China suspends foreign adoptions amid SARS fears

China has suspended the adoption of children by foreigners in a bid to help curb the spread of SARS.

The state-run China Centre of Adoption Affairs is still processing adoption applications, but has stopped sending out documents authorising new parents to come to China to collect the children, he said.

“This is for the safety of the children and the adopters,” said the official, who works in the agency’s administrative office.

“We are still looking for children and matching them with parents,” he said. “All the adoption work is going on. We have just suspended sending documents.”

Thousands of Chinese children are adopted by foreign parents every year.

The announcement comes amid mounting Chinese measures to control the spread of SARS, which has killed at least 275 people on the country’s mainland.

The UN’s World Health Organisation and several foreign governments are advising travellers to avoid non-essential trips to China. The Chinese government is discouraging its own people from travelling.

Foreigners who are working in China and have already submitted adoption applications will be allowed to continue the process, the agency said.

Travel documents issued for foreign parents to come to China to be matched with children would have their validity extended for six months, it said.