Anna Mae He

[raacluse]

Chinese and American Cultures Clash in Custody Battle for Girl
By ANDREW JACOBS / NYT

MEMPHIS, Feb. 27 ? Armed with baby pictures and tearful indignation, the two couples come to court each day with their lawyers and supporters aligned on either side of the cherry-paneled chambers. For five years, Jack and Casey He and Jerry and Louise Baker have been tussling over a child who was born to the Hes, but who ended up with the Bakers for what both sides initially agreed was a temporary arrangement.

The Hes say their daughter was "kidnapped by white Christians" who have been using their wealth and the courts to their advantage. The Bakers say the birth parents are unstable and abdicated their parental rights by failing to provide child support or to visit their daughter for months on end.

Although the couples signed papers describing the setup as temporary, the Bakers say there was a separate verbal agreement giving them permanent custody of the child, a contention the birth parents deny. "Why would we visit our daughter every week if we wanted to give her away?" Mrs. He asked tearfully.

The Hes are facing a deportation order for unrelated reasons, but have been allowed to stay in the country until the custody dispute is resolved.

The Bakers' lawyers say that what ultimately matters is the welfare of 5-year-old Anna Mae He, who has seen her biological parents only once in more than three years as a result of a court order. "What kind of quality of life is the child going to have in China?" asked Larry Parrish, a lawyer for the Bakers. "Common sense dictates that to take a child out of an environment where she's firmly attached and settled is the ultimate devastation."

But in this case, common sense is a matter of debate. The trial, in its second week, has exposed a chasm between American and Chinese cultures, conflicting notions about what defines a good parent and the extent to which the legal system can become a wedge between parents and their children.

Each day dozens of Chinese from the Memphis area flock to the Shelby County Courthouse wearing yellow ribbons and buttons demanding the family's reunification. Although the case has received little notice outside Tennessee, it has been closely followed in the Chinese-language press, inflaming passions among Chinese-Americans and drawing concern from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, which has sent a representative to the trial.

(more at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/02/national/02CUST.html -- may have to register with website)

[child custody cases are often (always?) so polarizing]

[experiment888]

..."What kind of quality of life is the child going to have in China?" asked Larry Parrish, a lawyer for the Bakers. "Common sense dictates that to take a child out of an environment where she's firmly attached and settled is the ultimate devastation."


Are they serious about using this point...it takes a big-headed stance and shows detachment from reality.

After reading the article i support the Hes'. The contract was originally a temporary agreement which was signed and dated. Verbal agreements don't mean jack...(lawyers opinion?)...and holds no ground; where is the proof.

Also, the Chinese couple may have given out the wrong impression...if their english is not good.

[contra_diction]

Are they serious about using this point...it takes a big-headed stance and shows detachment from reality.

After reading the article i support the Hes'. The contract was originally a temporary agreement which was signed and dated. Verbal agreements don't mean jack...(lawyers opinion?)...and holds no ground; where is the proof.

Also, the Chinese couple may have given out the wrong impression...if their english is not good.

I understand that there's no way to prove a verbal agreement, unless you have a tape recorder and witnesses, I guess. I have heard from various people though, that a verbal agreement is nine-tenths of the law. A lawyer actually agreed. The reasoning is something about our nation was built on verbal agreements (examples given here), but to me, this is just an ideal that has no real substance. I just can't agree with that otherwise why do we always have to sign something, even our receipts when we make a purchase on credit. Am I just talking to the wrong people over and over again, or is there actually something to what they're saying?

[nonamerasian]

The parents shouldn't have signed a thing, but at least the signed agreement stated that the situation is temporary. There is proof of that.

It would be beyond appalling if the court takes away the child from her parents. What grounds do they have?

I hope their laywer is spreading the news.

I don't even understand why they've been in court. Give them their child.

[Banana]

It would be beyond appalling if the court takes away the child from her parents. What grounds do they have?

Grounds being that the child would live in such a assbackwards country like China isntead of living in a white household where there are no problems whatsoever.

[>:^|]

Well, while a verbal agreement can be considered legal, proving it is another matter altogether.

This whole case smacks of imperialism.

"If we do not have a reunification, I'm afraid our daughter will grow up thinking we abandoned her," he said. "I think that is worse than anything else."

This is the part that is the most upsetting to me. What kind of story do you think the foster parents are telling the child?

[moser]

Geez, the Bakers sure are arrogant and ignorant. I don't see why this was even allowed to be brought to court.

The legal fight has nearly bankrupted the Bakers, who recently sold their house to pay their lawyers. Mr. Baker, 45, is a mortgage banker and his wife, 42, is a part-time Bible teacher.

