The move is designed to provide a better fit with nation's relaxed family planning policy. Li Lei reports.

(WU HEPING / FOR CHINA DAILY)

After years of deliberation, the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislative body, recently passed China's first Civil Code, which contains a number of revised rules on adoption and related issues.

Dubbed "an encyclopedia of social life" by experts, the code will come into force next year, amending much of the legislation that currently regulates civil affairs, including that related to adoption.

In its marriage and family section, the code raises the upper age limit for adoptees from 14 to 18, thereby extending eligibility to all Chinese minors.

At age 18, some young people in orphanages have rarely traveled outside the facility on their own and don’t even know how to get to local downtown areas

Shang Xiaoyuan, professor at Beijing Normal University who specializes in issues relating to orphans

It also removes hurdles that bar one-child families from adopting. The move complies with the relaxed family planning policy, introduced in 2013, that allows couples to have two children.

Experts say the easing of the restriction will raise the number of families qualified to adopt legally.

It will amend the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China, promulgated in 1991 and last revised more than two decades ago, which only allows people without children to adopt.

"The principle behind the changes is the maximization of benefits for minors," said Yuan Ningning, a researcher of children's law at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

Yuan said the family environment is central to young people's development, so expanding the reservoir of legally qualified adoptees and adopters will bolster the likelihood of adoption.

Family matters

Researchers have found that most children who grow up in orphanages lack the social skills that are essential to further education and good careers.

Shang Xiaoyuan, a professor at Beijing Normal University and an expert on orphan issues, told People's Daily that youngsters raised in orphanages are prone to depression as a result of unfortunate personal experiences and limited social engagement.

"At age 18, some young people in orphanages have rarely traveled outside the facility on their own and don't even know how to get to local downtown areas," she said.

Shang said the government should provide a financial incentive for volunteers who opt to give orphanage-raised children a taste of family life.

She said the most pressing issue is for the relevant parties to create conditions to help older orphans become more involved in society.

According to a report on child welfare last year, China had about 305,000 orphans on record, but only 16,000 of them, or 5.2 percent, had been adopted.

The report, by the National Bureau of Statistics, said 93,000 parentless children lived in orphanages, meaning that about two-thirds lived on their own－aided by State benefits－or with relatives.

In addition to psychological issues, lawyers suggested that barring older teenagers from being adopted could lead to a higher rate of juvenile crime.

"Children ages 14 to 18 are considered highly rebellious," said Zhu Jieping, founder and partner in the Tai KunLyu Law Firm in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

He said the lack of family care and attention could make the children vulnerable to harm, but also make them more likely to become destabilizing factors in society.

"The Civil Code has moved to fix the problem," Zhu added.

Bullying, neglect

Orphaned teenagers or those who lack effective guardianship have long been vulnerable to bullying at school, along with neglect and abuse.

Their plight has inspired novelists and filmmakers. Last year, the blockbuster movie Better Days highlighted school violence and other challenges facing many parentless teenagers.

With that in mind, Feng Xianying, a lawyer in Beijing who studies cases related to child welfare, described the changes in the Civil Code as a "win-win solution".

"More orphans may enjoy the warmth of families, while parents could have their second child through adoption," she said.

Older teenagers who have been shut out of State-run programs are usually adopted privately. It is a common practice in rural areas, but it is hard to monitor and raises human-trafficking concerns, she added.

'De facto orphans'

Another vulnerable group is "de facto orphans", whose parents are inmates, drug addicts or have severe disabilities that prevent them from fulfilling their responsibilities to their children.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said there were about 500,000 de facto orphans nationwide last year, with many living under the care of aging grandparents or other relatives.

The challenges facing the group attracted national attention in 2015 after a 14-year-old boy in rural Guizhou province led three of his sisters－ages 10, 8 and 5－to commit suicide by drinking pesticide.

Local authorities said the parents had been violent and negligent, spending years working away from home and leaving the children to fend for themselves.

From this year, members of the group are officially classified as orphans, which entitles them to related State benefits－including a monthly allowance ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 yuan (US$141 to US$211), student grants and government-paid healthcare. They have also been granted access to orphanages.

Kang Yongzhong, who leads a nonprofit organization in Hunan province that has helped more than 1,500 de facto orphans since 2011, said the adoption rate among the group is especially low.

He said many of the children grow up in the care of aging grandparents, who are mostly financially strapped but resistant to the idea of adoption, even if it means better living conditions for the children.

"Seniors in rural areas hold dear the old wisdom that raising kids is essential, as the children can provide for their old age," said Kang, adding that inadequate pension coverage in rural areas is partly to blame.

Because of poverty and low awareness of social security policies, very few rural seniors pay into pension funds when younger.

When they reach retirement age, many become heavily reliant on the State allowance for rural seniors age 60 and older, which is about 800 yuan a year, in addition to money provided by the children when they reach working age.

To boost adoption among de facto orphans, Kang suggested that authorities should allow adopters to voluntarily support such grandparents financially until the children come of age and are able to provide for them.

"This would make poor and aging grandparents more willing to accept adoption and would benefit their grandchildren," he said.

Contact the writer at lilei@chinadaily.com.cn