[BrandyHagz]

We've seen an increase in activity - which means, hopefully, we're going to see an active forum here for you all to participate on!

Welcome everyone adopting from Taiwan!

[humanpitchpipe]

Oh I am excited. I am starting to research Taiwan and I was hoping to find some information here. I am used to the Guatemala board which is very active. Is there any one else out there besides me?

[bajj]

Bumping for others to find. You're not alone, Kristy, somewhere is a thread full of people asking for this forum. Hopefully they will find it soon.

[Karen&Michael]

Thanks so much for opening the Taiwan board!!!

Karen

[Mamakinto1]

Hi Everyone,

Glad to find you here! I'm peeking from the China boards because our agency is about to open a Taiwan program & we're going to double apply to Taiwan due to the excrutiating wait for a child from China. We went into this process not expecting to be waiting 3 years for a referral. I wonder if any of you who are waiting for a referral can point me to a direction in which I can get some good information about the Taiwan program, I know it's vastly different than China. I would certainly appreciate any help!
Thanks,
Carol
DD #1 7/1/02
LID in China program for DD or DS? #2 12/26/06

[Dearonebaby]

Thank you for opening the new Taiwan forum. It is well deserved seeing as the country is increasing in it's desireable spot in the adoption community.
Sarah k

[speaksoftly]

Adoption.com is a big site! Nice to be able to find new info here on Taiwan adoptions rather than stuff that is YEARS old and doesn't help so much.

Here's another site for help started by a group of PAPs: Taiwan Adoptions

Sarah W.

[Karen&Michael]

Taiwan Adoptions website is a great source of information!! I enjoy reading the list of blogs.

Karen

[Shmily95]

So glad you started this. We also adopted from Guatemala and are looking into Taiwan Adoptions.
Becky
6/2/06 Home from Guatemala
Trying to choose an agency for Taiwan adoption

[Mamakinto1]

I stayed up until 1:30 Saturday night reading blogs from the Taiwan Adoption website! What a wealth of information!

[emelia_florida]

We also are in the beginning stages of the process. We're in Florida - any one else from FL?

Yay Taiwan!

Emelia

[ripples]

Great to see that the Taiwan forum is up and running! It looks like this forum is already providing some very valuable information and support to prospective adoptive parents. I had a look at the Taiwan Adoptions web site and I also have a few suggestions for prospective adoptive parents to perhaps consider when selecting an adoption agency or going via independent placement:

1. Where are the children being sourced from and how are they cared for prior to adoption placement? If you're concerned about HIV babies, please be aware that Taiwan's HIV rates have risen a lot lately. According to an article in the Taipei Times, April 7, 2007, titled, "CDC promotes condoms amid rising HIV rates", cites a Department of Health survey that showed that up to 70 percent of Taiwanese lose their virginity between the age of 15 and 24 and that only 30 percent of those used condoms the first time.

The sourcing question is also very pertinent in the case of independent placements. Taiwan has become a primary destination for people trafficking, according to the American Institute in Taiwan (the USA 'embassy' there) report, "TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - 2006 REPORT TAIWAN". It states, "Taiwan is primarily a destination for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Women from the P.R.C. and Southeast Asian countries are trafficked to Taiwan for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children, primarily from Vietnam, are trafficked to Taiwan through the use of fraudulent marriages, deceptive employment offers, and illegal smuggling for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor." While I don't want to alarm prospective parents needlessly (I found Taiwan to be a very wonderful and friendly place), I do want to raise awareness of the necessity for due diligence and caution when selecting an independent adoption placement. If I was considering adopting a child, I would want to ensure that I'm not unwittingly at the receiving end of illegal activity.

2. How were the birth mothers treated? According to a newspaper article (I think it was in the China Post or the Taipei Times), May 10, 2007, titled, "Draft bill grants students full set of maternity rights", the Minister for Education Chen Yi-Hsing, said that Taiwan has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Asia. Assuming that this Chen's statement is true, in light of this relatively high proportion of pregnant teenagers, to what extent were the birth mothers fully informed of the full range of options available to them and provided with support (emotional, moral, etc before and after the relinquishment, as opposed to being heavily pressured or coerced, as sometimes happens in some countries)? If you're wondering what I'm referring to, have a look at the web site for the Association of Relinquishing MotherS (ARMS).

3. How much information can you obtain about the child's medical history, family background, other historical information about their lives before you adopted them (this will be extremely valuable to the adoptee when he/she starts wondering about their origins).

4. What sort of post-adoption support will the agency provide to the adoptee and the adoptive parents if the adoptee wishes to search for his or her birth family in future?

There is also useful information and resources from the Child and Juvenille Adoption Information Center (it's run by the Taiwan government) Child and Juvenile Adoption Information Center

I also highly recommend the wealth of resources provided by The Community Services Center, it's in Taipei. Telephone: +886-(02) 2836-8134. It's run by (mainly American) ex-patriates for the foreign community in Taipei. They publish an excellent book called "Taipei Living", have tons of information, are bi-lingual and offer counselling services. I found them immensely helpful when I returned to Taiwan for a year.


I hope this information helps!

[jillsparrow]

My husband and I are ready to start the process to adopt a baby from Taiwan right now!!! I have been researching and seem to like Florida Home Studies and Adoptions program--Does anyone know if this is a good agency? thanks!

[ripples]

Originally Posted by ripples

The sourcing question is also very pertinent in the case of independent placements. Taiwan has become a primary destination for people trafficking, according to the American Institute in Taiwan (the USA 'embassy' there) report, "TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - 2006 REPORT TAIWAN". It states, "Taiwan is primarily a destination for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Women from the P.R.C. and Southeast Asian countries are trafficked to Taiwan for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children, primarily from Vietnam, are trafficked to Taiwan through the use of fraudulent marriages, deceptive employment offers, and illegal smuggling for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor." While I don't want to alarm prospective parents needlessly (I found Taiwan to be a very wonderful and friendly place), I do want to raise awareness of the necessity for due diligence and caution when selecting an independent adoption placement. If I was considering adopting a child, I would want to ensure that I'm not unwittingly at the receiving end of illegal activity.

2. How were the birth mothers treated? According to a newspaper article (I think it was in the China Post or the Taipei Times), May 10, 2007, titled, "Draft bill grants students full set of maternity rights", the Minister for Education Chen Yi-Hsing, said that Taiwan has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Asia. Assuming that this Chen's statement is true, in light of this relatively high proportion of pregnant teenagers, to what extent were the birth mothers fully informed of the full range of options available to them and provided with support (emotional, moral, etc before and after the relinquishment, as opposed to being heavily pressured or coerced, as sometimes happens in some countries)? If you're wondering what I'm referring to, have a look at the web site for the Association of Relinquishing MotherS (ARMS).

Here's what I was referring to about doing one's due diligence about where the babies were sourced and how the birth mothers were treated. Babies are worth about $440 - boys more pricey than girls, according to the following BBC article about a baby trafficking ring from Vietnam that has been smuggling babies into China. While I know that China and Taiwan are separate, I have heard of similar smuggling activities across the two shores.

Here's an excerpt from the article:
"The district police said the scale of the ring's activities was so large that they had to transfer the case to central police to follow up. It is believed that the smugglers had been scouring for babies and pregnant women from poor families in rural areas across the country."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7338008.stm

[jetgirl]

Ripples, I certainly appreciate your perspective as a Taiwan adoptee. For those of us adopting through a US agency, which collaborates with a Taiwan agency, do you have any specific recommendations for doing your due diligence? Other than the usual things we would do before working with any agency - check references, check with BBB, speak to other families who have used them, etc.



jen