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Bo Gu / NBC News
Yang Libing (with his son) holds up a photo of his missing daughter, Yang Ling.
GAOPING, HUNAN PROVINCE – Until this year, Yang Libing, whose daughter was taken from him by family planning authorities, would receive visits from one or two Chinese journalists every year.
"They would come to interview me about my daughter," he recalled emphatically. "But nothing ever came of those reports. Still no one did anything."
In 2005, family planning officials in Longhui County, Hunan Province, took away Yang's daughter, Yang Ling, when she was eleven months old. They accused him of not registering her birth, thereby breaking the strict, nationwide one-child policy – even though she was his first and only offspring.
The authorities sent his daughter off to an orphanage. From there, Yang believes she was adopted by an American family, with the family planning officials receiving a few hundred dollars in return.
Yang has not seen her since.
"I wish I could tell her that I didn't give her away," he told NBC News in an interview at his spartan home in the mountains of Gaoping. "It wasn't a case of not wanting her. I didn't reject her."
Caixin Century publishes report
Yang's story has the hallmarks of a great tragedy, embodying many controversial issues that touch a raw nerve in China: local corruption, brutal enforcement of the one-child policy, the policy itself, child trafficking, and poverty.
And yet, despite stories by local journalists and a long feature printed in the Los Angeles Times two years ago, his story never seemed to catch on.
Then last week, the highly respected independent Chinese weekly news magazine, Caixin Century, ran a 15,000-word investigative report that featured Yang and several other families in Gaoping whose children suffered the same fate.
This time, the tale of baby-trafficking by corrupt family planning officials electrified China's media. Even the state-run newspapers covered the story, some reporting that an official investigation was underway.
Within a day of publication, teams of local and foreign journalists (including NBC News) began tramping into the lush, terraced hills of Longhui County, perhaps the poorest area in all in Hunan – which is already one of China's more impoverished provinces.
So why did the story suddenly capture the media's attention now?
An obvious reason is that Caixin has a sterling reputation for its investigative journalism. Furthermore, the report was richly detailed and well-researched, the product of four years' long work.
"A few years ago, the story was told very simply," said Shangguan Jiaoming, the Caixin reporter behind the Hunan story. "My report includes a lot of detail and analysis."
Moreover, Caixin is homegrown, i.e., its reporting is done by Chinese in Chinese.
Bo Gu / NBC News
Gaoping sits up in the mountains of Longhui County, Hunan Province.
"It really shows that however much foreign correspondents report on China, unless a story gets picked up by domestic media here, there isn’t much...we can do to improve the lives of people here that we interview,” said Melissa Chan, the Beijing correspondent for al-Jazeera English. (Just as it does in the Middle East, al-Jazeera has a reputation in China for moving quickly and aggressively to cover politically sensitive stories. Chan's report can be seen here.)
Another reason is the growing popularity of microblogs like Sina.com's Weibo or Twitter. Although the latter is blocked in China, it can be accessed via virtual private networks (VPNs) that bypass the firewall – a tool widely used by the same crop of intellectual and professional Chinese elites who comprise Caixin's readership.
Through microblogs, news of the Caixin report spread like wildfire. As with many stories of this nature, anything that survives Internet censors for even a few hours can gain traction and reach readers across the country.
But there's another reason – one which might seem a bit surprising given the repressive trend of cracking down on dissidents, activists, and media (especially foreign) in China during recent months: good old-fashioned market competition.
"Since the mid-1990s, commercial media in [mainland] China has become much more competitive," said David Bandurski of the China Media Project at Hong Kong University. There was no "media market" or "ad-driven publications" before then. Much of that transformation came about because then-Premier Zhao Ziyang pushed for a more open, liberal press corps – one which would try to use public opinion to monitor political power rather than serve as a means to "marshal public opinion."
The trend sustained itself even after Zhao was sacked from the Communist Party for supporting the students leading the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
Some of the more remarkable stories broken by domestic Chinese reporters include the AIDS villages in Henan Province and the SARS crisis. The former story, in particular, was reported a year before it appeared in Western media like the New York Times.
China’s commercial media: driven and aggressive
"The reality is that commercial media – as opposed to state-run media – has to sell to readers, they have to have a different look, a different appeal," continued Bandurski.
As a result, the commercial news organizations command circulation figures enviable by publishers anywhere in the world.
Although it has not been possible to audit circulation data, Bandurski reckons that, based on China Press Yearbook statistics, "In every case, if you look at the Party-run paper and the corresponding commercial spin-off in any region," the latter outstrips the former in terms of readership.
Adrienne Mong / NBC News
Villagers from Gaoping look at a copy of the Caixin Century.
"For example, in Wuhan (a second-tier city with a long intellectual history), the commercial paper has 1, 2, or 3 million circulation," he said. "No Party newspaper has a circulation like that."
Among those that produce some of best, influential, tough, in-depth investigative reporting are Caixin and Beijing News in Beijing and the Southern group in Guangdong Province, which publishes Southern Daily and Southern Weekend.
