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	Fire kills 7 people at Henan orphanage Seven people adopted by a local woman were killed in a fire Friday morning at a house in Lankao county, Central China's Henan Province. Their adoptive mother, famous for taking in over 100 kids, is in custody for questioning by police.
	Govt accepts blame for blaze The local government in Lankao, Central China's Henan Province, acknowledged Saturday that it should bear the responsibility for failing to supervise the adoption of abandoned children in the wake of a fatal fire that killed seven children at a foster home established by a local woman.

Accident Details
Time	About 8 am, January 4
Place	A private orphanage in Lankao county, Central China's Henan Province
Casualties	Four children died at the scene of the fire, while another three perished on their way to a local hospital. One injured child is receiving treatment at the hospital.
House owner	Yuan Lihai, a 48-year-old widow who has taken care of orphans and abandoned children since 1986, using money earned from working as a street vendor to provide for them.
Deveopments	An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

Victims' Information
Name	Age	Sex	Status	Name	Age	Sex	Status
Wuhai	20	Male	Dead	Xiaoyaba	2	Male	Dead
Xiaoyu	5	Female	Dead	Unkown	1	Male	Dead
Zhagen	4	Male	Dead	Unkown	7 months	Male	Dead
Shani	3	Female	Dead	Xiaoshi	10	Male	In treatment

Background

About Yuan Lihai: "Mom" of 100 babies

●Yuan Lihai, a 48-year-old woman, has adopted more than 100 abandoned babies over the past 25 years. ●According to Yuan, most of the babies were found suffering from diseases when they were adopted, while some of them were too weak to survive. ●At first, it was Yuan's love of children that prompted her to adopt abandoned babies she saw at gates of hospitals. Since then she has become well known for adopting babies across the county, and has had some babies abandoned at her doorstep. ●Some skeptics say Yuan sells healthy children for profit or makes false claims to collect welfare. Yuan denies the claims, and says she earns enough money in other ways to raise the children.

View  Points

Official reactions:

●According to China's Adoption Law, adoptive parents should be "capable of raising and educating the adopted." Yuan was not qualified to adopt children.

●Local civil affairs officials said both Yuan and the children refused to separate when civil affairs personnel asked Yuan to send the children to government rescue shelters in 2011.

●Although it is "very necessary" to have an official orphage for children in Lankao, Feng Jie, a county government official, reportedly acknowledged, "It is not one of the government's development priorities."

Media comments:

Blind eyes are deadlier than blazes
Problems like unregistered orphanges across the country require acknowledgement and action, not the blind eye of authorities and the public.

Expert opinions:

Hong Daode, law professor at China University of Political Science and Law:
Considering the fact that Yuan has adopting abandoned babies and handicapped children for more than 20 years, it’s safe to say she had no intention of harming them. She may, however, be accused crime of negligent homicide. If convicted, her past good works may reduce the punishment, but won’t exempt her from liability.

Wang Zhenyao, director of the Beijing Normal University One Foundation Philanthropy Research Institute:
Many countries, including China, encourage people to adopt orphans, as having a family better helps children join society. In this case, we should think about the drawbacks of China's child-welfare system and seek solutions.

Weibo voices:

@Mark-Selby: Yuan is a kind person. She shouldn’t be slandered this way. If she hadn’t “illegally” adopted over 100 abandoned babies, they may have died.

@fen1234: Yuan has done the government's job for the past 20 years. Now, when a fire kills 7 kids, the government puts all the blames on Yuan. It’s so ridiculous!

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