BEIJING: A Chinese woman who was abandoned in a toilet as a newborn by her grandfather has reunited with her biological parents 28 years after being adopted by a Dutch couple.
Hong Yangli, 28, was born into a rural family in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, central China, as the third child, the mainland media outlet Daxiang News reported.
Her mother, Yang Xiaoying, said that a day after giving birth, her father-in-law offered to take the baby home and look after her.
Still weak after childbirth and with her husband away, she agreed.
It was the last time she saw her daughter.
The grandfather who favoured boys over girls abandoned the infant in a toilet in another village.
Yang said she grew to despise him after he refused to say where her daughter was, and she never spoke to him again, even before his death.
Hong’s father, Xu Lihong, said he had carried guilt for years. Constrained by filial piety, he neither challenged his father nor reported the case to the police.
“I kept looking for our youngest daughter, but there was never any news,” Xu said.
At just two days old, Hong was found crying in the toilet by a passer-by and taken to a local welfare home.
She had been left with 120 yuan (US$18), a bag of milk powder and a note bearing her date of birth.
The welfare home gave her the name Hong Yangli and later placed her with a foster family.
A year later, a Dutch couple adopted her and took her to the Netherlands, where she was raised with love and later completed a PhD.
Though deeply grateful to her adoptive parents, Hong had long hoped to trace her birth family.
In December 2024, she submitted a blood sample to a DNA database for missing children with the help of Chinese volunteers. Later, police identified her birth parents through a DNA match.
On March 14, Hong returned to Nanchang for an emotional reunion.
Her birth parents welcomed her with a banquet and firecrackers.
Through tears, her mother cried: “My daughter is back.”
Her father also presented her with a gold bracelet and a jade pendant.
Although Hong does not speak Chinese, she was also moved to tears. Volunteers helped her with translation throughout her journey home.
Her birth parents said they plan to visit her adoptive parents in the Netherlands this summer.
“We are grateful to them for raising such a wonderful daughter,” said her father
He added that he would respect Hong’s future decision regarding settling in China.
Her Dutch adoptive parents have not publicly commented on the case.
The story divided opinion on mainland social media.
One online user said: “Hong was abandoned by a cruel grandfather, but lucky to be raised by angelic adoptive parents.”
While another wrote: “The father never went to the police, effectively condoning his father’s crime. He was simply hiding behind filial piety and showed little real love for his daughter.”
“Hong looks so much like her mother. No one carries the pain of losing a daughter more deeply than a mother. Wishing the family a happy reunion,” said a third. - South China Morning Post