These organizations constantly recalibrate their coverage, led by senior editors such as Hu Shuli at Caixin (an excellent profile of her ran in 2009 in The New Yorker), for example, who have a finely honed sixth sense for politics, for knowing when to push their agenda.
One way in which the more aggressive Chinese commercial media outlets appear to escape being shut down is to adopt what Bandurski calls "the shouldering the door theory." One publication knocks the door, then another, then another – the premise being that the government can't go after every organization all at once.
"It's always the media pushing," said Bandurski. "It's never the government loosening."
Corrupt media, too
Which is not to say that the Chinese press corps is made up of only hard-charging truth-seekers.
Far from it. Local journalists earn low salaries, all too often supplemented by the notorious "red envelopes" – cash gifts supplied by the subjects of their reporting – and other "perks."
Our savvy driver from Hunan's capital of Changsha – with years of experience shuttling around local and foreign reporters – summed up what he’s seen.
"When the foreign media come out here, they work hard. They rarely take breaks and work through the entire trip. The Chinese media? When they get an assignment, they look at it as an opportunity to play tourist. They see the sights. They eat long meals at nice restaurants. They're not interested in the story."
More seriously, there are regular instances of blackmail, wherein reporters have demanded money or other forms of compensation in return for keeping silent.
Regardless, the tenacity and dedication on the part of so many other Chinese journalists is remarkable.
"The controls on the media have been tighter than we've seen in a long time," said Bandurski. "And yet there is still so much coverage [like the Hunan baby trafficking story] by places like Caixin coming out. These organizations are pushing harder and harder and finding ways to do that kind of reporting."
With additional reporting by Bo Gu.
Related story: Growing calls in China to change the one-child policy
Leave a Comment:
This is certainly a sad case...but many of those other babies are unwanted girls, whose life in America would be better than anything they could have dreamed of.
unless they end up in a city like Oakland where they get robbed , raped or murdered. Chinese are often targeted by Mexicans as weak victims who don't report crimes out of fear. Or like much of this generation end up strung out on Meth.
Watched a documentary on HBO about China's missing children. They've aborted baby girls (they estimate 40 million) and now there's not enough brides for all the boys born to parents (girls don't carry on the name line, so since they can only have one child, they want boys).Chinese officials and other people sell these kids so they are making money and the people are without their children. The police punish parents if they put up missing children posters. Modern Chinese people don't seem to have any humanity.
This is truly tragic for the young men of China now have few if any girls their own age to court and marry. They're all in the US due to Mao's nutty idea of one kid and the cultural mandate in China is that a boy will ALWAYS care for his parents while the girl belongs to the husbands people. Insane and ancient concept. Like foot binding. Nonetheless, I agree that parents here who want BABIES can't adopt because the courts will ultimately return the baby to the birth mother if she insists even if she is the worst crack whore on the planet. Our judiciary is truly demented - like allowing killers of children to live in jail, forever, on our dime while screaming about national backruptcy.
Cassandra - Are you serious?? That is someone's baby, regardless. This man wanted his child. I think the media paints a picture that girls are all unwanted but I doubt that's the case.
This is absolutely true...but dont lose sight of the fact that there are thousands upon thousands of healthy children that sit in orphanages in China. These children have minor correctable issues such as cleft lip, club foot, missing a few fingers, hernias. I have read many letters from older orphans---they just want a mom and dad ( and they often ask for grandparents). They want someone that is all theirs that will love them through thick and thin that will hold them while they are in the hospital getting these issues corrected. It breaks my heart watching a child go through cleft lip repair with no mommy or daddy to tell them they will be ok.
I agree there needs to be DNA testing and much more scrutiny but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. China is a huge country and many parts of the foster care/ adoption system are exceptionally well run; and then there are other outlying areas that are not well run and are unscrupulous. For some people this is still a wonderful option. There are so many babies that need a family on planet earth--- adoption is a wonderful option.
How can you assume that the girls are unwanted? have you been there making that desicion?
here is proof that it was just rumors. his child was taking away from him. Is very easy for you Cassandra to judge from your nice comfy chair. I bet that i that happens to you here in america even the roaches will hear you cry for help for him it took 6 years and there you go again I don't see a birth certificate or a sign on the boy's body that reads he is my son and he is 8, 9 or ten years old
I think its hard for Americans to understand the 1 child policy, but we dont have a nation of over a billion people - yet. Do people get all uptight over latino's coming to america, whether illegally or legally...because they are taking our jobs? Taking our education without contributing? taking up space reserved for non-latino's here in america?
The stereotype of Chinese preferring boys to girls exists because its true, but you'd have to be stupid to believe that EVERY SINGLE PARENT wants a boy over a girl...duh, that defies logic. But, statistically its bearing out that families - by a large margin - have chosen boys, and now the nation faces a problem.
Will the next wave be boys being aborted, to level it all out? I dont know...if the country hasnt evolved to understand that children are not bartering tools, and methods to make money...well, yeah they've got a chance to get it right.
I heard someone detail before how long it took this planet to reach 1 million people...and how long it took to get to 1 billion...and then reach the next billion.