This is not helping the Baker's case. You want the kid to have a better life but you're making yourself bankrupt (and homeless?)?

[SynRG]

This is retarded. Even if a verbal agreement is 9/10 of the law, a written agreement is 100% of the law. Furthremore, if they can't prove the verbal agreement, it's the word of the parents vs. the word of the foster parents. "common sense" (:rolleyes:) says to take the word of the parents. I don't see what the issue here is. It's black and white.

I wonder if the He's maybe can't afford a good lawyer and the Bakers can? Because this case seems pretty straightforward to me.

[>:^|]

More from the AP (San Francisco Chronicle) (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/03/02/national0942EST0547.DTL)

Court-appointed guardian in custody case says Chinese girl should stay with American couple

WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, March 2, 2004

(03-02) 06:42 PST MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) --

A 5-year-old Chinese-American girl at the center of a custody fight has bonded with the American couple who raised her from infancy and should stay with them, a court-appointed guardian said.

Guardian Kim Mullins also testified Monday that she believes the girl, Anna Mae, would face gender discrimination if her birth parents are allowed to take her to China.

"She is a Baker in her mind, from what I can see," Mullins told Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers.

[SynRG]

"What kind of quality of life is the child going to have in China?" asked Larry Parrish, a lawyer for the Bakers.

Guardian Kim Mullins also testified Monday that she believes the girl, Anna Mae, would face gender discrimination if her birth parents are allowed to take her to China.

Does anyone else think these arguments sound more like China-bashing than anything else? "Don't let 'er live with them commies now!" Next thing you know they're start arguing that she'll get SARS if they let them take her back.

And gender discrimination? What like we've completely eliminated sexism in the States? I can't believe this shit is actually flying in a U.S. courtroom. Not that China exactly has the highest living standards in the world... it certainly doesn't, but the fact that the lawyers are playing on the ignorance of the court and painting this ugly picture disturbs me.


"Common sense dictates that to take a child out of an environment where she's firmly attached and settled is the ultimate devastation."


The worst part is... the longer this goes on the more the girl is actually going to want to stay w/ her foster parents... meaning it's going to become a legal vs. moral issue. IMO this case was straightforward on paper and should have never come to this in the first place. Now that the girl is allready 5... even if the He's win her legally, they may have lost her emotionally... which is unfortunate.

[SunWuKong]

what the fuck? the child is going to grow up thinking that her biological parents actually wanted her, but her adopted parents won a law suit to keep her? i feel bad for the girl and her biological parents. what the fuck is wrong with her adoptive parents? some people are so selfish and fucked in the head.

[>:^|]

what the fuck? the child is going to grow up thinking that her biological parents actually wanted her, but her adopted parents won a law suit to keep her? i feel bad for the girl and her biological parents. what the fuck is wrong with her adoptive parents? some people are so selfish and fucked in the head.

No, my guess would be that the child is going to grow up with her foster parents telling her that her biological parents abandoned her. And that the U.S. is superior to China in every way.

"To me, if Casey truly loved her daughter, she would leave her with us," Mrs. Baker said.

This is an example of the type of thinking that makes me leery of transracial or transcultural adoption.

[Banana]

This particular girl is going to have some serious self hate issues if these foster parents keep playing around with her head. I agree with the above poster that this seems to be playing more on China-bashing than anything else.

They're praying on the fact that the courts will allow them to kidnap the child based on ethnic and xenophobic stereotypes. These foster parents are more evil than I could possibly imagine.

[Tao]

What the fuck!

jesus chirst...ugh...god damn..ugh!

shit, i'm so pissed as to the "reasons" the bakers gave as to why staying in the US would be sooooooooooooo much better than china, that i just want to punch their faces in.

fucking racist assholes...shit, yeah they're doing this girl a real fucking favor by keeping them from their savage parents and civilizing her. bravo, mother fuckers.

oh yeah i just remembered, for those transracial adoptee lurkers on YW, let me just state for the record:

this whole "oh chinese people treat girls like shit" arguement is soooo unbeleivably taken out of proportion that it's now a stereotype. The "reports" americans used to hear about aborting or killing baby girls were extreme examples, VERY extreme examples, of the chaotic 1970's. Believe me, I've been going back and forth to/from China for the last 6 years during summer breaks, and living in different cities (8 to be exact), and even some country sides, for at least a couple of months each time. So i know what i'm talking about.

For the bakers to be using this as an actual issue in why it'd be better for them to have the kid, should be thrown out of the court. Their statement proves just how ignorant, and arrogant some of these adoptive parents can be.

