Narrated by: Wang Taomei Written by: Jin Yang Translated and edited by: Clyde Xi November 7, 2024 Abstract This is the account of an ordinary mother navigating extraordinary constraints. Set against the realities of rural life, family obligation, and state policy, the narrative traces how private choices are shaped—and sometimes broken—by forces beyond one’s control. Written in a mother’s own voice, the story does not seek judgment or absolution, but bears witness to what end

Original Author: Jin Yang Editor: Clyde Xi Source: Nanchang Project 4/15/2023 Birth Parents Two days ago, I met a mother in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, who has spent many years searching online for her daughter. In phone calls and WeChat messages, she told me that she has not gone a single day without thinking of her child since the moment the baby was taken from her. Her daughter was born on September 30, 1995, her second child. The birth took place in secret in Xin

Narrated by: Zhang Guifang  Compiled by: J Yang  Edited by: Clyde Xi February 6, 2026 Abstract In this heartfelt memoir, Zhang Guifang describes the extreme hardship her family endured in late-1990s China. After years of costly infertility treatments and crushing debt from family illnesses, their long-awaited daughter was born in 1999, only to be diagnosed with a rare, severe congenital heart defect. Unable to afford or access life-saving surgery in China—where the risks incl

Narrated by: Lily Zeng Chinese Writer: Jin Yang English Editor: Clyde Xi Date: November 20, 2025 Abstract This memoir is a firsthand testimony of a mother separated from her child under China’s one-child policy and her thirty-year journey through fear, loss, endurance, and eventual reunion. Through lived experience rather than retrospection alone, the narrative documents how state policy intruded into the most intimate realms of life, turning pregnancy into risk, motherhood i

Narrator: Yang KX Chinese Draft: Jin Yang English Translation: Fengxue Zhang, Peter Zhe Editor: Clyde Xi Introduction China’s one-child policy, enforced for more than three decades, left behind countless untold tragedies. Much has been written about the children who were separated from their families, yet one group of victims is too often overlooked—the birth mothers. Behind every abandoned or relinquished child was a mother forced into impossible choices: to hide, to flee, t

Mini report by Clyde Xi 8/19/2025 International adoption in 2025 continues to undergo transformation—marked by declining numbers, shifting policies, and a growing emphasis on ethics, child welfare, and domestic alternatives. A. Major Themes 1. Declining International Adoption Numbers International adoptions by U.S. families have plummeted approximately 94%, from 22,988 in FY 2004 to just 1,275 in FY 2023. 2. Country Closures and Restrictions China, long the largest source, of

by Brian Luwis ( https://awaa.org/adopt/biblical-perspective-on-adoption ) A Spirit of Fear My position and purpose as the co-founder of American World Adoption are actually the result of my wife, Renée's, courageous actions years ago. Unlike the majority of couples that pursue their adoption plans together, my wife researched adoption alone—I was afraid to join her. After three years of marriage, Renée left her job to prepare our home for the children we hoped to have. As ti

Small Grant Application Parent’s Name (Mother or Father) :  Phone Number :  Email :  Social Security Number :  Adopted Child(ren) and Special Needs :  [List each with name, DOB, Date of Adoption, Place of Adoption, Special Needs if any] Annual Household Income (based on latest income tax filing) :  Home Address :  Summary of the financial needs specific to this grant application: Last application granted (Amount/Date): Fund release method (PayPal, Zelle, Check or other): Disc

Dear Wishlist/VoS  Families, Village of the Stars (VoS) is committed to empowering Chinese adoptees by supporting their educational and career journeys. As part of this mission, we are proud to offer the Milestone Scholarship —an initiative designed to celebrate and support adoptees as they take the important step of pursuing higher education. The Milestone Scholarship recognizes the resilience of adoptees, many of whom have overcome early life challenges, and encourages them

