The Guardian-China says it is ending foreign adoptions prompting concern from US
September 6, 2024 2 min 375 words
西方媒体的这篇报道主要内容是：中国宣布停止外国人收养中国儿童，这引发了美国的担忧。美国国务院正在寻求中国方面对这一决定的澄清，因为该决定将影响到那些正在进行国际收养程序的美国家庭。报道还提到，在过去几十年中，许多人从中国收养了儿童，美国家庭从中国收养的儿童数量最多，达到82674名。 评论：该报道存在一定偏见，其倾向性在于对中国决定的负面解读。中国外交部发言人毛宁表示，中国不再允许外国人收养中国儿童，这是符合国际公约精神的决定。这一决定可能出于保护儿童权益维护家庭关系稳定等考量，是一个主权国家的内部事务。然而，报道却过分关注美国家庭的担忧，试图营造一种中国决定将对美国家庭造成负面影响的印象，而对中国自身理由和考量则一带而过。此外，报道还提到中国出生率下降的问题，暗含对中国人口政策的负面评价。然而，低出生率是许多发达国家都面临的共同问题，不应被过度解读为中国人口政策的失败。该报道在一定程度上反映了西方媒体对中国事务的偏见和误读。
The Chinese government is ending its international adoption program, and the US is seeking clarification on how the decision will affect hundreds of American families with pending applications.
At a daily briefing on Thursday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said China was no longer allowing intercountry adoptions of the country’s children, with the only exception for blood relatives to adopt a child or a stepchild.
She didn’t explain the decision other than to say that it was in line with the spirit of relevant international conventions.
In a phone call with US diplomats in China, Beijing said it “will not continue to process cases at any stage” other than those cases covered by an exception clause. The embassy is seeking clarification in writing from China’s ministry of civil affairs, the US state department said on Thursday.
The state department said: “We understand there are hundreds of families still pending completion of their adoption, and we sympathise with their situation.”
Many people have adopted children from China over the decades, visiting the country to pick them up and then bringing them to a new home overseas.
US families have adopted 82,674 children from China, the most from any foreign country.
China suspended international adoptions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government later resumed adoptions for children who had received travel authorisation before the suspension in 2020, the US state department said in its latest annual report on adoptions.
A US consulate issued 16 visas for adoptions from China from October 2022 through to September 2023, the first in more than two years, the state department report said. It wasn’t clear if any more visas had been issued since then.
In January, Denmark’s only overseas adoption agency said it was winding down operations after concerns were raised about fabricated documents and procedures, and Norway’s top regulatory body recommended stopping overseas adoptions for two years pending an investigation into several cases.
Beijing’s announcement also has followed falling birthrates in the country. The number of newborn babies fell to 9.02 million in 2023, and the overall population declined for the second consecutive year.