We are basically growing beyond a rate that we can sustain. I suspect it wont be long before a massive natural disaster wipes out a good portion of the planets popultion, effectively hitting the reset button.
I cant blame mother earth...there's a lot of us, and most of us are simply just doing this planet harm...
As an adoptive parent that actually tried the domestic adoption route, there weren't any children available for adoption in the 4 states around us (younger than our daughter--as we decided to preserve "birth order"). We had our home study on file for 6 months without as much as a callback. The foster system may have been an option, but having a young child at home, the risk of bringing a child in & losing them back to the system was bigger than we could take.
We didn't care about the minor medical issues, and we knew we'd be getting a child we really knew nothing about--as with any biological child.
That all being said, nothing excuses the fact that there are children being stolen from legitimate families and that needs to stop. The hard part is balancing that with the fact that there are actual orphans out there that need homes--everywhere in the world.
China Family Planning Authorities, Orange County Child Support Service, or California Dept. of Child Support Service are the same thugs, untouchable, and invincible. Globalnization is at its Best. Americans start to export their best government weapons.
I have many friends who have adopted these little girls form China, I do know that these I see often have been well taken care and educated.....but it has always been in my mind if there are not the sad stories of the mothers and fathers who have given them up....in the end where will their allegence lie....and what are all the little boys who lost these possible wives to pick from will do whene they grow up? I love to see the mixture of cultures in this country and the intermingling of the races....When I was growing up I have watched hate for countries who were once our foes almost disappear...I myself have grandchildren who are half Japanese...Could not live without them.
The sleeping giant is awake! We have more to fear than this, China does not care about the environment or human rights, wake up! China is more dangerous on a global scale than anything the terrorist could imagine, China can destroy the world without leaving her borders through economic and environmental terrorism, in the future she will hold us hostage just as North Korea has held us hostage for aid. We will all dance to China's tune in the future or she will poison the world and we have no teeth in this matter because her crimes will be covert and overt poisoning of the world and no one will be willing to take military action against her, (just trying to modernize) by the time we use sanctions (which will be hard to get because many nations will be in bed with her) she will have world dominance through her flow of toxins into our world and the world will be her trash dump. Look how long we have tried to stop Japan from killing whale or using other in-dangered animals for useless means, they won't stop and what are we going to do go to war over whales? Their Commercial Fishing Fleets are ravaging the oceans and we can do nothing but listen to lip service and watch.
As the father of a 2 year-old daughter from China, it pains me to think what path brought her into our family - I can only hope it was legitimate. The day we met in Nanchung she had open wounds on her ankles and a deep cut on her upper left leg. She weighed 14 pounds and was 11 1/2 months old. She was holding part of a cherry tomato that someone had given her and looked like she was in shock. After 3 days of being bathed, well fed (at a 5-star hotel) and held as only parents can hold a child, she changed dramatically and has been full of life ever since. Our biological son, who is now 9, was as tall at 6 months as our new daughter was at a year. At 2, she was 1 inch taller than our son was at 2 - amazing what results come from being well treated - as all children should be. She's as much a part of our family as our son now and I don't know what I, or my wife, would do without her.
guess what folks? the issue of not enough brides for the over population of boys (eventually becoming men) is a non-issue....I was recently in China and asked my translator the question of China having outsmarted themselves by favoring male babies over female and the solution for them is two-fold....
according to my translator, first, the girls have their pick of men and they are very selective, ensuring the men meet all their required criteria.....second, they don't seem to worry about not enough girls because all the men will do is try to meet younger women (new generation)......and according to my translator....there are plenty of younger women.....
Hear, Hear, Adoptive Father! I understand, as my mother and I went through THE EXACT SAME THING with my middle nephew. It is so sad to think of what they had to go through. I just wish there was more we could all do to help these kids.
What more could be expected from China. Cheat Cheat Cheat!!!!!!!!
The main reason people wanted sons in China is security. A son is responsible to take care of his parents in old age, where as a daughter (if she marries) will take on the responsibility of her in-laws. So many people that had to choose, opted for a son. In some parts of China couples are allowed to have two children, but they must apply for permission.
So America the USA is involved in HUMAN TRAFFICKING !!!
USA the biggest hunman trafficker in the world.
Stop this Human Rights crime against humanity.
It blows my mind that Americans want to adopt exotic babies when there are so many in America that need families. It is easier to pay a corrupt official in China than to go through all the red-tape of our bureaucratic system! It's the American way to want it now!
Much of that is for health reasons. Do you want to adopt a crack baby or a child who is HIV positive? Also in America the mother sometimes changes her mind and sues to take the baby back, causing emotional and financial damage. Chinese women rarely drink alchohol, rarely use prescription meds and never use illigal drugs. healthier babies.
