A COUPLE in Henan Province allegedly put their newborn daughter up for sale online for 55,000 yuan (US$8,088) because they were not married when she was born, the provincial Dahe Daily reported yesterday.The pair were held Thursday by police when they arrived on a campus in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to exchange the baby for cash, the newspaper said.
Police detained them for nvestigation and sent blood samples for DNA testing to determine biological parentage. Under Chinese law, trafficking in women and children carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison. The presumed father was identified as Zhuang Zuoxian, 26, and the mother was his girlfriend and former classmate Zhang Huihui, the newspaper said. They graduated from Zhengzhou University in 2005.
The baby was born 46 days ago.
Police said the couple alleged their parents had not permitted them to marry. Children born out of wedlock in China do not automatically get a hukou - a kind of residence permit that entitles a person to schooling, health care and other benefits. The father allegedly told police that without a hukou the child would have many problems and would face strong social disapproval, so he decided to sell her.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Sad, Sad, Sad
Parents Put Baby Girl Up For Sale
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2 comments:
I totally get that could not keep their child or worried for her future being without proper documentation, but I wonder why those chose to sell or abandon. I can only conclude two reasons: 1) they wanted a family who could afford her and so they could choose her destiny, or 2) they needed the money and were trying to profit from their loss/mistake/situation. Hmmm. I wish we had more than just a snippet from the birth father--maybe if people would ask the motives versus just the actions, we could find some answers and solutions.
Just wanted to add that I am currently reading a book about adoption historically in China and what these two have chosen is not new (for that matter in any country--you could argue our current mode of domestic infant adoption equates to a sale); in the past adoption prices and brideprices were described with the same terms. This is sad, but also very interesting.
I am doing just great lately; should have been sell over abandon.
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