Adoption in China | Daughter' s Return

Daughter's Return

(Expected completion in September 2010)

International adoption plays a big part in U.S. society. For hundreds of years, this great nation with its great tradition of adoption has embraced and offered permanent homes to millions of orphans from all parts of the world. In recent decades, more and more American families have adopted children from China. Currently, nearly 80,000 such children are living in the United States. Today, almost everywhere we go, we are likely to see adoptive parents with their Chinese children and to hear stories about their unique experiences, not to mention the fact that we can easily identify friends, relatives, or people in our community who have been benefited from adoption.

While each adoption has a unique story to regale, families often face a set of similar challenges from a particular country. One challenge sets China apart: Due to the pressure from the Chinese cultural tradition and legal system, Chinese birth parents are often “invisible,” and as a result, almost without exception, the adoptive children have no way of knowing and connecting with their birth parents. For these Chinese children—mostly girls—to be adopted from China often means that the link to their birth parents and land will be forever lost. But this is about to change.

“Daughter’s Return” documents the gripping journey of a 14-year old Sofia who sets her foot on China in search of her birth parents, of her past, and above all, of her own place in the complex relationships entwined with love and abandonment. Standing at the very spot where she was found 14 years ago, Sofia invites many questions from an anxious audience: will the myth of her birth be solved, will her birth parents come forward to reclaim her as their daughter, and ultimately, will the journey bring a closure to a long burning desire?

An unprecedented production of an unprecedented experience, “Daughter’s Return” involves media teams both from the United States and China. The live coverage of Sofia’s journey by Chinese television crews and newspaper journalists adds another level and dimension of excitement and complexity to the suspense of the journey. Your thoughts and suggestions on the production are welcome. You can email us at: changfu.chang@millersville.edu.