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Hong Kong's abandoned children

The Chinese babies left on the streets of 1960s Hong Kong in the hope they'd be adopted.

In the 1950s and 60s, hundreds of thousands of Chinese fled to the British colony of Hong Kong to escape from the Great Famine. Conditions for the new arrivals were so desperate that some families chose to abandon their children in the streets so they would be taken in by orphanages. Their plight made headlines around the world and many were adopted in homes in Britain and other English-speaking countries. Laura FitzPatrick talks to one of the adopted children, now known as Debbie Cook.

PHOTO: The young Debbie Cook (Family Archive)

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9 minutes

Last on

Tue 24 Mar 202004:50GMT

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