China has announced that it will no longer allow children to be sent overseas for adoption, ending a practice that has been in place for over three decades. The policy change stems from the country’s former strict one-child policy, which led to the international adoption of thousands of children, primarily girls and children with disabilities. The head of a Christian orphan network expressed concerns regarding the future fate of these unwanted children but said he has hope towards believers in China to step up and care of the most vulnerable.
Commenting to Christian Daily International about the sudden change, Jedd Medefind, President of Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), said that “China has been steadily constricting international adoption for many years. Most observers expected that to continue, but this sudden shutdown still came as a surprise to many.”
“It's especially heartbreaking for the families who've already been matched with children, some for many years. They don't consider these children statistics or photographs, but as their daughters and sons,” he said.
Since China first opened its doors to international adoption in 1992, more than 160,000 Chinese children have found homes with families around the world. Of these, approximately 82,000 were adopted by families in the United States, according to data from China's Children International (CCI).
On Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed the policy shift, explaining that the decision aligns with global trends in adoption practices. She noted that the only exceptions to the new rule would be cases involving the adoption of a child or stepchild by foreign relatives within three generations.
"Apart from the adoption of a child or stepchild of blood relatives of the same generation who are within three generations of foreigners coming to China to adopt, China will not send children abroad for adoption," Mao said. She expressed gratitude toward foreign families and governments that have adopted Chinese children, acknowledging the love and kindness they’ve shown over the years.
It remains unclear how the policy shift will affect families currently in the process of adopting Chinese children, leaving many prospective adoptive parents in limbo.
The decision comes amid broader demographic challenges faced by China. After two consecutive years of population decline, the country is struggling to encourage young couples to marry and have children. Despite incentives, many young women are hesitant to start families, citing concerns over the high cost of childcare, job security, and an uncertain economic future.
China’s one-child policy, which was in place from 1979 to 2015, played a significant role in shaping the country's adoption landscape. Under the policy, many families chose to keep boys, traditionally seen as the main family caregivers, and gave up girls for adoption. This led to a surge in international adoptions, particularly to Western countries.
As China seeks to address its population decline and shift its focus toward domestic adoption and family planning, the end of international adoptions marks a significant turning point in the country’s social policy.
Medefind is not convinced that the change will lead to more Chinese families adopting these children, however. “Virtually all children adopted from China in recent years were at least 4 or 5 years old or older and also had some kind of disability,” he says. Therefore, he is concerned that “these children simply won't have a way to ever reach a permanent family -- not overseas, and almost certainly not domestically either.”
China’s move to halt international adoptions mirrors recent actions by other nations. In May, the Netherlands banned its citizens from adopting children from foreign countries, while Denmark has also stopped international adoptions after its last adoption agency ceased operations.
“It's impossible to know what will happen to each of the Chinese children who'll now be kept from joining a family via intercountry adoption, but from all we've seen in countries that have taken similar steps to curtail international adoption, the prognosis isn't good,” Medefind says. “Large numbers of kids simply grow up without families, in institutions or worse.”
He observed that countries that banned intercountry adoption sometimes see a modest initial uptick in domestic adoptions of healthy infants, but many other kids simply languish.
“It's likely most of the children who would have been adopted internationally – the majority of which have special needs – will never find a family. They will grow up facing the profound struggles that come with orphanhood and disabilities in a culture that looks down on both.”
However, Medefind also sees the new situation as an opportunity for Christians in China to distinguish themselves from the wider culture and reveal Christ’s love to the most vulnerable.
“My earnest hope is that many caring Chinese families, especially the growing number of devout Christians in China, will consider adopting an older child, a sibling group, or a child with special needs. That'd be an incredibly counter-cultural choice in a society that prizes bloodlines and views both orphanhood and disability as permanent defects,” he says.
“Committed Christians around the world – motivated by the love of God and their own sense of being adopted into His family – are increasingly making choices like that, and I have a great deal of respect for and hope in Chinese believers for this also.”