The reason people in this country adopt foreign children is because they know that the real parents won't come forward and take back the baby. Adopted children in this country have regularly been allowed to take their babies back by the courts, a genuine tragedy!
you are so right but it is because of the adoption policies in the usa that people do this however i would prefer strict rules over adoption as to excepting someone elses stolen child china must put a stop to this ............
as for other prespective couples looking to adopt why cant we help the needy kids here in america that want nothing more than a family to love them?
leroy~ really... not all kids in the system are "crack babies". Many are children who have been devistated by drug use, but not physically affected by it. And there are many more who are just children that have been given up. And as for them not using alchohol or drugs, how do you know? And even if they don't willingly use them, what do you think the Chinese govt exposes their people to without their choice. They pump their people full of chemicals. And the children in the orphanages can be neglected and abused which can cause long term emotional and physical problems.
getalife~ my question to you is this. Do they not come forward to take the baby back or are they not allowed. If the country takes the babies for no reason and they are poor, how would they try to come back. Yes, it's ideal to not have to worry about a parent trying to reclaim them, but at what expense? These babies are being stolen from their families, not given up. I couldnt live knowing I might have helped steal a baby.
If an adoption is done properly in the US, the parents can't take them back. All of my aunts and uncles were adopted and we have watched numerous friends go through the process.
concernedparent: Of course there are available children waiting for adoption in the US but our laws are very make adoption very difficult in this country because they favor birth parents, regardless of circumstances, poor parenting or abandonment and even in some cases, when birth parents) have relinquished rights. Obvously, an adoptive parent has to consider if they could live with losing that child eventually if a relative decides to seek custody no matter how many years has passed.
Heckno/jaeros: Every child deserves a loving home--whether they were born here or not. If it blows your mind that not enough people are adopting American children, then begin adoption procedures yourself and provide that loving home.
Dear Concerned parent --I am an adoptive mother of an american child. It is a difficult journey and there is not enough space to fill you in on all the problems and pitfalls---- which in my case included the alcoholic/drug addicted birth family wanting an open adoption. If you are really sure of your stance please log onto your local country Children Services website. There is plenty of information and pictures of available children. I think you will get at least a small idea of what American adoptive families go through.
There are healthy children all over the world sitting in orphanages that just want parents. These children often have no health care at all and little food. I think it is a safer, wonderful alternative..... BUT, of course, adoption should be a selfish journey. Parents should go into it desperately wanting a child----no one should go into it thinking they are rescuing a child. The kid ends up loving you and giving you as much "crap" as a biologically born child. LOL :)
So, its the adoption policies in the US that is responsible for law-abiding American citizens going out and buying stolen kids. What other excuse can we use.
1. We are helping them by providing them a better life.
2. American adoptions are tooo hard.
3. It cost less
4. We are the saviors of China.
Whatever. Stealing someones child, either by adoption or any other scheme China can devise, is WRONG!!!!! I could care less about your selfish needs of wanting an "exotic" baby. You are just as guilty as the the corrupt officials who steal these children and sell them in the new "slave trade" business that China is so skilled at. Why we are doing business with this land of corruption is beyond me. Once the World comes together and starts sanctioning some of this behavior, we will never be able to stop it.
Why didn't the guy register his child (as required). He didn't because he WANTED a male child. He pretended the little girl didn't exist, so the country helped in his pretense. I'm hopeful the child found a loving home where she is wanted and registered as such.
Kallie is so right. I am embarassed and dismayed when people act like I did a selfless heroic thing by adopting my daughter, when nothing is further from the truth. We didn't save her from poverty and abandonment. We so very desperately wanted a child, I wept daily at my inability to be a parent.
IVF was an expensive and risky possibility, with only a 25% chance that we'd concieve. Adopting domestically was also expensive and risky, with the possibilty of the birth parents reneging. Adopting internationally was expensive, but less risky.
This article makes me wonder if we were told the truth. Was our daughter really abandoned at a train station when she was less than a month old? We were even brought to the train station and shown the information kiosk where the police report said that she was found.
But if we weren't told the truth, I wouldn't want to really know. I love my child. I would lay down my life for her. I would tear up anyone who would try to hurt her, or take her away.
To say there are alot of babies to adopt in the US is a fallacy! Almost 98% of unwed mothers keep their babies and go on to abuse them, most choose abortion. As an adoptive mother - my kids are in their late 20's now, I would never try to adopt in the US now. In a parent despute the law seems to be on the side of the birth parents and the adoptive parents are painted as selfish and unreasonable to not give this baby back to the poor unwed mother who gave it up in the first place - or to the birth father who chose to inpregnate a girl without thinking there might be a baby involved and then, after the fact, wants to have the child.
Heckno - I have a daughter from China & I can assure you that I did not adopt to have an "exotic" baby. I waited 4 years for the referral of my precious daughter & went through a lot of "red tape" w/ the US & Chinese govts. To adopt in the US, you do have a fear that the birth parents will come back & take the child away from you plus the financial cost is a lot more than adopting in most foreign countries. Overall does it matter where the child comes from? A child needs a home & loving family...period. You don't just pay money to the Chinese govt, you pay it (3 x over, might I add) to our government...3x for fingerprinting required by OUR govt during our 4 yr wait! Does your fingerprint change? One needs to be careful about making uneducated & presumptuous comments.
Theresa-337624 - I hope that we were told the truth also about our daughter also.
That is true, Cassandra. But Yang Libing's daughter is living here thinking that she was unwanted (because she was a girl).
