The Central Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party calls for family adoption to become an important channel for orphans’ relief and broaden the way for ＂dear＂ to return to ＂home＂

By the end of 2013, there were 549,000 orphans in China who could not enjoy the warmth of their families. In China, there are only 529 child welfare institutions with 87,000 beds. The proposal of the Central Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party suggests that the adoption system should be reformed, and priority should be given to the adoption of families who have lost their independence and the adoption of children orphaned by particularly serious emergencies such as natural disasters and accidents, and restrictions on age and adopter conditions should be relaxed.

　

In 2014, a "Dear" moistened the eyes of countless people, and many viewers were full of sympathy for Zhao Wei’s role as a foster mother — — I really love Jifang, but I can’t get the custody of Jifang. I can only look at my adopted daughter who misses her day and night from the window of the welfare home.

　

In fact, if you can enter the welfare home like Ji Fang, it will be lucky for many homeless orphans. According to statistics, by the end of 2013, there were 549,000 orphans in China who could not enjoy the warmth of their families. In China, there are only 529 child welfare institutions with 87,000 beds. There are more than 80% orphans living outside welfare institutions and scattered in society, and their basic rights and interests such as survival and study are not guaranteed.

　

For the complete and coordinated development of children’s personality, children should grow up in a family environment full of happiness, love and understanding, and family adoption should be a powerful supplement to the lack of government assistance. However, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the number of children adopted by families in China has not increased in recent years, but it has been declining. In 2013, the number of family adoption registrations nationwide decreased by 10.4% compared with the previous year and by 50.2% compared with 2006.

　

"Why is this happening? It is the fault of the imperfect adoption system! " The relevant person in charge of the Democratic Progressive Party Central Committee’s political participation and deliberation department bluntly said.

　

■ There are many obstacles to family adoption

　

In China, the conditions for family adoption are very strict. The adopter must have no children and can only adopt one child. This provision of the adoption law is based on China’s family planning policy and household registration policy, but it blocks many families with strong adoption will and ability. At the same time, the requirement that the adopter must be at least 30 years old is also larger than that of Britain (21 years old) and France (28 years old). For the adoptees, the adoption law stipulates that they must be minors under the age of 14, but a large number of homeless orphans in China are between the ages of 14 and 18, and their difficult situation can be imagined.

　

The lack of legal adoption channels forces many families interested in adopting children to choose "illegal factual adoption". In China, adoption through children’s welfare homes is a legal channel with relatively convenient procedures and guarantees, but most orphans in welfare homes suffer from disabilities, and such orphans are not accepted by most families with adoption needs in China. Normal and healthy orphans are not in the welfare system. Most of them have difficulty finding their parents, no birth certificates, no registered permanent residence and even no legal guardian. They can’t provide the documents and proof materials required by law for the adopters, making it even more difficult to be adopted, which leads to the widespread existence of "illegal de facto adoption" among the people in the country. There are great hidden dangers in folk adoption in terms of whether the purpose is justified, whether the hardware in the place is safe, and the protection of children’s rights and interests.

　

"The tendency of adoption review to rely heavily on certification materials issued by various state organs and units to make review conclusions, rather than based on in-depth investigation of all aspects of adoption applicants, has also become a major obstacle to family adoption." The relevant person in charge of the DPP Central Committee told the reporter that once there is no proof, the adoption cannot be completed. For example, at the time of adoption, a "certificate issued by the public security organ for picking up abandoned babies and children who reported the case" should be provided. However, when some abandoned babies and orphans are found, they do not report the case at the first time, so it is difficult for the public security organ to issue such a certificate. The network system of finding, reporting and transferring orphans is not perfect, which aggravates the difficulty of adoption. Moreover, our country’s adoption review still lacks the mental situation such as the motivation of the adoption applicant, and the mutual adaptability between the adoption applicant and the adopted child for a long time.

　

"The relevant departments also lack effective supervision over whether adoptive parents abuse their children after the adoption relationship is formed." The relevant person in charge of the DPP Central Committee said that the current adoption review and approval in China are all handled by the civil affairs departments at or above the county level, and the adoption process lacks timely and effective supervision. The existing laws and policies mainly stipulate the procedures and conditions of adoption, but there are no relevant provisions on the follow-up matters of adoption, such as whether the adopted children are abused, which leads to a completely laissez-faire state. In recent years, the news that children are abused after adoption has been exposed continuously.

　

■ System reform cannot be abandoned because of choking.

　

In the view of the DPP, the above-mentioned problems have exposed the defects in the system construction, policy environment and practical operation of child adoption, and it is necessary to reform the adoption system as soon as possible in order to make it more in line with the national conditions and keep up with the times.

　

"First of all, relevant laws should be revised to relax the adoption threshold and simplify the adoption procedures." The relevant person in charge of the Central Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party said that with the gradual liberalization of the two-child policy in China, the policy that "no children" are eligible for adoption and "only one child can be adopted", which is closely related to China’s family planning policy, should also be adjusted accordingly. Priority should be given to the adoption of families who have lost their children and the adoption of children orphaned by natural disasters, accidents and other particularly serious emergencies, and restrictions on age and adopter conditions should be relaxed. At the same time, relevant departments should provide free services for family adoption and allow a certain range of de facto adoption to be notarized and transformed into legal adoption.

　

"Judging from the current conditions, it is actually not difficult to appropriately relax the conditions for individual adoption. The real difficulty lies in keeping up with government supervision. Once the adoption conditions are relaxed, the relevant functional departments such as civil affairs must strengthen supervision over the risk that traffickers may resell children later. " The Central Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party proposed that "relaxation is not laissez-faire". It is necessary to establish a pre-adoption review and inspection system and a follow-up visit system after adoption under the principle of "the best interests of the child", strictly verify the identity and true intention of the adopter, and add the content of protecting the rights and interests of adopted children to relevant legal provisions. We must severely crack down on the illegal acts caused by adoption, and include the information of the violator in the credit record.

　

In addition, some foreign practices are also worth learning. For example, setting up a trial adoption period means sending the adopted child to the adoption family for a period of time to see if it is suitable, and then formally establishing the adoption relationship. After the child is adopted, the relevant departments should follow up and observe it to prevent the occurrence of child abuse and reselling. For those non-governmental adoption charities, the government also needs to inspect them from time to time to strictly put an end to child abuse and reselling.

　

"The reform of the adoption system will be a chain reaction. Once the adoption conditions are relaxed, the relevant functional departments cannot have ‘ Lazy political thinking ’ And be more diligent. In solving the household registration problem of adopted children, some staff members of relevant departments claimed that ‘ In this case, those illegitimately born and super-born offenders will use this as an excuse to give children access to their homes. Isn’t this a mess? ’ We believe that this is not the basis to stop the reform, but from ‘ Don’t mess around ’ In fact, it can test the management wisdom of relevant functional departments. " The relevant person in charge of the DPP Central Committee said.