Sign On to Advocate for Waiting Children in China

Help advocate for children stranded in orphanages in China by signing on to the following letter to leaders in the U.S. Department of State. Please comment below with your name and city/state of residence by 2 pm Eastern on Monday, September 29. (Your name won’t be posted publicly.)

Dear Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Gracon, Division Chief Bentley, and Ms. Urbina:

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us and for sharing your understanding of China’s current position on international adoptions. We are writing to follow up on that conversation and to strongly reiterate our request: that you continue to advocate—clearly and unequivocally—for our families and for our matched children who wait to be united, especially in this critical lead-up to a summit between the US and China.

As several of us noted, experts have long told us that any decision to complete China’s pending US adoptions must come from the highest levels of its government. China’s political structure is deeply hierarchical, and progress will only come if the matter is raised with senior leadership. Lower and mid-level bureaucrats must toe the party line and have no choice but to declare that the program is closed.

We appreciate your answers to our questions regarding the level of US diplomatic engagement to date. But we were profoundly discouraged to learn that, despite years of outreach from Members of Congress, Senators, and Governors, this issue has yet to be raised with China at the level necessary to effect change.

In short: the right door has never been knocked on. No one has engaged the necessary decision makers.

We urge you—respectfully but emphatically—not to give up on our children. While we understand that setting the agenda for bilateral talks may not rest with your office, your voice matters. A lack of strong advocacy now could prevent this issue from being raised at all.

This moment—on the eve of a rare U.S.-China summit—is the best opportunity we’ve had in years to bring our children home. Issues important to both our countries are on the table. We have worked tirelessly to build momentum and make our voices heard. 

Please do not undercut these efforts by:

1 Suggesting to the Administration that our children are not worth raising in this dialogue; or

2 Failing to advocate forcefully for their inclusion on the summit agenda.

The window is closing. We urge you not to be the ones who close it. Do not let China pre-emptively set the agenda.
This is the time to fulfill your promise to support our families. Please continue to advocate within the Administration that our waiting children deserve to be a part of these negotiations at the Presidential level.

With urgency and hope,

The Waiting Families of Hope Leads Home