And it really seems that is simply not true. It sounds to me that Mr. Yang loved his daughter and would not have given her up willingly.
The adopted Chinese girls I have known here in the US have intelligent, thoughtful and loving adoptive parents. They are loved and cherished -- and you are right, their lives here are probably far better in many ways than anything they could have dreamed of.
But Mr. Yang is right, too -- the idea that you were given up by your parents, the wondering why they did not keep you, the feeling of never quite belonging -- is something that remains with you, no matter how wonderful your current circumstances. I hope he and his daughter can meet each other one day.
you assume America is better than China. You forget, China is the wealthiest country on Earth. America is the poorest country on Earth with an incredible amount of debt. In 10 years America will have an Economically destroyed education system. Mexican gangs keep growing in strength. Our standard of living keeps going downhill. There are record number of Homeless. We are fighting 4 or 5 wars at a time and it looks like many more to come. China has no drug problem and no armed Mexican gangs terrorizing school kids.
In interesting definition from Wikipedia:
The 50 Cent Party (simplified Chinese: 五毛党; traditional Chinese: 五毛黨; pinyin: wǔmáo dǎng) is a pejorative unofficial term for Internet commentators (simplified Chinese: 网络评论员; traditional Chinese: 網絡評論員; pinyin: wǎngluò pínglùn yuán), people hired by the PRC Government (both local and central) to post comments favorable towards the government policies in an attempt to shape public opinion on various Internet message boards.[1] The commentators are said to be paid for every post that either steers a discussion away from anti-party or sensitive content on domestic websites, bulletin board systems, and chatrooms,[2] or that advances the Communist party line.
Your point is entirely missed by the incredible amount of translation crap. Did you have a point you were trying to convey?
Leroy: I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but you need to do some reading. The US is still the wealthiest country on earth, despite it's debt. We've got assets many, many times over our debt--the thought of this country being the poorest is laughable (China's average income in the cities is about 7 thousand a year and tens of millions don't live in the cities)--where on earth did you get the idea that Mexican gangs rule US streets or that our education system has failed? At least educate yourself on comparitive statistics.. Our standard of living is not going downhill (remember 91% of adults who want to work here do, we manufacture more than any other country still, and our GDP outranks all others.) when you hear about China's growth rate, which is phenomenal remember where they STARTED compared to the Us.
I have heard it said that any story you hear coming out of China is true somewhere. This story appalls me. As a parent of two adopted children, one from the US and one from China I was hit with the reality that a US family may open this article and see a picture of their own chinese adopted daughter.
The reason that we adopted from China was that I read an article that some girls are forced into prostitution by the government. At the time, that was the only country I knew of that the government forced.
Grump -- it wouldn't surprise me to learn that certain powerful corporate and political entities in the US have hired their own wangluo pinglun yuan to steer or derail conversations on the internet. I had no idea they had a name -- in any language!
Leroy, AP is right about the statistics. Those same entities mentioned above want us to be panicking about the budget, and they are going on and on spouting ideas that are not accurate. Ideas that are guaranteed to push people's buttons and get them worrying about the wrong things.
Sandy, if the American family who adopted Mr. Yang's daughter saw the photo and recognized her, I would hope that they would someday,somehow, arrange for a reunion so that she could meet her Chinese family. The little girl would be around 7 now; I've noticed that when kids are around 9 they start thinking and wondering very seriously about who they really are and what their families are like. That might be a good time...
Heck, the Americans want "healthy white babies" as you will see in their less-than-touching ads. There aren't many of them available, compared to, say, minority, handicapped or older children. If Asian girls are their next choice, that is great news for the Asian girls, even if they DO wind up in Oakland.
Why is the assumption that America is the best place in the world for these children? We are BANKRUPT!!!!! America is not the power house we once were. We gave all our money to China because whatever we wanted, including stolen kids, China found a way to supply it to us!!!!!!!
I'm an American. My wife and I adopted an African son with mild medical issues. So, how is your generalization accurate?
This was really a story about Chinese journalism. I wanted to know more about if they could still locate his daughter. They had about 10 lines about the adoption story and about 90 lines about journalism.
You nailed it my firend!! Perfect example of media corruption. They used the sensationalism of a tragic story to spotlight something else. Maybe we should be discussing corrupt journalism here in the states as it affects what the rest of the world knows about the plight of neighboring countries. Who cares about Caixin's level of excellence in journalism? Sure, it's great that there are news agencies in China who are willing to step up and risk telling the truth about corruption and vice in China, but what about the little girl who was ripped from her family? Here again, we are being treated like idiots who are too blind to see whats actually happening. What a disgrace!!!
"Media corruption"???? Way to shoot the messenger!! This was an American story about journalism in China, a closed society where journalists are JAILED for seeking the truth. Geez--get some perspective for heaven's sake and try to understand what you're reading here. Obviously, this won't be the only story uncovered as a result of the Chinese journalists investigative work. Why on earth would you expect and demand all facts right now, when this wasn't even an American story?? Did you not read in the story that as a result of this piece in China, foreign journalists have now arrived and are trying to do the same story? This was but one angle, and a fascinating one, but you'll have to actually wait for the reporters to report it since Americans didn't uncover it. Really, this is not that hard to understand!
