Things have not been going well for the families from Gaoping who have been seeking information about their confiscated children. As we reported here, the story of Family Planning confiscations in the Shaoyang orphanage area was known in the West as a result of our initial highlighting of the story in 2006, and a documentary broadcast by Netwerk TV in the Netherlands. But coverage inside China was non-existent until Caixin Magazine published a series of in-depth articles last month.
Although the reporter from Caixin Magazine has sought to make contact with the adoptive families of these children by having contact information forwarded to adoption newsgroups, so far none have come forward. As a result, frustration and anger has grown among the score of birth families, and they decided to file a lawsuit against the Shaoyang orphanage and the area Civil Affairs to obtain an official apology and information as to the destination of their children.
A story out today details the latest twist in the Gaoping saga. On June 21, Yang Li Bing and Zhou Yinghe, the appointed representatives of the Gaoping family group, filed "a petition regarding the case of the missing children in Shaoyang City." Later that same day they were approached by a man who claimed that his child was also confiscated, and who asked if he could join forces with Yang Li Bing's group in seeking redress. This individual, ostensibly named Li Hongfu, asked the two men to remain in Shaoyang while the other birth families from Gaoping returned home. After a dinner, he invited the two men to go with him to a local massage parlor. Shortly after they arrived, police busted the place and made only two arrests: Yang Li Bing and Zhou Yinghe.
An investigation into Li Hongfu's ID card revealed that the identity was manufactured, and that this person didn't really exist.
Yang Li Bing and Zhou Yinghe are both being held for 15 days, during which time it is clear that they will "pressured" to stop making trouble for the orphanage and Family Planning officials. Already government officials have been busy convincing the other families to stop working with Yang Li Bing. Slowly but surely the inevitable pressures put on these families will force them to stop seeking their children, and to disappear like so many previous families have done.
Ahh... not surprising. Sad, but not surprising. What a heartbreaking development. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAngela
Reprehensible.
ReplyDeleteVery sad, indeed. Heartbreaking. I can't help thinking, though, that there are pieces of the larger story that are missing or not completely explained, particularly about the mysterious Chinese person who met the Chinese families in China and showed them pictures of the children. It sounds as if this was someone hired by the adoptive families to do this, but what we don't know from these stories is how the situation has been handled by the adoptive parents, how much information has been exchanged, etc. Of course, we are completely horrified, and very sympathetic to the birth parents, but as a reader it's difficult to get a complete picture of the situation without any information at all from or about the adoptive parents and any communication they have attempted with the birth parents. Of course, if I were in their shoes, I would probably not be talking to the press, either. My concern would be, first and foremost, protecting my child. You never know how your words and statements might be used.
ReplyDeleteI imagine there is more going on behind the scenes between adoptive parents and birth/adoptive parents in China (some were apparently unofficial Chinese adoptions), than we are getting from the articles. I hope that's true, anyway. With communication, there's always hope for the situation to improve for all involved.
The "mysterious person" met with Yang Li Bing, but none of the other families in Changde. This person is known. I have confirmed with the Chinese reporters that no other contact has been made with the families since the story has been published. It is, of course, possible that the rest of the adoptive families are unaware of the story, but we know that the adoptive family of Yang Li Bing's daughter knows, but at this time apparently refuses to communicate.
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope it's not true that none of the rest of them know about this. It seems that it would be possible to get the names of the American parents, if they have the orphanage records. If it's really the case that no communication at all has happened or is happening, that is very sad, indeed. However, with all that said, I still think it's an incomplete story because we haven't heard anything at all from the American parents. If they do know, I imagine they are terrified at the possibility of a legal battle for their children--a legitimate fear if the adoptions were indeed based on completely fradulent paperwork. One of those parents said clearly, in one of the Caixin articles, that he wants to bring his daughter back home to China.
ReplyDeleteI hope that something happens to bring the American and Chinese parents together, but I suppose it's ultimately up to the American parents to make that very scary step. If there's anything positive at all in this nightmare, maybe this will keep Family Planning officials from seizing any more children.
This is a common occurrence when any Chinese citizen speaks out, especially if the government thinks the Western media might get involved. NPR did a piece recently on some people who were protesting because they were losing their houses to development. The reporter said that he couldn't interview some of the people because they had all been mysteriously detained on unrelated charges. I've heard similar stories many times.
ReplyDeleteHow confident are you that the list of children you posted in a prior post is a complete list of the children? Every time more details of the story come out(it's front page on NY Times today), I worry that my daughter was among those taken. (She was adopted from Shaoyang in fall 2005.) I have corresponded privately with you before to check and was assured that my daughter's information did not match. And you did the birth parent analysis for her as well. I would hate for this to involve my daughter, but if it did, I would come forward. My heart aches for these parents.
ReplyDeleteThe list was only those names that appeared on the orphanage list, and is not complete. When one looks at Shaoyang's adoption records, there are scores of children that match the "profile" of a confiscated child: older than three weeks when found; government building as the finding location, etc. Unfortunately, these media stories are focusing on one village -- Gaoping, and not looking in other towns around Shaoyang such as Yankou, Yanggu'ao, Yatian, and other "hot spots".
ReplyDeleteBrian
I guess what I want to understand is whether contacting the Caixin reporter would be of any use if my daughter is not on the Gaoping list. That is, I know that this incident is surely not an isolated one, but it seems to be the only one where trafficking information regarding Shaoyang orphanage has come out.
ReplyDeleteHave you contacted the NY Times reporter?
No, contacting the Caixin reporter probably won't get more info, as they would have presented more if they had had it. What is needed, of course, is for the U.S. to open the books in Shaoyang, but that won't happen of course. In a year or two we will probably head there and do some digging around ourselves.
ReplyDeleteBrian
My daughter is also from Shaoyang, adopted during the time that this was happening (2005). However, she did not meet any of the criteria (day old when found, not on the list published by Brian). I can understand why American parents would be very hesitant to come forward. The State Department has taken a vague stance on the situation and the thought that you could lose your child terrifies most people. I'm not entirely sure what we would've done if my daughter had been on the list. I'd like to think that I would come forward to establish contact, but the thought of losing her makes me physically ill. Thanks to Brian for continuing to monitor the situation.
ReplyDeleteI don't see the purpose in publicly listing the names of children suspected of being trafficked (earlier post). When the children are older, a simple Google search of their Chinese names would bring up this site, the list and many articles.
ReplyDeleteIt's up to the parents to decide how much of their child's private information is published, and until it is proven that these particular children were trafficked, it doesn't seem legal to publish their names with the implication that they have been trafficked. Children and families have a right to privacy. Adoption advocates stress that our childrens' stories are their own, so by what right do you publish their names and usurp the authority of their own parents?
I am thankful my child was adopted long before this scandal broke. I can't imagine the daily fear and heartbreak that parents of these children live with, and I don't blame them for not coming forward. The names prove nothing - it is all speculation and if any child is erroneously placed on this list, the effects could be devastating.
Actually, the list was provided by the Shaoyang orphanage confirming that these children were the ones confiscated by FP. I am sure that the adoptive children that locate this article and that are on this list will thank me for allowing them to know why they ended up in the orphanage. While adoptive parents are understandably nervous, the children, I am confident, will appreciate the information.
ReplyDeleteBrian