would be fully recovered by the end of the year and would be just like other children.At that time she will be three years old.

“We live in a village in the middle of France, surrounded by fields, and it is very quiet.Our daughter attends kindergarten in a neighboring village, and once she is six years old, she will attend the primary school in our village, only about 100 m from our home.Marie looks very happy, and she has filled our home with joy and happiness.”

This is the story of a kind, simple French couple and their Chinese daughter.A Chinese girl with a congenital special need, she now lives a happy life in France with parents who love her.

　--- From October 20, 2005 “Reference News”