Couple reunited with missing twin son whom doctors said died at birth 35 years ago
‘Missing son’ admits he was stolen but refuses paternity test so as not to hurt his adoptive parents
An elderly couple in eastern China have been reunited with one of their twin sons whom they thought had died at birth 35 years ago, according to Chinese media reports.
The mother, Ding Qiaorong, 61, said she fell asleep after delivering her twin boys in hospital in Shuyang county, Jiangsu province, on August 30, 1981.
When she awoke later, two doctors who had helped with the delivery told her that the younger boy had died, she said.
“There was only my mum [present at the time] and she did not even check if the baby had really died,” the father, Yu Guanghui, told local news portal Sq1996.com, adding that he was not present when the twins were born.
In 1989, during a chance encounter in a restaurant, Yu overheard people talking about a family who had adopted a baby boy near the hospital around the same time the twins were born. The adopted boy was one half of a set of twins, he overheard.
When he approached them to ask about the incident, however, the diners refused to divulge any more information.
From then on, Yu and Ding came to believe that their second son was still alive and embarked on a mission to find him.
“Sometimes, people would see us as beggars when we ask them for water during our search. But we just wouldn’t give up,” Yu said.
It wasn't until after Chinese New Year this year, when Ding was receiving treatment at a local hospital, that she spotted a man – the husband of a fellow patient – who looked very similar to her first son.
When she asked him about it, the man, Xu Liang, admitted that he was adopted 35 years ago and that his adoptive parents had “stolen” him.
But he refused to take a paternity test with the couple, saying that he could treat them as his real parents but did not want to hurt his adoptive family either, the report said.
A lawyer told Sq1996.com that the couple could file a civil lawsuit to the local court after confirming that Xu was indeed their missing son. The report did not provide pictures of Xu.
