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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1978
DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE IS
+NO. 1 FOSTER FATHER+ IN TOWN ****
THE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE, MR. THOMAS LEE WHO ACTS AS THE LEGAL GUARDIAN OF ABOUT 920 CHILDREN, TODAY (FRIDAY) DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS THE NO. 1 FOSTER FATHER+ IN TOWN.
SPEAKING ON THE ROLE THAT THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT PLAYS IN THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND JUVENILES AT A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE LIONS CLUB OF HONG KONG CENTRAL, MR. LEE SAID NO ONE IN HONG KONG HAS SO MANY CHILDREN UNDER HIS GUARDIANSHIP AS A DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE WHO HAD BEEN MADE THE LEGAL GUARDIAN OF ABOUT 3,500 BOYS AND GIRLS SINCE EARLY 1950'S.
HE SAID THAT THESE INCLUDED CHILDREN ADOPTED BY CHINESE CUSTOMARY PROCEDURES, ABANDONED BABIES, ILLEGITIMATE INFANTS, THOSE IN ILL-TREATMENT CASES AND EXPOSED TO MORAL OR PHYSICAL DANGER.
MR. LEE NOTED THAT OF THE 3,500 CASES, GIRLS ADOPTED BEFORE 1973 BY CHINESE CUSTOMARY PROCEDURES NUMBERED ABOUT 1,500. THIS KIND OF ADOPTION WAS USUALLY MADE WHEN PARENTS, FORCED BY ECONOMIC SITUATION OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES, GAVE UP THEIR PARENTAL RIGHTS TO ANOTHER PERSON UPON THE SIGNING OF A 'RED PRESENTATION DEED'.
+THIS DOCUMENT, THOUGH MADE UNDER THE AGREEMENT OF BOTH PARTIES, DOES NOT HAVE ANY LEGAL BEARING AND THE WELFARE OF THE CHILD IS NOT GUARANTEED.
+RECOGN IS ING THIS, THE GOVERNMENT IN 1951 MADE IT COMPULSORY THAT ALL CHINESE CUSTOMARY ADOPTION OF FEMALE INFANTS MUST BE REGISTERED.
+AFTER REGISTRATION, THE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL WELFARE IS THEN THE LEGAL GUARDIAN OF THE GIRL AND HER WELFARE IS SUPERVISED UNTIL SHE REACHES 21 OR GETS MARRIED, + HE SAID.
MR. LEE POINTED OUT THAT THE EXECUTION OF THIS KIND OF DUTY DEMANDED A GREAT DEAL OF TACT FROM THE SOCIAL WORKER, AS MOST ADOPTERS, NOW CALLED CUSTODIANS, HAD HIDDEN THE TRUTH FROM THE GIRLS SO THAT THEY WOULD BE LOOKED UPON AS THE IR REAL PARENTS.
J
+ IN ORDER TO MAKE THEIR HOME VISITS SEEM MORE NATURAL, THE SOCIAL WORKERS ARE USUALLY INTRODUCED AS LONG-TIME FAMILY FRIENDS OR RELATIVES WHO PAY VISITS TO THE FAMILY AS A WHOLE AND NOT TO THE GIRLS IN PARTICULAR, HE SAID.
BY CONDUCTING REGULAR VISITS TO THE CUSTODIANS' HOMES, SOCIAL WORKERS WOULD BE ABLE TO KEEP TRACK OF THE GIRLS' DEVELOPMENT, AND RENDER ASSISTANCE WHEN NEEDED.
THE A GIRL
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