You are reading the wrong article. There is an earlier one about the lost children.
I'm so glad you brought that up - I was wondering the same myself, the article started out as one story then went on to talk about journalism....I would've like to know just what exactly the Caixin journalists uncovered in the story on the stolen baby girl - the article states the story was "richly detailed & well-researched, a product of 4 years' work"....so where's the rest of the story?
anybody read about the American judge who took cash payments to sentence kids to jail. The people running the juvi camp were paying the judge to bring more kids so they could get more gov money. Once a kid gets in the system they have little chance of having a normal life.
Another story that's been eaten up by time, the great shredder of justice.
Yes. Right on. The story about one single rotten American judge should over shadow the millions of children kidnapped and sold. We should all focus on this single case of American filth so that we don't see anything wrong with China. Right On, our Chinese friend here.
That was a Law & Order type episode.
China is a pretty dangerous place to live. I have read about how people who take a boat ride up the Yangtze river, see the bodies of dead female babies float by because the families can't afford to raise them. The government does nothing to investigate because this type of behavior makes the "One Child Policy" that much easier to enforce. China is so big, that news from the provinces may not be heard about for months after it occurs. Poverty is so much a way of life that life itself is not worth but maybe 20-30 dollars, if that. The most vilest and unimaginable things occur in China's cities unabated and in many cases state supported by bribes and payoffs. Organ donation is a thriving business in many Chinese cities. There are undisposed of bodoies that in many cases are just left on tables when their organs are ripped from their bodies. It's a cold world out there. Remember, that whatever you may think about the USA, it's still the best place to live. Take a trip to some of the seedier destinations in the world, if you dare, and see what goes on in the name of money. It will not only make you physically ill but will change your homespun idea on humanity.
If you think the US is such a safe baby-friendly place, take a look in the dumpster behind your friendly neighborhood abortion clinic.
Cricket: Take your politics somewhere else. You're just trying to fan some fantasy.
Cricket: if you and your American Taliban ilk keep trying to make abortion illegal and birth control unavailable...you're going to be reading about more than that.
Seriously cricket, set your politcs aside for a moment, please! Maybe if we stopped playing 'biggest A-hole' over here in the states, we could maybe make a big enough ruckus to stop a huge injustice on the other side of the world.
Nice fear-mongering, AP-1414066. No reason to dump children into the dumpster when there are people willing to take these children in. Most people opposed to Abortion aren't opposed to birth control. The problem is too many people trying to USE abortion AS a birth control.
What a load of crap!!
Have you ever been to China? Have you ever met and talked to Chinese families, rich or poor?
Have you ever taken a boat ride in China or spent time by a Chinese river? Have you ever seen bodies drifting by? Of course not. You are clueless.
I have lived in China. I have spent time with Chinese families rich and poor and I have taken boat rides and sat on the river banks sipping tea and watching the water flow by.
Would you like to take a guess as to how many dead girl babies I saw? 0
Many of the families I know have girls and they are loved and revered and given every opportunity to excel. The Chinese do favor boys but they see girls as a way to move up in life. If you have a daughter and she is well educated and pretty she might marry into a higher family.
The poor of China have a tough time but they don't look at life in the way we do. They enjoy their lives and their families mean everything to them. They have learned to take happiness from other things than money. A lot of them are happier than the average American.
Do any of these things go on in China, yes, but not on the scale the US media would like us to believe. The Chinese are some of the nicest, warmest and most friendly people on earth.
If you want to talk about infanticide and the degrading and mistreatment of girls look at India.
HEAR, HEAR, Borsia! Well said!
But wait a minute! The story said that the girl was his only child...then showed a picture of him with his son, who seems to be older than she is now. So maybe China is enforcing its one child policy in this case. Something is not adding up and the reporters should have caught it.
This was a story about journalism not a story about children.
We have no way of knowing if this is even the man for whom the article was written. I totally agree... how could they say "his only child" and then say the boy is his son? In many instances a neighbor will help by being "the poster child" in a story like this. Either way, there's something very wrong going on in China.
It could be an old picture of his daughter and he had the son after she was taken. They said she was taken in 2005 at 11 months old. That would make her maybe 7 now? I don't think the boy looks that old. That would mean at the time she was taken she was his only child.
In 2005, family planning officials in Longhui County, Hunan Province, took away Yang's daughter, Yang Ling, when she was eleven months old. They accused him of not registering her birth, thereby breaking the strict, nationwide one-child policy – even though she was his first and only offspring. I read this to mean that when the girl child was taken, she was the only child. It's been since her disappearance that he has another child. It's beyond unthinkable to me that female children are taken from their parents, adopted out or killed because of their lack of worth to the Chinese government. There isn't much I like about China based on its lack of respect for human rights.
I'm slightly annoyed at this story.