[AngryABCGirl]

That's such bullshit. Oh my god, is there anything we can do about this?

[mr. x]

agree with what Synrg said i mean "wow look at the nice life lil asian girl has in tenessee, she's got one side calling her a chink and the other calling her a me-luv-u-long-time" what a life eh? i know thats not all there is to the south BUT the china comment ticks me off cuz maybe i dont wanna live in china either but please, millions of chinese girls im sure are doing just fine in china (we gots to save them! buff mcman is up to the job)

[ashpen]

i wouldn't want to live in china...nor would i want to live in the south. poor kid. too bad she can't make the descision herself (it would be the best if she did) cause she might be too young still.

[Tao]

^ living in china isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. sure the luxuries sometimes aren't there, and there is more pollution than in the us, but if you can look past all that, it's actually a decent place to live...imo (of course).

i'd rather live in china, where i feel safe and secure, than live in a place with people who potentially hate my "slanty" eyes.

[>:^|]

Closing arguments are scheduled for March 22 (http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=1663462&nav=3HvDLBlH).

The judge in this case is:

Honorable Judge Robert Childers
Circuit Court, Division 9
140 Adams Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
Telephone (901) 545-4710.

[experiment888]

...based on ethnic and xenophobic stereotypes...
the arguments, used by the Bakers, are all based on (false) stereotypes. i can counter each one with stereotypes about the USA; since i live elsewhere i have the outside view.

for example (Devil's advocate mode):

Baker's argument:
bad quality of life in China

my response :
too rich of a life in USA. kid will get clinically obese




"To me, if Casey truly loved her daughter, she would leave her with us," Mrs. Baker said. anyone else think Mrs Baker is abit retarded

[Banana]

In regards to the psychological ramifications on the child, the more the Bakers keep the child away from her biological parents, the more she will forget them which is what I'm betting the Bakers are trying to do. The Bakers have some really bad wiring in their head to steal a child from someone else.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/8090246.htm" target="_blank (http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/8090246.htm)

I seriously think that Yellowworld should take up a calling campaign to let the judge know that the Bakers are praying on ethnic stereotypes to help them win. Common logic completely flies out the window these days.

[>:^|]

Hon. Robert L. Childers
Circuit Court, Division IX
140 Adams Ave., Room 212
Memphis, TN 38103 Tel: 901-545-4022
Fax: 901-545-5659
Email: child-r@co.shelby.tn.us

- The Bakers (the foster parents) called the police during an agreed-upon visit, and threatened to have the Hes (the biological parents) arrested if they visited their daughter again. The Bakers then used these threats to prevent the Hes from visiting and then argued that the Hes had abandoned their daughter. (A four-month absence establishes abandonment under TN law.)

- The Bakers contacted the Hes' employers and informed them they were employing illegal immigrants. They also attempted to initiate deportation of the couple.

- The Bakers attempted to terminate the Hes' parental rights.

- The Bakers had always planned to adopt the girl and attempted from the very beginning to limit her contact with her parents.

[Banana]

That "Goldstein" almost seems to be paid by the Bakers if you read the testimony. I said it before and I'll say it again. Every single person that comes into this country has been told by me to understand this country's laws and procedures because if they don't, normal everyday Americans will eat you alive.

[mr. x]

it was pretty much a similar argument used in the Elian Gonzalez case, that living in Cuba would be terrible but that didnt work...

[AngryABCGirl]

On another note, I'll pick China anyday over the South.

[SunWuKong]

it was pretty much a similar argument used in the Elian Gonzalez case, that living in Cuba would be terrible but that didnt work...

what if little Elian got himself a couple of white parents...?

[mr. x]

what if little Elian got himself a couple of white parents...?
well the issue was the cuban american community pleading not to let him go back so thats a different angle cuz the CA community tends to hate castro fervently right? so if whites had adopted him it might seem more like the issue at hand

[nonamerasian]

One argument during the Elian days was that because the family was “White,” a stay in the U.S. was even a possibility and that if he were a little Black Haitian boy, more people in the government would have just pointed to the law on the books and say that the boy couldn’t stay without the hoopla Elian generated.

[SunWuKong]

i found a website that was built for this case.
www.isthisamerica.com

[>:^|]

Closing arguments were scheduled for today, but the Bakers' attorneys were granted an extension.

Boy, this case really pisses me off. :mad:

[>:^|]

March 22, 2004
Justice Both Blind and Slow
Yet More Delays in Custody Battle
Editorial by Michael G. Ryan

What is another three-week delay in a case that has already dragged on for more than four years?

