Taiwan Adoption Program

Taiwan, the Republic of China or ROC, is situated about 100 miles off the coast of China and directly east from Fujian Province. It is a subtropical island approximately the size of Maryland. Its population is more than 23 million and is growing by 0.6 percent annually. Its three largest cities are Taipei, the capital on the northern tip, Kaohsiung in the south and Taichung in the west. The population is primarily ethnic Chinese, including 84% Taiwanese, 14% mainland Chinese and 2% original inhabitants of the island.

The climate is humid and hot in the summers with temperatures averaging 89 – 100°F in the summers and 54 – 64°F in the winter. It is possible to experience typhoons between June and October. The island also experiences numerous small earthquakes.

The official language is Mandarin Chinese, yet most local residents also speak Taiwanese, the language of the first Chinese immigrants. You can also hear the Chinese dialect Hakka.

Taiwan is guaranteed freedom of religion and much of the population practices a combination of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. About 5% of the population is Christian.

The Taiwan health system is modern, with both public and private health insurance programs for its citizens. Its infant mortality rate is one of the lowest in the world and life expectancy is one of the world’s highest.

About Adoption in Taiwan
Taiwan has a well developed system of child and protective services that is administered through the Children’s Bureau, Ministry of Interior ROC and an integrated system of nonprofit orphanages, some with religious affiliations. The orphanages often provide services that in the United States are provided through individual states – such as foster care or residential care for children removed from their homes. Orphanages also provide domestic adoption services and several offer international adoption services.

In Taiwan, children are rarely abandoned since it is legal to relinquish a child if a parent or parents are unable to care for the child. Single mothers, and children of single mothers, are still persecuted in Taiwan, making it a difficult choice for a single mother to choose to parent her child. It is more common in Taiwan for single mothers to choose to make an adoption plan for their child. Children also come into care because they have been removed from the home due to neglect, abuse, poverty or inability to parent. The children receive care in one of a number of orphanages throughout Taiwan.

ASIA is very pleased to have established an agreement with a very reputable nonprofit foundation in Taipei. It was founded in 1951 to provide social welfare services for deserted infants and homeless children ages 0-18, as well as children and teenagers who have been abused, severely neglected or been through family tragedies. Within the past two years, the Foundation became one of a very few agencies in Taiwan licensed to place children internationally. They also have a domestic adoption program.

Both girls and boys are available for adoption, ranging in age from infancy to teens. We will work with the Foundation to place both non special needs and special needs children. The children live in well ordered and cheerful rooms, with lots of stimulating toys and attractions. It is well staffed and the children receive age appropriate contact and education. If they have special needs, they receive on going therapy. Once a child has been identified and accepted by a family, the Foundation will usually provide photos and even DVD’s on a regular basis.

The adoption is finalized in Taiwan and families travel there to meet their child, complete final paperwork and sightsee. The required part of the trip takes only three to five days and we recommend that both parents travel. Re-adoption in the U.S. is required if only one parent travels; however, as with our China program, we strongly advise that families complete the re-adoption process once they return home. ASIA will work with an in-country agency to arrange all your travel needs while in Taiwan. We are exploring the possibility of arranging optional add-on days for additional sightseeing.

More Information
Please call or email with your questions if you want more specifics about the Taiwan program. We would be delighted to work with you.

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