Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-03-29
Several Chinese "baby safety islands" for unwanted children in Guangzhou, Jinan and Xiamen have been closed or have suspended operations temporarily because local welfare centers could not cope with the number of arrivals, the Beijing News reports.
A baby hatch in Jinan, Shandong province, June 2014. (File photo/CFP) |
Several Chinese "baby safety islands" for unwanted children in Guangzhou, Jinan and Xiamen have been closed or have suspended operations temporarily because local welfare centers could not cope with the number of arrivals, the Beijing News reports.
A baby
hatch, or "baby safety island" in Chinese, allows a parent to leave
their unwanted child in a temperature-controlled room equipped with a cradle
and incubator. Once placed in the hatch an alarm alerts the authorities to come
and retrieve the child.
Zhejiang's
first such center reportedly tried to restrict the way it took in children by
only allowing for orphans and abandoned babies.
One
official at the baby center in Quxhou, Zhejiang province said the agency is not
closing but moving to a children's welfare center to better take care of the
children. Meanwhile, the center has transformed itself into a baby rescue,
government propaganda and consulting organization.
Since
Shijiazhuang in Hebei province set up the nation's first baby hatch in June
2011, as of June 2014 there were a total of 32 such test-run safety islands in
16 provinces or cities, and together they had received 1,400 abandoned infants.
Statistics
showed that the baby hatches in Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shijiazhuang had
received 100-200 abandoned infants respectively within months of their opening,
bringing a heavy workload to the centers and resulting in the closure or
suspended operations.
In January
2014, Guangzhou opened a baby hatch and took in 262 abandoned infants within
two months, with the city government swiftly announcing the closure of the
center, saying the number of babies had exceeded its limit.
Xiamen's
baby hatch has operated for one year and has taken in nearly 300 abandoned
infants in that time, most of whom have illnesses or disabilities. Such babies
would require expensive service and delicate care, resulting in great financial
and manpower challenges for the center. Now the Xiamen center has temporarily
closed.
The baby
hatches in Shijiazhuang, Xi'an and Tianjin said they remain open, though
officials there declined to give more details.
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