The Chinese regime has recently implemented a new policy that puts an end to its three-decade-long practice of allowing Chinese children to be adopted by foreign families, with only a few exceptions. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) made the announcement on September 5th, stating that China will no longer send children abroad for adoption, except in cases where foreigners are adopting their blood relatives within three generations.
This rule change has caused uncertainty for many American families who were in the process of adopting a child from China. In response to inquiries from U.S. diplomats regarding the new policy, Beijing clarified that they will not continue processing any adoption cases other than those covered by the stated exception.
The U.S. State Department expressed sympathy for the hundreds of families still awaiting completion of their adoptions and stated that they are seeking written clarification on the new rule from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs.
China had previously imposed a mandatory “one-child” policy from 1979 to 2015, resulting in numerous abandoned babies, particularly girls or those with birth defects. Some of these abandoned infants were taken in by orphanages across the country.
Since 1988, China had gradually relaxed its international adoption policy, allowing foreigners to adopt Chinese children. The number of international adoptions increased significantly each year, with American families leading in terms of numbers.
Chinese local government agencies have been charging substantial fees to foreign families for adopting Chinese children. In 2005, China became a signatory to the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. That year saw a peak in international adoptions from China with over 13,000 children being adopted by foreign families—accounting for one-fourth of all adoptions within the country.
Zhao Lanjian, an independent current affairs commentator residing in the United States who previously worked as an investigative reporter in China shared his concerns about this issue. He mentioned how he discovered during his reporting on abandoned babies being raised by poor elderly couples that these children often experienced depression and would likely suffer psychological trauma later due to their circumstances.
Zhao also expressed worries about what would happen if these abandoned babies ended up at government-run orphanages where they could potentially be subjected to indoctrination and brainwashing education by CCP authorities.
According to Tseng Chien-Yuan—an associate professor at National Central University—the main reason behind this transnational adoption policy change is rooted in nationalistic sentiments held by the Chinese regime. They fear criticism suggesting that if social welfare is adequate within China itself then there should be no need for foreigners to adopt Chinese orphans.
Tseng further explained how Western families adopt these orphans out of compassion rather than solely focusing on continuing their family line like traditional Chinese practices do—regardless if these orphans have disabilities or physical/mental defects.
