[arolloseco]

I am curious if anyone else read this article about an increase in abduction of children in China. (It's an LA Times byline but I read it in the Seattle Times).

The article describes instances of child theft and baby buying, and of course it is very disturbing.

I guess I am just concerned about the nature of the article-there is obviously some news in there, but some of the statements seem inflammatory and I sensed an undercurrent of blame being passed to foreign adopters. I am curious what reactions, if any, people here have had to articles like this. I am also wondering what your family/friends have said.

I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone by bringing this up. There was just something about this article that bothered me (beyond the obvious distress at reading about children being abducted-which is a horrific subject in and of itself).

[stephdpenn]

I just read the article and really don't know what to think. I have a hard time believing that a child of 6 would be abducted to be sold for an adoption with so many older children already in orphanges. Also selling a child for $2000 when the orphange only gets a $3000 donation when the child is adopted internationally doesn't really add up either. I feel like the person who wrote this may be just trying to stir things up. Of course in every society unfortunate things happen to children. But with articles like this IMO it only brings a negative look to adoption, like we are supporting an illegal business. I wish everyonce in awhile these journalists would take the time to write something positive about international adoption!

[Lissa]

Well it does sorta make sense if my understanding of Chinese domestic adoption is correct. Apparently it's extremely complicated which makes blackmarket babies much more "in demand". Now, my understanding of this comes very second hand so it may be very wrong but that is what I read on a blog of an adoptive father who is currently residing in China. I also read that they are trying to simplify the process in order to make it easier to adopt domestically. Again...second hand knowledge...anyone know for sure?

[bluedaisy]

Stephanie, my reading of the article was that most kids being abducted were under 3 months of age. The older kids (like age 6) were being sold into prostitution or servitude.

The LA Times is an extremely respectable paper. It'd be too convenient to dismiss this--parents of adopted children have a vested interest in making sure our children were not "bought" and whose parents were not coerced.

If it's true that young babies in China or anywhere are being sold to orphanages, that is a real problem for everyone, and the sooner the issue is resolved the better! Otherwise, it can threaten adoption and the homes for kids who truly need them.

Sticking our heads into the sand is not the answer!

[stephdpenn]

bluedaisy after rereading the article I see what you mean about the 6 year old was probably not stollen for adoption but for other awful reasons.
I also was not aware that it was more difficult to do a domestic adoption so I imagine that if someone had the money and was willing then yes paying $2000 for a baby boy would be something that might happen and might even happen a lot.
It is so awful that situations like this happen everyday all around the world. It is the same in every society, the poor and helpless are taken advantage of and the children are the ones most affected.
Of course as adoptive parents we want to feel like our babies were left to be found, by loving bparents that only wanted the best for their child. To think that the bparents had planned on keeping and raising this child only to have them stolen is a nightmare. Speaking as a parent myself, my greatest fear in the world is to have my child kidnapped.
I guess in my naive mind since you hear of so many baby girls being abandoned then why would anyone ever need to steal a child to make a profit. Which leads me to wonder if maybe some of these babies that are being sold might have been left by their bparents to be found but when they were found instead of reporting it to the officials maybe they sold the child for their own selfish reasons and profit?

[MissyAmomChina]

Hi,

This article ran in our paper last week also. As a parent, it was difficult to read and think about all the what-if's. I can only imagine how difficult it will be for my daughter if more information like this comes out in the future.

I do know that 2 of the situations described in this article (the babies in duffle bags in Guangxi and the 1 orphanage accused of buying/selling babies ) have been covered by other credible news sources such as CNN.
So, regretably, I think this is a legitimate article.

To balance all that, I do think China works hard to run an ethical adoption program. Obviously, it's not perfect and things like this are very serious. I also believe that China is addressing these issues. Though, I wish they were willing to let more information out.

Take care,