news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080908/ap_on_re_as/china_quake_orphan
AP So far only 1 China quake orphan adopted By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 8, 9:21 AM ET BEIJING - Only one orphan has been adopted in the four months since a devastating earthquake in Sichuan province left some 90,000 people dead or missing, government officials and state media said Monday.
WnmfDxJJQD9xg8F/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1220908573/L=DgJuBk WTVvr83xETQI4VvwYFRTfow0jFefwADyTk/B=LX8xAdj8els-/J=1220901373023316/A =5406486/R=0/* The 10-year-old boy is from the quake-hit town of Mianzhu, said a staffer from Sichuan's Civil Affairs Office who gave only his surname, Zhao, as is customary by Chinese officials. The orphan was identified Zhang Anyun, a student from the Hanwang Central Primary School, according to the official China Daily newspaper. Both of Zhang's parents were killed when their apartment collapsed, the report said. His grandparents are alive but are both more than 80 years old and cannot afford to support him, it said. The paper said that a total of 532 children lost their parents in the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 people and left another 18,000 missing, but most of them have been taken in by family members or guardians. In late August, the government announced that only 88 were eligible for adoption because they had no relatives who could be located or could care for them, the paper said. Of the 88 children, 28 are between 5 to 10 years old, while 54 are between 10 to 14 years old, the paper said. One reason for the slow response in finding adoptive homes is that couples are hesitating over adopting handicapped children, China Daily said, citing sources from the provincial civil affairs department. Jiang Tao, head of the division in charge of adoption at the provincial civil affairs office, was quoted as saying that adoptive parents preferred children who are under 6 years old and are not handicapped. However, many of the quake orphans sustained physical or other injuries during the quake that are permanent handicaps, according to his office. The Civil Affairs Ministry said earlier this year that people nationwide had shown a huge interest in adopting quake orphans, with 10,000 families registering for adoption in one province alone. The ministry said at the time that priority would be given to parents who had lost children in the quake. Adoptions are further complicated by rules that require orphans whose parents are listed as officially missing to wait two years for the parents to be declared dead before they can be adopted. Adoptions are not open to foreigners, including residents of the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau and Taiwanese citizens. The ministry has said that only childless Chinese couples over the age of 30 can be considered as adoptive parents.
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