It starts out as a report about the baby traffic story and the corruption within the Chinese Government. Corruption that is exploiting their citizens and taking advantage of foreign parties to run what is essentially a legalized child trafficking ring reminiscent of the slave trade. It also appears that while not benefiting the government this has all the hints of possible direct personal profit for the government officials involved. (but that's speculation on my part from what is reported)
Then about a third of the way through it turns into a F-ing cheerleading piece for Chinese commercial media, without going into any of the very researched details that were stated to be in the Chinese piece. If you're going to do a story about Journalism in China do a story about Journalism in China. If you're going to do a story about an Adoption scandal in China and government corruption and brutal state policies do that story. Either way stick to ONE subject. Maybe MSNBC journalist should go to China and study with Caixin Century and learn how to actually report news.
See post above: obviously you don't even know what you're reading. This wasn't an investigation done by American Journalists...(perhaps the headline might have given you a clue) and those brave Chinese journalists who work under threat of being jailed and worse for merely trying to report anything not officially cleared should be lauded. Perhaps the writers aren't the ones who need to go back to school to figure out how to understand what one is reading or how to understand what actual news reporting is.
AP,
Maybe you need a clue.
MSNBC can always reprint the story exposed by Caixin Century and give details and credit for those details, where due, to the Chinese Media. This was an article mostly extolling the Commercial Media in China. But they, MSNBC, used the headline (Adoption Scandal) as a 'pull' to deceptively get readers dragged in thinking they were going to get a story, in detail, about a baby trafficing. I also fully gave credit for the trafficing story to the Chinese media and in fact suggested that MSNBC could learn from them.
If you reading comprehension is that weak stick to the Sunday comics.
PS: The story expressly goes into Chinese commercial media is also corrupt and their journalist regularly take bribes to not report stories, mostly due to low pay. Maybe you missed that part while falling over yourself to express admiration for the Chinese.
PS to the PS: Apologize for the grammar mistakes, time for lunch.
Exactly. Though the story keeps promoting China's commercial media, the only example it gives--and keeps repeating--is Caixin. All of this writer's articles are puff pieces about China. They are inevitably biased and seem more like PR than journalism. Usually they are meant to show that China is really just an Eastern version of the good old U.S. of A. Not that different, right down to its "intellectual" elite.
I would spend the rest of my life trying to find my daughter.
She wasn't registered! He was hoping for a boy that he would register. Now, he wants his daughter. I hope his daughter found a safe and loving home.
Why on earth didn't the photographer ask that man to take the cigarette out of his mouth?
he was honk'n on a crack pipe...
anan, unlike the US it's still legal to smoke in China and not be judged as being twisted.
anan, probably because a good photojournalist and wants to capture the genuine article. I agree however, that a MOST unsavory impression is conveyed. The picture makes me uneasy, as it was meant to do. If I were a little boy - I'd be apprehensive, as the the child in the pic most certainly appears.......
The daughter was his only child AT THE TIME. It's right there in the text.
Do not panic. In few years China will be adopting the entire USA
Actually, in a few years China will be forced to deal with their own social issues which happens to be their greatest threat in stability.
mohammed - do we have a choice after that dirtbag Bush Jr., signed all his NAFTA crony's legislation sending all our decend jobs to INDIA and CHINA???? Bush anhilliated this nation's treasures and should be tried for war crimes. I hate him and wish our government COULD charge him and his triumvirate of stupid (Rove and Cheney) with the vile crimes they've committed.
And we still want to deal with China
My point exactly!!!!! We are just as guilty as China is. I think what they do in that country to these helpless females is disgusting and barbaric. We should have stopped doing business with them about a decade ago!!!!!
A decade ago ? Nah. We made the first mistake sending Nixon to China. Should have stopped there and then.
For more insight I would encourage all who post here to read Pearl S. Buck's classic 'The Good Earth'. While written by a white missionary woman many, many years ago, Buck gave her protagonist, of 'Wang Lung', a view of China which was accurate, prideful, and not afraid to explain China in the 20s/30s and how it was trying to change with Sun Yat Senbut still hang on to their roots while getting swallowed up in the tragic lie of Mao Zedong's Tse Communism. I am not Chinese and don't pretend to be an expert. But many Chinese friends and neighbors have shared their feeling and thoughts with me and while many of the older ones miss China, the consider themselves Americans now and would never go back. They have told me stories of the Tong Gangs and what is happening today as everyone is leaving the farms for the cities and how young people travel like herds of animals to get to the west on cattle trucks for work in the west (hoping to send money back home to poor families) and how they are disenfranchied with indentured servitude BY THEIR OWN people who trade their value as 'workers' for roach infested, multi-family, verminous housing, sexual slavery and minimal wages at either strip clubs, factories deemed unsafe, and the pittance of their wages go right back to these villainous 'sponsors'. The older Chinese are very smart and respectful people who KNOW what the worst human behavior can do and have NO interest in returning to that way of life.
I remember China when ultrasonic equipment was tightly regulated outside of government hospitals. But soon they were all over the countryside and the female fetuses were being discovered (sometimes not very early) and aborted posthaste..........for a cash contribution to the local government bosses.
