9 Million Children "Left Behind" in China

source: marylinstowe.co.uk

More than nine million children have been abandoned by their parents in rural China, official figures have revealed.

The parents often leave their children in someone else’s care so they can move to the towns and cities in search of work. Ninety per cent – more than eight million – are looked after by grandparents. However, as many as 360,000 (four per cent) have no one caring for them at all.

Tong Lihua is the director of a legal aid organisation for teenagers based in the Chinese capital Beijing. He suggested that “urbanisation has affected the family unit and many parents lack a real awareness of their responsibilities”.

Although the numbers are staggering, they are significantly lower than those offered in 2013 by female rights group the All-China Women’s Federation. They estimated that as many as 61 million children had been “left behind” by their parents.

However, the country’s Ministry of Civil Affairs said 9.02 million was “more in line with China’s national conditions”.

Following the release of these figures, the Ministry announced a nationwide campaign to find homes for all the children whose parents have left them. They hope to have achieved this goal by 2017. If an appropriate adult cannot be found to look after a child, local authorities will urge the parents to return in order to care for them.

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