Tag Archives: Nanchang Project

Adoptee Responses and Events Around China’s Decision to End International Adoption

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China recently announced an end to the placement of its children for international adoption, after some 30 years of doing so. There have been a wide variety of responses about the decision. As you look for more information, be sure to look first for the voices of the experts: Chinese adoptees.

As is often the case, media information about adoption often promotes the voices of adoptive parents and adoption agencies first, and sometimes exclusively. Adult adoptees are often invisible in media stories about adoption; this needs to change.

There are plenty of adult adoptees available to share their insights, experiences, and expertise. We adoptive parents and others in the adoption community need to promote their voices whenever possible, including in the media.

The Nanchang Project, among the very first to share news of China’s decision, is “the only search organization focused on reconnecting international Chinese adoptees with their birth families that is also co-led by both adoptees and adoptive parents.” They are moving, as is true for similar organizations, to being entirely adoptee-led.

From their recent blog post “End of an Era: China’s International Adoption Program”: “This sudden announcement prompted a range of emotions rippling through our community of Chinese adoptees, adoptive families, and prospective adoptive parents. At Nanchang Project, it is our profound hope that the remaining children in China receive the attention, medical care, and love they deserve. As for our fellow adoptees interested in their origins, we do not know how or if this will impact orphanage visits or appointments to check original adoption files.”

The blog post includes comments by some 30 Chinese adoptees in reaction to China’s decision. They express a wide variety of perspectives, a wide range of emotions.

Navigating_Adoption is the site of two Chinese adoptees, sharing stories and providing advocacy and awareness. From their Instagram post: “We want to continue to take time and space for those who are grieving and processing everything. We understand that people have different emotions about this, and it’s okay. We are here for our Chinese Adoptee community and our adoption community.”

On September 17, Navigating_Adoption is hosting “an adoptee-led, adoptee-only discussion on China’s recent end to International Adoption. This event is open to all adoptees, not just those of Chinese descent. We ask that adoptive parents do not attend this event so that we may create a safe space for adoptees to talk about their emotions during this time.”

WHEN: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 6:30 pm EST
WHERE: This discussion group will take place on Zoom
HOW: You can register for this event via their Instagram page.

Asian Adoptees of Canada posted this on their Instagram page: “In light of the recent news of China ending its international adoption program, Asian Adoptees of Canada would like to hold space for adult adoptees of any background to be in community during this time. We invite you to join our upcoming Open Dialogue event to connect, share, and/or listen,” on September 19.

*Event Details*
Date: Thursday, September 19, 2024
Time: 4:00 pm PST / 5:00 pm MST / 7:00 pm EST
Location: Zoom Meeting
Attendees: Adult adoptees of any background 
To RSVP, email: president@asianadoptees.ca
Deadline to RSVP: Wednesday, September 18, 2024″

Patrick Armstrong, @PatrickintheWorld, is a Korean adoptee, podcaster, and speaker who posted on Instagram about China’s closing here. Listen to his thoughts, and be sure to read the comments, many from Chinese adoptees.

Patrick’s post included this helpful list:

“Here are some Chinese adoptees, orgs, and others that I’ve learned a lot from 🫶🏼

@nanchangproject
@chineseadopteealliance
@adopteesborninchinapodcast
@redthreadbroken
@lindsgeier
@adopteelilly
@kiraomans
@endlesswanderer
@lee_uhh
@adopteesofchina
@cosetteeisenhauer“

While I haven’t seen anything from her yet about China’s closing, Grace Newton, MSW, a Chinese adoptee and Ph.D. student, writes a highly regarded blog called Red Thread Broken. She was recently featured on the wonderful podcast AdopteesOn.

China’s Children International “empowers Chinese adoptees from all over the world by providing an inclusive and supportive community for all of us who share this common beginning.” They have an Instagram post titled “The End of Intercountry Adoption from China.”

Grace Yung Foster, a Korean adoptee and founder of the Inclusion Initiative, notes that “transnational/intercountry adoption is more complicated than it appears at face value. And regardless of China’s economic motives, it’s important to look at how transnational adoption impacts the people at the very center of it, the Adoptees.” See the rest of her post here: “An (Adoptee’s) Perspective on China’s Newest Adoption Policy.“

If you’re not following the Harlow’s Monkey, you should. JaeRan Kim, Ph.D., an associate professor at University of Washington-Tacoma and a Korean adoptee, began writing the blog in 2006. Her most recent post is “Reflection—it’s the end of the (transnational adoption) world as we know it.” In the post, JaeRan discusses both China’s decision to end intercountry adoptions and South Korea’s repot from their Truth and Reconciliation Commission about corruption in the Korean adoption system.

CCAI, an adoption agency founded by two Chinese immigrants, Joshua Zhong and Lily Nie, has placed over 13,000 Chinese children in adoptive homes. It is the largest adoption agency placing Chinese children, though it now has programs in other countries as well. Several dozen families have received invitations to travel to China to meet the child with whom they’ve been matched, though it looks like those meetings will not happen. CCAI and the National Council for Adoption are urging Congress to have the State Department get clarification on waiting/matched families to adopt from China. Read CCAI’s blog post here.

Holt International, an Oregon-based adoption agency, has placed some 7,700 Chinese children with U.S. families. In their announcement about China’s closing, they offer support services to adoptees and families.

