| ASIA's response to the NY Times Article |
|
ASIA's response to the NY Times Article
You may have seen this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/world/asia/05kidnapping.html?_r=2) in the NY Times about child abductions in China. It has created much discomfort and frustration amongst adoptive parents and adoptive parents alike. As a result we'd like to share our response and opinion on the topic. Please know that we are always here to allay your concern on this topic or any other adoption topic. "Recently the New York Times published an article reviewing several old cases of child abductions from Longhui County in Hunan Provence, China between 1999 and 2006. Since the potential for child trafficking is an issue that greatly concerns our families, as well as us here at ASIA, we thought we would take a moment to share a couple of important points on this topic: • At no time has the Chinese government ever condoned the illegal removal of children from their birth families to place them with adoptive families in order to make money. These actions have been conducted by a very few corrupt officials or local criminal gangs. Over the last few years the Chinese government has been aggressively cracking down on traffickers, which is evident by them capturing and breaking up two child-trafficking gangs within the last six months. Additionally, the Chinese authorities continue to evaluate additional steps to determine a child’s legitimate status as an orphan. • Contrary to how this may be presented by the media, this problem is not widespread. The number of children being abducted and being made available for adoption is miniscule compared to the thousands of children that are legitimate orphans and in great need of permanent, loving families. • The number of non-special needs adoptions has decreased and the majority of adoptions now are primarily special needs. As many of you know already, the Chinese culture as a whole is not yet accepting of children with special needs, so they are not adopted within China and in particular would not be targeted by traffickers. • ASIA and CCCWA are parties to the Hague Convention and work hard to support the regulations put forth by The Hague Convention, which is highly concerned with the prevention of child trafficking. This is why ASIA makes every effort to work with the Chinese authorities to ensure that all our adopted children have proper documentation before they are adopted and enter the U.S. The U.S. Government is also very particular about receiving legitimate documentation proving a child's orphan status before allowing a child into the U.S. • Part of the process to prevent child trafficking in children that are available for adoption includes placing a finding ad in local newspapers in China with the child’s photo. If a child were stolen, it would be likely that parents looking for that child would recognize their photo. • ASIA’s mission is to find families for legitimate orphans in need and we wouldn’t continue to advocate for the children of China if we thought any of our placements were in any way unethical. In fact, ASIA is absolutely committed to maintaining integrity in adoptions and we strongly support the ideals of the Hague Convention. As an organization who works with the Chinese government every day, we hope that this helps put the media reports in perspective and dispel any concerns about adopting from China. If you have any additional questions or concerns, we encourage you to contact us." --------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
