In Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, a man found an abandoned baby three years ago. Despite obtaining 12 certificates, the child still cannot be registered in the household. This news made it to the top of Baidu’s trending topics on February 27.
According to China News Weekly’s Weibo on February 26, in March 2022, Mr. Zhu, a staff member of Baling Town Government in Mingguang City, found an abandoned baby on the roadside. The baby was wrapped in a blanket with a note that read: “Parents are in trouble, seeking kind-hearted individuals to adopt or send to a welfare institution.”
Mr. Zhu immediately notified the police and contacted the Civil Affairs Bureau and welfare institutions. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at that time, the welfare institution in Mingguang City was unable to take the baby in immediately, so Mr. Zhu temporarily took care of the boy.
After over a month of caring for the child, Mr. Zhu, unable to continue due to household circumstances, reached out to the town for a solution. He recounted, “I contacted the town party secretary and the Civil Affairs Bureau, and was told to find someone who could adopt the child.”
Mr. Fei, a 42-year-old man without children, learned about the situation from relatives and traveled from Nanjing to Mingguang City. After the necessary procedures with the Civil Affairs Bureau, DNA testing, and inclusion in the anti-child trafficking system, Mr. Fei was allowed to take the child back to Nanjing for care. Various documents, including the police report from Mr. Zhu in March, the abandonment notice published in a local newspaper by the Zhang Baling Town People’s Government of Mingguang City, and the genetic comparison record of the missing person, are still in Mr. Fei’s possession.
On February 26, Mr. Fei disclosed to The Paper that after adopting the child Ningning, their plans for IVF were abandoned, and all their focus was on caring for Ningning. His wife resigned from her job three years ago to dedicate herself to looking after the child. During the initial period, when the child was less than a month old and had poor health, frequent visits to the hospital without medical insurance made it financially challenging for the family.
Three years later, Ningning still does not have household registration, remaining in a legal limbo.
Mr. Fei mentioned that obtaining household registration requires 13 proofs, and after handling 12 of them over a period of two months, they are still missing an adoption certificate, causing a deadlock in the Mingguang Welfare Institution in Anhui.
Regarding why the Mingguang Welfare Institution in Anhui did not issue the adoption certificate to Mr. Fei, Director Li stated to The Paper on February 21 that the child was not brought to the welfare institution but directly given to Mr. Fei by the finder, Mr. Zhu.
Director Li said, “I took the child back for him, put the child on the adoption list. Through the welfare institution, it is necessary to put the child on the list, and then Mr. Fei and his wife can adopt, but the chance of adoption is very slim. If more than 5 families apply, the system evaluates these 5 families and selects the best one.”
However, Mr. Fei and his wife expressed that they are willing to cooperate within legal boundaries to ensure the child’s education. They find it difficult to send Ningning back to the welfare institution for a chance at adoption since there is no guarantee of successful adoption after such a tumultuous journey.
Upon the public disclosure of this news, netizens have shown considerable support for Mr. Fei and his wife.
User “FoxFriend6030313” commented, “Bureaucracy harms people, are they considering the child’s well-being? Inhumane.”
User “TransientWorldLight245421” added, “It may seem systematic, but the logic is a mess! Human life is paramount, they were evasive back then, now they have a righteous stance, it’s truly despicable!”
User “TimeThief781044” opined, “They used the epidemic as an excuse to refuse taking in the child! Let others care for him for 3 years! And now they say such things! Isn’t it shameful? I believe Mr. Fei’s family genuinely cares for the child! Why can’t good deeds be done based on the actual situation?”
This story has sparked significant attention on social media, with most netizens siding with Mr. Fei and his wife in this challenging situation.