China’s girls

[Just my luck sucks]

So very sad. But, how long will it be before they learn not to leave their children unattended?

WHEN Li Xiang Xiang, aged 2½, went out of her family's home on April 1 to the shop around the corner, as she did every day, her mother expected to see her back in minutes with a big smile and a bag of sweets.

Instead, Xiang Xiang - whose rhyming name means “thoughtful” - vanished and her heartbroken mother and father joined the ranks of Chinese parents who fear they have lost their little girls to child kidnappers.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6396010.ece

[Redshoes]

who in the hell lets their toddler going shopping by themselves???

[Valasca]

2 1/2?????? This egg donor WANTED her child to die or be taken.

[Silvahalo]

...her heartbroken mother and father joined the ranks of Chinese parents who fear they have lost their little girls to child kidnappers.

They are/were aware of these "child kidnappers" but still let their 2 yr. old baby go about on her own to the fuckn' store?????????????????

It's INSANITY! wtf do you expect? I do not care what culture it is. Commons sense folks. Kidnappers live everywhere, predators are common in every single culture. You treat your treasured children like pets to run about unattended you are asking for heartache and misery, simple as that. So sorry little Xiang Xiang, no one put a thought into your well being.

[Stella]

China's culture is just so much different than anything we've ever known. During the Olympics, remember how they showed all the homes the gov't mowed down so the venue area would be presented at it's most awesome best? Well, wonder what ever happened to those families?

But why in the world would any mother, in any country, let a 2-1/2 y.o. even go into any store alone, let alone walk around the corner "like she did every day"? Maybe they should talk to the "shop around the corner's" owner.

I have a nephew (in-law) who has lived in China for the past 4 years (job) along with his wife and 2 daughters. Their corporate housing isn't too bad (from the pictures), but the pictures out and about in Beijing is not like we were shown during the Olympics.

I fear they will never see their daughter again. Obviously, the police don't care; one less child they will have to support; less money that will be going to the family. I hope someone comes through for them. Even though I'm angry at this little girl's mom, I still can't help but feel sorry for them (mostly because of the way the government treats them).

{S}

[akika666]

i realize the vast difference in cultures, and that things that are the norm in China may be unheard of here... but i really can't imagine a 2 1/2 year old reliably and safely negotiating a neighborhood walk unsupervised. assuming no human predators, what about cars, bikes, ditches, stray dogs, bees, or jamming pebbles up her nose for chrissakes?

it's not accurate to compare our sheltered Western children, i guess, but i wouldn't have sent my kid down the driveway to the mailbox WITH ME WATCHING until about age 5. they're just not predictable. sure, kids mature at different ages, but 2 1/2? holy crap, that just can't be.

maybe there's no kidnapper. if lots of people let toddlers wander the streets freely, maybe there's just a big storm drain somewhere, full of wayward tots?

[Stella]

The first year my nephew and his family were there, it was a real culture shock. (Not all but in certain areas, the children don't wear diapers, underwear, they just use the bathroom on the street, things like that.Their children go to a private school provided by his company for their employees, but there is some interaction with the local community in and around the city.)

There are the areas that the government really doesn't let the outside world see. I can't even imagine even letting a 2 y.o. set on the front porch alone. It's not like the people living in this area aren't aware that these children aren't going missing. The article describes how the community gets together making missing posters, knowing the police will take them down. But they continue to let their children, toddlers, prime candidates for abduction, walk around unattended.

I just don't get it, any of it. It makes me so sad, though.

{S}

[Marv]

thats the same age as my daughter! No way in hell would I even consider letting her toddle off to the shop on her own! She is little more than a baby, and I can imagine her seeing a butterfly, or a cat or something on her way and just following it to wherever. Not to mention the danger from cars, or someone just picking her up.

The statement that this little girl does this trip everyday makes me wonder how old she was when her mother first let her go?

Two and a half years old! Fuck me. Thats just insane.