I survived China’s one-child policy. Now, 300 children need Trump to save them

Two years ago today, the international adoption community was shocked by the news that China terminated its international adoption program.As a Chinese American adoptee, the news brought back images taken on the first digital camera my adoptive mother ever owned, purchased for her flight from Minneapolis to Guangzhou, China. The blurry prints depicted the South China Sea beach, the visit to the orphanage where I lived in a room filled with crowded cribs during the first 15 months of my life, and the joy-filled airport homecoming. These were a familiar part of not only my adoption story, but also so many others who have been adopted from China for decades.My adoption was finalized in July 2003, during the decades of China’s one-child policy, which attempted to limit families to only one child. I was one of the lucky ones — abandoned, taken into an orphanage, and later adopted into the United States. For others, cultural pressures stemming from the one-child policy led to millions of baby girls being aborted or even killed after birth. My adoptive mother’s travel plans to bring me home were postponed twice, due to the SARS epidemic that rocked China. She constantly feared that the toddler she had considered her daughter for months would never come home. When I finally did make it to the U.S., I struggled with stomach parasites, underwent a nine-month tuberculosis treatment, and was underweight due to being fed extremely small portion sizes meant for infants half my age.And on Sept. 4, 2024, that fear became a reality for 300 American families, when the State Department notified adoption agencies and families that their pending applications would no longer be processed, ending the international adoption program that sent roughly 140,000 Chinese children to homes abroad.If China wants to end adoption to the U.S., it should end harmoniously and peacefully. Trapping almost 300 children who have received photos, videos, and other updates about their future families should not pay the price of bad policy. Some of these children had already met and bonded with their adoptive parents through hosting programs, making their orphaned lives more painful, knowing they were on the doorstep of finally having a family.Children should not be political pawns in the scheme of international affairs. It seems shameful that orphans, many with physical or mental disabilities, are left to grow up in institutionalized care instead of the love of a family because of the precarious nature of politics and trade deals.Many of these abandoned children have been waiting for their families for years. In fact, multiple families were anticipating their travel visas when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. These adopted mothers and fathers-to-be had prepared in all ways that families prepare for a biological child. They readied their home and arranged daycare or school accommodations. Others had plans to provide medical care for children who have physical or mental limitations.More than 100 members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter to former President Joe Biden, asking him to intervene on behalf of these Chinese orphans matched with American families. Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) led a coalition of 33 governors who also urged the 46th president to take diplomatic action and try to convince the Chinese government to reconsider and honor pending adoptions.But these cries for help fell on deaf ears. The Biden administration failed to take decisive action and demand that these children’s adoptions be processed and that their families be allowed to bring them home.America should be a haven for these children. Our country has the resources to help them thrive with the love of their families. Now, if left in China, these children will not have the same opportunity to flourish without intervention. President Donald Trump must act.DEEP STATE BUREAUCRATS ARE SABOTAGING TRUMP’S LAST CHANCE FOR A CHINA MEGADEALAhead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House this month, Trump is faced with the opportunity to advocate for these vulnerable children. China must be asked, as a gesture of goodwill, to process these remaining adoptions and issue the families their travel visas and final documents.The Trump administration has the power to forever change these children’s lives. Right now, Trump and his team could work to bring these children home to their long-awaited families — a huge win for the children and parents. Trump can cement his advocacy for families by taking decisive action to uphold human dignity and adopt these children into the American Dream.Shaohannah Tavares is an adoptee and survivor of China’s one-child policy, serving with Americans United for Life.