Many adoption agencies have posted about China’s announcement. The ones I have seen are largely about families who had been waiting to adopt children from China, some for years. If you read those articles, you’ll note that there are frequently no adult adoptees included to provide their perspectives, This New York Times article, for example, about the impact of the closing, included no Chinese adoptees. It did include Chinese academics, a Korean-Danish adoptee, and prospective American adoptive parents.

The reactions to China’s closing are many and multi-faceted, including among adoptees. That range of reactions shows the complexity of adoption itself. May we continue to hear the voices of adopted people.

China Officially Ends International Adoptions

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According to the Nanchang Project‘s Facebook page, China has officially ended international adoptions. Historically, China has been the source of some 30% of all international placements to the U.S.

The Associated Press confirmed the decision, citing a China Foreign Ministry spokesperson who said the only exception for foreign adoptions would be “full blood relatives adopting a child or step child.” No further information was provided, except that the decision “was in line with the spirit of relevant international conventions.”

There does not yet appear to be an official public announcement from the U.S. State Department, but State did send out emails to waiting families and to adoption agencies. The Nanchang Project shared screen shots of the emails.

Source: The Nanchang Project
Source: The Nanchang Project

China now joins Russia, Guatemala, and Ethiopia among others in closing international adoption programs.

Since 1999, almost 83,000 children were adopted to the U.S. from China. The total number of intercountry adoptions between 1999 and 2023 was 284,088, according to the State Department. The number of adoptions from China has declined dramatically in recent years, according to State Department statistics.

In 2005, China placed 7,903 children in the U.S.; in 2023, the number was 16.

International adoptions have declined dramatically in recent years. There are many reasons for that: changing political climates, more in-country adoptions, slowdowns in processing during the pandemic, concerns about fraud and corruption, increased attention focused on adult adoptees’ experiences, and other reasons. Read more here:

Intercountry Adoption: The Beginning of the End

Uncovering the Truth About Intercountry Adoption’s Decline

Lamenting the Decline in International Adoptions? Take Action

Power is shifting dramatically in the adoption community. The once robust adoption industry has been overtaken by concerns around trafficking and commodification of children. The notion and nuance of abolition of adoption will increase in coming years. That said, vulnerable children and families around the globe need support and safety. Adoption may fade; the needs of children will not.

What Should Adoptive Parents Do About Adoptees’ Often Absent Medical Histories?

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“International adoption leads to family health mysteries.” That’s the title of an important article which I believe we adoptive parents need to ponder and act on. I’d argue that adoption generally can lead to medical mysteries, since often there is little or no medical history provided to the adopted person.

As an adoptive parent, I filled out forms at the pediatricians’ office for my children when they were little. I’d include whatever info I had for each child, and then put N/A on many items. In truth, it didn’t seem like a big deal to me at the time.

I’ve learned so much over the years. It’s a very big deal.

Now that my children are adults, now that two are parents themselves, I see how much uncertainty, frustration, suffering, and hardship emerge from not knowing one’s medical history.

I didn’t know some 35 years ago that I could have and should have advocated doggedly for the information. While I can’t change the past, I can speak out about ways to do better now.

I hope that any prospective and new adoptive parents will do so. Get all the medical information—physical and mental—that you can about the child’s family (parents, grandparents, cousins, siblings, everyone).

Make sure your child’s doctor knows about (and uses) the Comprehensive Health Evaluation of the Newly Adopted Child, from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Tell your pediatrician that you know her job is harder because there is not a complete medical history. Ask that she talk with her colleagues about not being complacent and accepting of this ethical inequity.

For adoptive parents whose children are still minors, check with your agency (or even better, the birth family) as to any new medical developments over time, including years after placement.

What can those of us with adult adopted children do?

  • Apologize for not having been a better advocate when they were little.
  • Become educated about direct-to-consumer genetic testing, such as AncestryDNA and 23AndMe. I gave my children DNA testing kits several years ago. I’ve learned lots since then.

The kits can be helpful. They can help locate relatives, sometimes. They can provide some medical information.

They have limitations and constraints. They can open unexpected doors, and evoke unexpected reactions and emotions. They can place private information into huge corporate databases. They can provide information used by law enforcement entities. (Police Are Getting DNA Data From People Who Think They Opted Out; Racial Disparities in Databanking of DNA Profiles; Your DNA Test Could Send a Relative to Jail.)

  • So: do your reading and knowledge-gathering about DNA testing. Be available and supportive to your adult adopted son or daughter, as objectively and lovingly as possible without interfering or judging.

Per the article: Share goals with your doctor. Do all routine screenings. Follow up with a genetic counselor and genetic testing at a hospital or clinic.

  • Help your children pay for these expensive tests and counseling, if your child is open to that.

Many of these genetic tests and the attendant counseling costs are not covered by insurance. That means that, as happens too often, many adopted people are unable to access what is a basic human and civil right: their own medical information.

Consider this an opportunity if not obligation to provide financial assistance so that your adult children can have that information.

Here are some additional articles to consider:

What It’s Like to Fill in the Gaps in Your Health History When You’re Adopted

When Adoptees Uncover Their Medical History

Learning Your Family Medical History as an Adoptee

The Harsh Reality of Living Without Any Medical History

Genetic Testing in Adoption

Family Health Histories: Invaluable for Adoptees’ Medical Care and Self-Identity