Hunan province officials yesterday agreed to waive any threat of prosecution against the family who abandoned dying Chinese girl Kailee Wells more than six years ago. The exemption is believed to be the first under China's one-child policy. An elated Linda Wells, 50, who has embarked on a desperate search to find a genetic match for her critically ill adopted daughter, hailed the decision by Hunan authorities. 'By lifting the threat of prosecution they have gone a long way to helping lift the death sentence that hangs over the head of our daughter,' said Mrs Wells, speaking in Hunan. Mrs Wells, of New Mexico in the United States, said the biological family needed to be able to come forward 'without fear of threat or sanction'. Kailee could die within months from aplastic anaemia without an urgent bone-marrow transplant, with a biological parent or sibling providing the most likely chance of a perfect donor match. 'They have agreed to offer an amnesty to encourage Kailee's birth parents to come forward,' said Mrs Wells, a former international lawyer. 'I am so deeply, respectfully grateful to the people of Hunan and the provincial officials.' In China, abandoning a baby - in most cases a girl - is a serious offence and usually involves large fines and several months in jail. The provincial Communist Party Secretary, Yang Zhengwu, is understood to have endorsed lifting the threat of 'fine or sanction' after hearing of Kailee's plight. The final agreement was reached during a meeting with civil affairs and provincial adoption service officials yesterday. 'All of us are moved by your love,' senior official Yang Zean told Mrs Wells. 'And now your child has this deadly disease, we will treat this case as an exception and will not punish the parents.' The turning point in the negotiations was when Mrs Wells boldly said she was prepared to pay the fines and go to jail in place of the biological family. 'I would prefer to go to jail for several days or several months myself, in their place, if it means they will come forward and save our daughter's life,' she said. Mr Yang said abandoning babies was a very serious matter in China. 'Our main aim is to make sure the children of China grow up to be healthy,' he said. Mr Yang said that the effort shown by the Wells family to do everything in its power to save the life of Kailee was remarkable. 'They are doing a very good thing . . . it shows human beings are one big family and there are no boundaries,' the official added. Chinese legal analyst Chen Huanzhong, a founding partner of the Beijing-based Global Law Office, said he had never heard of an amnesty or exemption being offered to the family of an abandoned baby. 'This is the first time I have heard of such a matter, but I think it is a good idea, it shows good faith,' he said. China criminal law expert Su Hualing, associate professor of Hong Kong University's law department, also said he had never heard of any exemption being offered in an adoption case. He said only the prosecutors or police had the power to grant exemptions after investigating such matters - before referring their decision to relevant departments. Graphic: BABE21GET