Guo Rui in Guangzhou, South China Morning Post Published Aug 08, 2021 08:06 AM PHT Like many women in China at the time, Song Chunxia got an abortion in the 1990s when an ultrasound revealed she was having a girl. The strict one-child policy imposed in 1979 meant that for some couples like Song and her husband there was a decision to be made - and their preference was to have a boy. Song, who is now 46 and works as a cleaner in Guangzhou, has been thinking about the daughter

Last Revision 7/21/2025 Tips for Gathering and Preparing Writing Materials for Your Adoption Story This guide is meant to help you collect and organize meaningful content for your family’s adoption story. These are general suggestions — not requirements. For specific writing projects, we may also provide a questionnaire tailored to your story. This document is simply to help you

（from Weixin Account 诗意恩典， 9/13/2023） Oil painting Breastfeeding Shen Hanwu I Always Thought a Mother's Embrace Was the Safest Place in the World. Until I heard Brother Zhuo recount something he had personally experienced — a story that overturned everything I believed. Sometimes, a mother’s embrace is not a sanctuary. Sometimes, not even a baby’s right to feed at her breast can be protected. Brother Zhuo is from Shenzhen. A few years ago, he flew thousands of miles to vis

New Yorker (5/23/2025) https://www.newyorker.com/news/american-chronicles/the-chinese-adoptees-who-were-stolen?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKfQ4xleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHnTM7M8mn_Tw6d1uqvR42zTm23pWYdh1RurkSBB6tU22To8uhzMNHe4-_8Bq_aem_9tofVQhkqDFbtO8szwv-BQ Unexpected DNA Result Photograph by Akilah Townsend for The New Yorker In September of 2022, at the start of her senior year at Indiana’s Purdue University, Mia Griffin was working in her bedroom, laptop propped up on her knees, when an e-mail

By Sharri Black September 2, 2020 https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/adoptive-parent-hard/ As an adoptive parent, have you ever had the fleeting thought that perhaps you didn’t hear God right? When you believed He called you to adopt, or that He made a mistake in calling you? Maybe you’ve expressed to God, a close friend, or even a therapist (your child’s or your own) about how hard this journey has become. Or, have you ever heard yourself saying, “I didn’t sign up for

The Chinese Class for Adoptees is offered by Wholistic Education ( https://www.holisticedu.us ) and sponsored by Village of the Stars (VoS). Classes are conducted online, typically once a week, with each session lasting about one hour. Program Details: Dedicated Volunteer Teachers – Our instructors are not only professionals in Chinese language education but also have a deep commitment to supporting adoptees and children with special needs. Tailored Curriculum – Teaching mate

Original video story by Shaojian Kang Translated by Cathy He Revised by Clyde Xi and Weiming Zhao If I tell you I was found in a trash can, would you believe me? It's true. 43 years ago today, on March 1st, 1981 according to the lunar calendar, my mom picked me up from a trash can. That moment shaped who I am today. My mom found me in a trash can at our local hospital during a cold night, with temperatures around 6 or 7 degrees Celsius. Up to that point, my mom had carried me

John 10:10 (1/23/2023) Amy Shaw https://youtu.be/2HrL76aACB8?si=-ynEo--wx08LCgzB Good morning! That’s my favorite greeting. I like to...

Written by: Wei Xiong Edited by: Clyde Xi Abstract This investigative report examines the survival status of children with Down Syndrome...

By Shannon Guerra at Copperlight Wood The noise could almost make your heart stop. Your mind tries to process whether it is a scream or a cry, an unnatural wail that sounds like a mythological animal dying, heaving its last gasps of breath.  Then it stops…and you realize the kids are just blowing through blades of grass. Is any other innocent summer pastime as guilty of inducing heart attacks as this one? It’s just grass blades and air. Nothing to be alarmed by. But that know

By Shannon Guerra at Copperlight Wood In a patch of the yard, a two-year-old boy plays in a dirt pile with his red plastic shovel. You can’t really see him but you know he’s there because of the haze of dirt suspended eighteen inches off the ground in that general area, floating lazily to the west. And down the hill, an older boy gathers a bucket of dirt. But no, he’s not doing it for fun, but as a consequence   for refusing to do school. He didn’t tell us he didn’t want to s