Originally from Webpage 'Christian Daily International'
CCD reprinted with permission
中国结束30多年来的政策，宣布将不再允许将孩童送出海外收养。该政策变化源于中国以前严格的独生子女政策，导致成千上万的儿童（主要是女童和残疾儿童）送到海外收养。
一个基督教孤儿网络的负责人对这些被遗弃儿童的命运表示担忧。他希望中国的信徒能够挺身而出，关爱最弱势的群体。
基督教孤儿联盟(Christian Alliance for Orphans，简称CAFO)主席杰德·梅德芬(Jedd Medefind)在向《国际基督日报》(Christian Daily International)评论这个突然变化时说：“多年来，中国一直在逐步限制国际收养。尽管大多数观察家都预计这种情况（国际收养）会继续下去，但这突然的闭门政策还是让很多人感到意外。”
他说：“对于那些已经与孩子们配对的家庭来说，这消息尤其令人心碎。有些家庭已经配对多年。他们不认为这些孩子是统计数字或照片，而是他们的女儿和儿子。”
自1992年中国首次开放国际收养以来，已有超过16万名中国儿童在世界各地找到了家。根据国际中国儿童(China's Children International,简称CCI)的数据，其中约有8.2 万名儿童被美国家庭收养。
周四，外交部发言人毛宁证实了这一政策转变，并解释说该决定符合全球收养的趋势。她指出，三代以内的外国亲属收养子女或继子则例外。
毛宁说：“除外国人来华收养三代以内同辈血亲的子女或者继子女外，中国将不再把儿童送往国外收养。”她对收养中国儿童的外国家庭和政府表示感谢，肯定了他们多年来所表现出的爱心和善意。
目前尚不清楚这一政策转变将对正在收养中国儿童的家庭产生何种影响。这将使许多潜在的养父母陷入困境。
这决定是在中国面临更广泛的人口挑战的背景下做出的。经历了连续两年的人口下降后，中国努力鼓励年轻夫妇结婚生子。尽管有鼓励措施，但许多年轻女性仍对建立家庭犹豫不决。她们对高昂的育儿成本、工作保障和不确定的经济前景感到担忧。
中国的独生子女政策从1979年实施到2015年，在塑造中国的领养格局方面发挥了重要作用。在该政策下，许多家庭选择留下传统上被视为家庭主要支柱的男孩，而放弃女孩供人收养。这导致国际收养激增，尤其是西方国家的收养。
随着中国努力解决人口减少问题，并将重点转向国内收养和计划生育，停止国际收养标志着中国社会政策的一个重要转折点。
然而，梅德芬并不相信这一变化会导致更多的中国家庭收养这些儿童。他说：“近年来，几乎所有从中国收养的儿童都至少有4、5岁或更大，而且还患有某种残疾。因此，他担心“这些孩子根本没有办法找到一个永久的家庭——在海外没有，在国内也几乎肯定没有”。
中国停止国际收养的举动与其他国家最近采取的行动如出一辙。今年5月，荷兰禁止其公民收养外国儿童，而丹麦在其最后一家收养机构停止运营后也停止了国际收养。
梅德芬说：“我们不知道，现在被阻止通过跨国收养加入家庭的中国儿童会发生什么事。但从采取类似措施、限制国际收养的国家中所看到的，前景并不乐观。“大量的孩子没有家庭，在收养机构或更糟糕的环境中长大”。
他注意到，禁止跨国收养的国家，有时会在初期看到国内收养健康婴儿的人数略有上升，但许多其他儿童却只能苟延残喘。
他说：“大多数本应在国际上被收养的儿童——其中大多数有特殊需要——很可能永远找不到家庭。在一个看不起孤儿和残疾儿童的文化中，他们长大后将因自身身份而深处挣扎中。”
然而，梅德芬也将新的形势视为一个机会。中国基督徒从普遍文化中脱颖而出，向最弱势的群体彰显基督的爱。
“我热切地希望，许多有爱心的中国家庭，特别是中国越来越多的虔诚基督徒，能够考虑领养年龄较大的孩子、兄弟姐妹，或者有特殊需要的孩子。在一个崇尚血缘关系、将孤儿和残疾视为永久缺陷的社会中，这将是一个令人难以置信的反文化选择”。
他说：“世界各地坚定的基督徒——出于神的爱和自己被神家庭所接纳的经历——更多地做出这样的选择。我带着敬意和盼望，看待中国信徒的选择。”
中文翻译转载自《基督邮报》
中国停止跨国收养，国内信徒成孤儿唯一盼望
China has announced that it will no longer allow children to be sent overseas for adoption, ending a practice that has been in place for over three decades. The policy change stems from the country’s former strict one-child policy, which led to the international adoption of thousands of children, primarily girls and children with disabilities. The head of a Christian orphan network expressed concerns regarding the future fate of these unwanted children but said he has hope towards believers in China to step up and care of the most vulnerable.