The idea that a group of local bosses can scheme such a contemptuous and vile enterprise like stealing babies isn't new. There have always been legions of quick buck artists operating with impunity under local protection.
The Beijing government knew early in the late 80's the sad fact that would someday slow, stop, or even reverse their ascent to developed nation status: corruption. It hasn't gotten any better as the years have rolled by regardless of what they try or how swift and vengeful their punishment is of those caught.
China always has a backup plan, no matter how flimsy. They think they will fill the need for females by importing Vietnamese, Thai, and other nearby Asian young women, never mind that they haven't asked those countries if it would be okay with them.
If China could clone perfect children, they would do it. Maybe they are not so far away from that day now for all we know.
No. You don't contribute to the local government when you have that ultrasound. You give generously to the technician who gives you that ultrasound. You contribute to the local government, erh... Local Government Official, actually, when you get get your permission to have a baby, that's before the conception. And then to the ultrasound technician to make sure you can see the male organ. And if it is an extra kid, you contribute to the local government (as specified in the law). Every law and regulation in China are designed to enhance the cash contribution of Chinese people to pockets of their beloved local government officials. Anytime when "discretion" is involve, money changed hands. Every time a permit is required, money changed hands. Every time you are let off the hook of something, money changed hands.
What ticks me off is, I clicked the article thinking it was about an adoption scandal, but its 80% about Chinese press and its new-found freedom. There's almost nothing about the scandal.
You are reading the wrong article. Go back a day or two.
That confused me for a moment as well, but I think you need to re-do your math and take another look at the son. The article says the girl was 11 months old when she was taken in 2005 (6 years ago). which would make her 6 or 7 years old now. The son's age is a little hard to gauge, but I'd guess he's 3 or 4. He looks younger than my son who is 5. But I agree it was poorly written and should have been explained better by the author by saying she was the only child "at the time" and/or by including the son's age in the caption.
I feel sorry for the parents in China who lost their children to the corrupt system.
Here in the US, if all the "Right- to- Lifers" would adopt one child, instead of just pushing their opinions and beliefs on women who can't care for a child, the problem would almost be solved. But of all the "Right-to Lifers" I know, (many), NONE has adopted a baby from anywhere. If your not part of the solution, then you ARE part of the problem.
I am one of those right-to-lifer's you refer to, and I HAVE adopted a baby. She's the child of a bi-polar schizoaffective meth user, she's bi-racial, and she has ADHD, but I love her completely. I also have 3 other biological children and 2 step-children. I love them all and feel incredibly fortunate to be able to raise them. Please be careful passing judgement. I know many other couples, who, just like my husband and I, have adopted so-called "unadoptable children" even after having biological children. They are also "right-to-lifer's" as you have called us.
This is a sad story about human trafficking in a country run by a corrupt government. Parents and children alike are innocent victims in this horrible mess. True, too much is devoted to commercial journalism in the story, but if it helps to create even the beginning of change in a more decent and humane direction, then so be it.
+1 to Proud American Mom.
Yes, of course, Con Mom, she was presumably his only child at the time, even though he looks older than six to me. But wasn't it convenient that his next offspring was the much-desired male, who will support the family? Keep digging, newspaper!
Most of the commentors here seem to have missed the fact that the intent of this article was to praise Chinese journalism. Leading off with the story of the girl taken from her family was just to get you to read it.
Pitiful article in my opinion!
Reading comprehension just isn't our strong suit today is it
Let me explain the story; The pitiful failure of "One child, per one family" of China had gotten very little press until China's commercial press got hold of the story. The story has long been ignored the world over until the hardworking reporters drug it out into the sunshine. So we have a two pronged report here or should I say two exposes.
This story is self-serving tripe about how the news media in China is singing its own praises about its investigative reporting. This story comes how many years after the alleged incident???
I have nothing but respect for the majority of Chinese citizens. I have absolutely no respect for their government, which will one day be replaced by a more representative form of government. It's inevitable. I have great admiration for the Chinese journalists and bloggers who have the courage to expose the often vile, cruel and inhumane treatment of Chinese citizens by their very own government.
Yet another story that will continue to plunge a dagger into the heart of international adoption...and all those kids that'll grow up in dismal orphanages will have this kind of sensationalist story to thank for their life that could have had so much more potential. My daughter's birth mom was a homeless mentally retarded teenager who gave birth on a public bus - now my daughter's winning swim races, riding horses, doing gymnastics, and has a loving family...WHY ISN'T this a story???
Because It's normal and as it should be Van Man. Do you read the paper to know if the Sun came up this morning? No! You read it to find out what went wrong.
Jimmie Ellison - you miss the point COMPLETELY!!! The point is there are bad birth parents and bad adoptive parents...but the majority of both are kind loving people. The difference is that birth parents can have kids no matter what stories are in the news; if you continue to highlight the rare abuses, you do harm to the process of adoption, which is harmful not only to the orphans but to the prospective parents!!!
stop patronizing chinese firms and their government, they are scum and if we didnt buy their products, maybe they would not be communist anymore just like the soviet union and maybe north korea would have gotten their freedom and reunited with south korea.