150 Chinese children adopted by American families on journey back to China

China Adopted Children -- 150 Chinese children adopted by American families on journey back to China

China Central Television - 150 Chinese children adopted by foreign families journeyed back to China and were received by Dou Yupei, vice-minister of Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday.

These 150 children are adopted by 90 American families and aged from 4-18. This is their first journey back to their Chinese homeland ever since they were adopted at the age of about one.

Among the adopted children, there is a girl named "A Mei". Her American mother gave her this Chinese name which means beautiful."My name is A Mei and I was born in the year of rabbit (1999). My birthday is December 31 and I love China," said A Mei.

"She is our 'Bao Bei' (means sweetheart in Chinese). She's beautiful and we love her. She is very bright and energetic. She does well in school, sports and music and she is exceptional," said A Mei's mother.

Another adopted girl named Anna is also excellent and won a medal from the mathematic competition held by Duke University. Her mother is really proud of her.

"We always felt from the beginning when we decided to adopt from China that it was important from wherever we adopted from for the child to be able to connect with their culture," said mother of Anna.

Before being adopted, these children were mostly living in the welfare houses in south China's Provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi. During their journey back to China, they will pay a visit to their old homes, the welfare houses, where they originally came from. Moreover, they will visit the Great Wall and the Imperial Palace as well as other historical sites. Thereafter, they will also attend Chinese cultural lecture and appreciate the performance of Chinese acrobatics and Kongfu.

Under the principle of "everything is for the children", the Chinese government has tried to help choose the best adopting families around the world for the Chinese orphans in recent years and taken strict measures to ensure that these children's rights are protected.

The Adoption Law of People's Republic of China effective on April 1, 1992, stipulates the rules for the intercountry adoption of Chinese orphans. Thereafter, China joined the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption in May 29 1993, which defines the identification authentication procedure of adopted children.

China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) was established in 1996. Focusing on interncountry adaptations and finding best foreign families for the Chinese orphans, the center has established relationship with relevant organizations in 17 countries such as the U.S., the UK and Spain.

Zhang Shifeng, director of CCCWA, said that "Foreigners who want to adopt Chinese children have to submit application documents and relevant materials to CCCWA. These materials include birth certificate, marriage status, health certificate, financial certificate and criminal record. This is to ensure these foreign families can provide a healthy and stable environment for the adopted children."

"Once the adoption application is approved by the CCCWA, our staff will help the foreign families and the Chinese orphans find their match. When the registration procedure is completed, the CCCWA will also conduct track survey on the adopted children and receive regular reports from their adopting families," added by Zhang.

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