China’s unlicensed caretaker quits adoption

An unlicensed caretaker in China who had taken in orphans for over two decades said Tuesday that she is quitting adoption after a fire accident killing 7 kids staying with her.

Yuan Lihai, the 48-year-old known as the "mother of love" in Lankao County in north China's Henan Province, had adopted and taken care of over 100 homeless kids, mostly physically disabled, over the last 26 years.

A fire on January 4th which killed 7 of her adopted kids put her center of controversies as authorities questioned about her legitimacy of her adoption.

Yuan was accused of illegally adoption by the Lankao government which had earlier hailed her generosity and kindness on its website and been offering her welfare insurances covering low-wage people.

Yuan said she will never adopt kids again after she sent the all the 10 kids she had been taking care of to a local orphanage.

"I will no longer take in homeless kids again and I will return all the insurances I have received" she said in tears, "I have nothing now."

Yuan had gone through tremendous grieves after the tragedy which left 7 adopted kids dead, and 1 injured.

Investigation found that the fire was caused by kids who were playing fire.

Six officials in Lankao were suspended from their posts, pending a further investigation.

The accident also raised rage and questions on the Internet over China's adoption system which the China Adoption Agency claimed to be "one of the most reliable and stable child adoption systems in the world."

"What did the government do when those kids were in need", a user said on Sina Weibo, China's most popular micro-blogging site.

Five kids were found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning in a dumpster after they made a fire inside the cart to get warm on November 16th in Guizhou, west China's Guizhou Province.

"Dozens of children would have died if I had not taken them in," Yuan, told the Xinhua news agency in an earlier interview "Do you think I can see a child die from cold and hunger out there on the street?... I will certainly give a hand as long as I am alive."