Commenting to Christian Daily International about the sudden change, Jedd Medefind, President of Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), said that “China has been steadily constricting international adoption for many years. Most observers expected that to continue, but this sudden shutdown still came as a surprise to many.”
“It's especially heartbreaking for the families who've already been matched with children, some for many years. They don't consider these children statistics or photographs, but as their daughters and sons,” he said.
Since China first opened its doors to international adoption in 1992, more than 160,000 Chinese children have found homes with families around the world. Of these, approximately 82,000 were adopted by families in the United States, according to data from China's Children International (CCI).
On Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed the policy shift, explaining that the decision aligns with global trends in adoption practices. She noted that the only exceptions to the new rule would be cases involving the adoption of a child or stepchild by foreign relatives within three generations.
"Apart from the adoption of a child or stepchild of blood relatives of the same generation who are within three generations of foreigners coming to China to adopt, China will not send children abroad for adoption," Mao said. She expressed gratitude toward foreign families and governments that have adopted Chinese children, acknowledging the love and kindness they’ve shown over the years.
It remains unclear how the policy shift will affect families currently in the process of adopting Chinese children, leaving many prospective adoptive parents in limbo.
The decision comes amid broader demographic challenges faced by China. After two consecutive years of population decline, the country is struggling to encourage young couples to marry and have children. Despite incentives, many young women are hesitant to start families, citing concerns over the high cost of childcare, job security, and an uncertain economic future.
China’s one-child policy, which was in place from 1979 to 2015, played a significant role in shaping the country's adoption landscape. Under the policy, many families chose to keep boys, traditionally seen as the main family caregivers, and gave up girls for adoption. This led to a surge in international adoptions, particularly to Western countries.
As China seeks to address its population decline and shift its focus toward domestic adoption and family planning, the end of international adoptions marks a significant turning point in the country’s social policy.
Medefind is not convinced that the change will lead to more Chinese families adopting these children, however. “Virtually all children adopted from China in recent years were at least 4 or 5 years old or older and also had some kind of disability,” he says. Therefore, he is concerned that “these children simply won't have a way to ever reach a permanent family -- not overseas, and almost certainly not domestically either.”
China’s move to halt international adoptions mirrors recent actions by other nations. In May, the Netherlands banned its citizens from adopting children from foreign countries, while Denmark has also stopped international adoptions after its last adoption agency ceased operations.
“It's impossible to know what will happen to each of the Chinese children who'll now be kept from joining a family via intercountry adoption, but from all we've seen in countries that have taken similar steps to curtail international adoption, the prognosis isn't good,” Medefind says. “Large numbers of kids simply grow up without families, in institutions or worse.”
He observed that countries that banned intercountry adoption sometimes see a modest initial uptick in domestic adoptions of healthy infants, but many other kids simply languish.
“It's likely most of the children who would have been adopted internationally – the majority of which have special needs – will never find a family. They will grow up facing the profound struggles that come with orphanhood and disabilities in a culture that looks down on both.”
However, Medefind also sees the new situation as an opportunity for Christians in China to distinguish themselves from the wider culture and reveal Christ’s love to the most vulnerable.
“My earnest hope is that many caring Chinese families, especially the growing number of devout Christians in China, will consider adopting an older child, a sibling group, or a child with special needs. That'd be an incredibly counter-cultural choice in a society that prizes bloodlines and views both orphanhood and disability as permanent defects,” he says.
“Committed Christians around the world – motivated by the love of God and their own sense of being adopted into His family – are increasingly making choices like that, and I have a great deal of respect for and hope in Chinese believers for this also.”
Originally from Webpage 'Christian Daily International'
CCD reprinted with permission
Orphan Ministry Leader Hopes Chinese Believers Will Step Up to Care for Most Vulnerable as China Stops International Adoptions
