THANK you for your feature on 'The baby blues' published in The Review, on November 26. Unfortunately, there was little room in the article to mention the significant contributions made in our case by the various government departments in Hong Kong. We would like to add that the Social Welfare Department (particularly the Adoption Unit), Immigration, Births and Deaths Registration, court representatives, and many others were extraordinarily supportive and helpful in our first adoption in Hong Kong. Together, these departments made the process as painless and simple as possible. If we did not understand something, they patiently explained it; if we had difficulty, they did it for us - while our own country abandoned us. As non-resident citizens living abroad, there is no doubt that we should have the same rights and privileges as other Canadian citizens, regardless of whether our child is biologically ours or is adopted. Indeed, we have all the necessary papers legally signed in a court that should be recognised by Canada. What's the response from the Canadian Commission and other Canadian government representatives at home and abroad (the same people who are handing out passports to all the 'natural' children born to our friends here)? They tell us that they don't want our son unless he goes through all the lengthy and bureaucratic procedures involving months and years of waiting for an immigration visa and citizenship approval. At times like this, there is no doubt that we feel more Asian than Canadian. DAVID CLARKE
