So you want to learn the truth?

Steps you can take to learn the truth about Chinese adoption:

1. Join the China-Birthparent Search group on Facebook to get up-to-date information from birthfamilies in China on what happened to them.
2. Read this free article by Stuy written in 2014 that details 1) Baby Buying, Duan Family (Hunan Scandal), 2) Patterns of True Abandonments vs. Fraud vs. Confiscations and 3) the older children study-abroad scandal.
3. Watch One Child Nation on Amazon Prime (free clips are available on YouTube). (You can read my commentary here.)
4. Read through all the stories I myself have gathered on this blog about what really happened in China.
5. Subscribe to DNAConnect.org Stories of Reunion Blog about birthfamily reunions to learn the stories of what happened to them from their own mouths.
6. Read Research-China's blog to see posts about the Duan Family, different situations, and confessions of fraud that finding spots were routinely forged.
7. Buy a birthparent search analysis for an idea of whether your finding documentation is accurate from Research-China.org.  My parents bought one for me as a gift and I was very impressed with the quality. It was nice having a proposed search plan laid out for me instead of me waddling around like an idiot in rural China. Plus, I appreciated the finding location analysis so my fears were confirmed that my orphanage had a long history of forging finding spots. (I already had a hunch because my finding spot was very common, more about red flags here.)
8. Donate to DNA Connect so that more birthfamilies can be found in the future and get DNA tested to potentially find their lost babies, so we can hear their stories and get an even better idea of what happened in China. If you want to see the work being done by DNA Connect just click here for a list of located birthfamilies, and explore for their match statistics.
9. If you have done DNA testing (or haven't, I recommend 23andMe as this is the Chinese adoptee unofficial database), try asking your DNA relatives for their family history. People are more helpful than you might think! Explain clearly that you were adopted and that any information would be greatly appreciated. Try to keep track of who you talked to, what they told you (such as locations), and what your relation is to them (4th cousin, distant cousin, etc.) I've learned a lot just from my distant DNA relatives! You never know what you might learn!

**Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with DNA Connect or Research China