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BEIJING: Chinese authorities have reported receiving little response after putting 88 children orphaned in the devastating May earthquake up for adoption, state press said Monday.
Despite interest from around the world, only childless mainland Chinese couples aged over 30 were allowed to adopt quake orphans, the China Daily reported.
Only one child has been adopted since civil affairs officials in southwest China's Sichuan province announced the 88 were eligible for adoption on August 23.
"One reason for the slow response is that many of the orphans are handicapped," the newspaper said, citing local departments in charge of the adoptions.
It said prospective adoptive parents had "hesitated" after learning of the children's physical or other handicaps.
More than 60,000 people were killed and up to 17,000 were still missing after the 8.0-magnitude quake struck, flattening entire villages and towns in Sichuan.
The children were put up for adoption since they did not have immediate relatives to take them in, the newspaper said.
Most of the 532 children left without parents in the quake aftermath have been adopted by grandparents or other relatives, who were given priority in the adoption process.
Adoption can only occur after death certificates for both parents are obtained from local police or hospitals, which means children of parents still listed as missing were not eligible, the newspaper said.
In late May, Xinhua news agency reported that up to 5,500 children had been found in the quake zone without their parents, leading to thousands of domestic and international queries about adopting.
But Xinhua cautioned that many of the children could just be separated from their parents, some of whom were likely to be migrant workers living in other parts of China.
China has for many years been an attractive place for foreigners looking to adopt children. But the Chinese government has placed restrictions on overseas adoptions in recent years, while encouraging more domestic families to adopt.
- AFP/yt
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