Long lost families reunited at search event

After decades of searching for her long-lost mother, Yang Jinchou finally found her in Yixing, Jiangsu province, last Thursday.

The Sanmenxia, Shaanxi province, woman and another 52 adults abandoned as children were reunited with missing relatives during a one-week search event that concluded in Taizhou, Jiangsu province, on Sunday.

The special event, called 2008 Meng Hui Jiangnan, was launched in Nanjing on April 28 and toured Yixing and Wuxi before ending in Taizhou.

At both sites of the event in Nanjing and Yixing, Yang persevered in walking around and showing her identification material to reporters for media help. Finally in Yixing, Wu Guozhen spotted her and thought she resembled her other daughter.

After enquiries, the 78-year-old mother affirmed that Yang was indeed her missing child and both mother and daughter burst into tears. So, too, did many onlookers.

Event organizer Lv Shunfang, known as "Sister Lv", hatched the idea of holding a large meeting to help people find their missing relatives and, in the process, find her own sister.

She started helping to collect materials for abandoned babies and their families in 2000, and this year organized the sixth such search event.

She began making arrangements for this year's event in January, calling abandoned people, publicizing information through media and even providing accommodation for those with limited means.

"People like us have a common wish to find our missing relatives. Though I have not found my own sister yet, I've helped more than 50 families reunite," Lv said.

Those she helped were mainly abandoned in the Yangtze River Delta area during the famine of the mid-1950s to early 1960s, when 30 to 40 million people starved to death. Most, abandoned by impoverished families, were taken by local orphanages and then adopted by families in provinces like Shandong, Henan, Hebei and Liaoning. Lv's younger sister was also given up under such hardship.

The emotional searches by so many lost souls have received help from wider society.

Many schools have provided meeting places and arranged volunteer services, while media has assisted publicizing related information in advance and giving comprehensive coverage.

In Lv's hometown Yixing, the event was held at Shuren Middle School last Thursday and Friday, where more than 2,500 toted billboards bearing personal information and old pictures.

Some even stuck on their adoption certificates.

Wu Hongsheng, a retired official in Yixing, who was there to look for his niece, fought back tears while singing a song he wrote for the event, Xun Gen (Look for the Roots), which brought the event to a climax.

Wang Juan, a woman who traveled from Changchun, Jilin province, was thrilled to find her two elder brothers and niece, to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance.

Further information checks proved the match.

Her brother, Song Jinda, said he had been searching for their sister for decades, and wasted no time to take her home and meet their ailing mother in the city's Guandong village.

Wu Jinghua from Zibo, Shandong province, was also one of the lucky ones after being recognized by her 85-year-old parents. The little flower-patterned coat she wore the day she was sent away as a 1-year-old facilitated the reunion.

Her foster parents helped preserve the coat her parents would never forget.

But even at such a large-scale event, only the lucky few were able to find their relatives and DNA tests are still needed to further confirm the relationships.

"This is the tenth time I came out searching for my parents," Guo Jinhua, who arrived in Yixing after two days' travel from Jiyuan, Henan province, said.

Like many abandoned children, 44-year-old Guo still does not know where she was born and why she was sent away. She has been searching for answers for more than 20 years.

"Though I have not got any clues yet, I will keep searching and won't give up any opportunity to look for my parents," she said.

Yanzhao Metropolis Daily

(China Daily 05/07/2008 page6)