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Guardian: Chinese Girl Should Be in U.S.



 
 
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Old March 2nd 04, 06:59 PM
wexwimpy
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Default Guardian: Chinese Girl Should Be in U.S.

Guardian: Chinese Girl Should Be in U.S.

Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!
By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A 5-year-old Chinese-American girl at the center of a
custody fight has bonded with the American couple who raised her from
infancy and should stay with them, a court-appointed guardian said.
Guardian Kim Mullins also testified Monday that she believes the girl,
Anna Mae, would face gender discrimination if her birth parents are
allowed to take her to China.
"She is a Baker in her mind, from what I can see," Mullins told
Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers.
Jerry and Louise Baker, who became foster parents of Anna Mae in
February 1999, are trying to adopt her over the objections of
biological parents Shaoqiang and Qin He, and are suing to terminate
the Hes' parental rights on grounds of abandonment.
The Hes, facing legal and financial hardships, put Anna Mae in foster
care less than a month after her birth in Memphis.
The Hes say they were tricked because of their ignorance of American
law and thought the foster care was only temporary. They want to move
back to China with her and their two younger children, also born in
Memphis.
Mullins said a book titled "The Lost Daughters of China" helped
convince her that Anna Mae would face gender discrimination in China.
The book details the historical and cultural prejudices against women
in China and the issue of abandoned baby girls there.
The Bakers have four biological children, including a daughter close
to Anna Mae's age, and the two young girls are particularly close,
Mullins said.
Anna Mae's father was a graduate student at the University of Memphis
when the school canceled his scholarship in 1998 because of a sexual
assault charge for which he was ultimately acquitted. The Hes face
possible deportation since his student visa expired when he was
expelled.
The Hes last visited their daughter at the Baker home in January
2001. An argument broke out and police ordered the Hes to leave.
"They weren't available to (their daughter) when she was forming a
primary attachment of her life, for whatever reason, and because of
that, and because they weren't available, she made herself the child
of the people who were," Mullins said.
If the judge rules for the Bakers they can continue with adoption. If
he rules for the Hes, other court proceedings will be needed to decide
custody.
David Siegel, a lawyer for the Hes, said an appeal is likely no
matter what Childers decides.
The custody fight has draw the attention of other Chinese immigrants
as well as the Chinese embassy in Washington. Two embassy officials
have attended sessions of the trial as observers.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...hild_custody_1



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