By Ma Xin
The US State Department recently reported that Americans preferred adoptions from China, however this will change as the Chinese overnment encourages domestic adoption. The number of adopted children from China will drop. Chinese children adopted by foreigners are not uncommon; former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman’s Chinese daughter Yang Leyi is an example. However, the adoption for foreigners in China has got very strict requirements.
The US State Department announced from October 2013 to September 2014, US cross-border adoption of children showed that Americans adopt 6,441 children from 99 countries. Of all of the adopted children, 2,040 children were from China, accounting to 32%.
American adoptive families said that in the United States, the law provides that if the biological parents of adopted children want the child return back to them, no matter how long the child has been adopted, the biological parents have the priority right to parenting. They believed that this adoption will make them insecure.
As a concern Chinese citizen, my research indicated that, US law provides that adoptive parents of the children require a certain level of education, reliable income, and no criminal record. For China, but also strict limits on adoptive families with intellectual disabilities, mental illness or criminal punishment is not allowed. Adoptive families need to produce as many as ten applications for supporting documents, and going to China by themselves for complete the formalities.
Many American political and successful businessmen, Hollywood stars have adopted children from China. Huntsman and Yang Leyi’s story has been widely reported in the media. Huntsman and his wifefive have five children, later also adopted an Indian baby girl. In December 1999, he adopted an abandoned baby in Yangzhou, China, and its named Yang Leyi. Huntsman said the reason why China and India to adopt the baby, because in his view, China and India is very important country, he likes culture of both countries.
Some analysts believe that the United States preferred China adoption for the following reasons: some may be influenced by US mainstream society because of Chinese intelligent and diligent. Some may be out of passion for Chinese culture. Many parents will encourage the children of adoption learn Chinese language and culture after they grow up, and even allow them to return to hometown. Moreover, adoption system can let family follow the rules, low fees is one of the reasons for Chinese being more and more popular f cross-border Adoption.
Johnson, the CEO of the National Adoption Council of the United States, said that China’s adoption system is one of the system most trusted by American parents. US State Department data show that from 1999 to 2013, a total of more than 70,000 Chinese children have been adopted into American families.***
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