Adoption via Kidnapping

An article in the New York Times provides a story about child abduction in China that illustrates by contrast some of the cultural biases in Western/European culture regarding non-paternity events. Some time ago China implemented a one-child policy in order to stem population growth. In a society that traditionally relied on sons to support parents in the old age, this meant that some families with a girl were left without sons. In response, an illegal market has developed for kidnapped toddler boys – stolen from their parents, these boys are sold to families who want a son. This forced adoption results in what is clearly an NPE, but certainly of a different sort than we usually consider.

The article is at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/asia/05kidnap.html