For Jack and Casey He, who have waited almost 1500 days to see their daughter again, another twenty-one days is nothing short of agony.

The battle between the He's and Jerry and Louise Baker for custody of the He's daughter Anna Mae-a case that has attracted international attention and, recently, the unblinking eye of the media-was, for a brief time, racing along at breakneck speed. After a series of delays by Chancery Court Judge D.J. Alissandratos, who recused himself from the case when he came under scrutiny, the case was moved to the court of Judge Robert "Butch" Childers. Childers expedited the case after years of postponements, hurrying the trial through twelve-hour days and rare Sunday sessions.

He then presented the attorneys for all involved three weeks to prepare closing arguments so that a ruling could be handed down within thirty days. The date of those closing arguments was to be Monday, March 22.

Yet, after years of preparation and those three additional weeks to summarize their position, the Bakers and their attorney, Larry Parrish, decided to ask the judge for more time. Further, Parrish-an attorney for more than three decades-filed a motion asking Judge Childers to allow him to take the stand again to clarify statements he made during the trial. Under oath, Parrish conceded that he'd followed instructions from the previous judge, Alissandratos, to prepare documentation that would issue a no-contact order preventing the He's from seeing their daughter.

This highly questionable act was not done with the knowledge of the He's or their attorney, and Parrish now seems to recognize the gravity of his previous testimony. In essence, he has asked the courts for permission to recant or revise history.

The judge's response to objections from the He's attorney, David Siegel, was surprisingly forgiving: "Nobody's perfect," Childers said of Parrish's apparent lapse in judgment and his desire to gloss over his dubious actions in the past.

And so another delay is introduced into a case that has already been juggled with circus-like precision by the Bakers and Parrish. Their arguments for keeping Anna Mae-none of which address the legality (or lack thereof) of their actions in the past-continue to be built around the tired maxim that possession is nine-tenths of the law. In court, they have indicated, through Louise Baker's own journals, their desire to separate the He's from their child right from the beginning of their relationship.

Parrish has called into question the gifts that the poorer Chinese family bestowed upon their daughter, mocking those gifts' seeming lack of intrinsic financial value. And they have exemplified xenophobic cultural ignorance by arguing that conditions in China are unfavorable to girls, and therefore Anna Mae is safer and better cared for with them than with their biological parents.

As Louise Baker so arrogantly noted in People magazine, if Casey He truly loved her daughter, she would want what's best for her and would surrender her claims to the child, leaving her with the Bakers. This begs the question of whether the Bakers' home is what's best for Anna Mae in the first place.

Parrish's intent to correct his testimony, the no-contact order drafted like a deal with the devil in the dead of the night, the racial, ethnic, cultural, and financial judgments against the He's in court, all of these add up to the frightful suggestion that the court system in Memphis, Tennessee, has not yet joined the rest of the legal system in the twentieth century, let alone the twenty-first.

Such legal two-stepping periodically crops up in higher courts-witness the Scalia-Cheney duck hunting episode-but rarely with such ferocity and alarming regularity as it has in this case, in this city, in this state. Further, Childers noted in court that the case was "very difficult" and placed him "in a predicament."

Yet the precedent for ruling is clearly established-the recent case of Luz Cuevas and her daughter Delimar, separated for six years when the child was abducted after allegedly dying in a fire, or the Elian Gonzales case, which garnered international headlines.

The He case is headed for a similar spotlight, which could call into question the way justice is perceived in Memphis as compared to the rest of the United States. Judge Childers acted with great judicial haste when the case first came to him, yet now he has reached a "hurry up and wait" moment, making one wonder just what the mindset is in Tennessee that leads to such bipolar rulings.

Now another twenty-one-day delay in closing arguments, and a final opportunity for the Bakers and attorney Parrish to adjust their truth, seek revision to how they are perceived, let the media drift away to the next big thing so the spotlight is removed from their actions, and hold onto Anna Mae as long and as hard as they can.

For the He's, that twenty-one days might just as well be thirteen more years. At the rate the wheels of justice have turned in Memphis under the guiding hand of Larry Parrish, it may not be until Anna Mae turns eighteen that her real parents can welcome her back into the family that has waited so long to be with her again.

[Banana]

Our justice system can't be trusted to do anything correctly.

[SunWuKong]

this whole thing is pissing me off.

[BigLew]

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
God damn I'm so fucking pissed right now I don't know what to do, can we start a letter writing campaign or something this is bullshit.

[>:^|]

full text at http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/nation_and_world/article/0,1426,MCA_454_2802547,00.html

Anna Mae waiting
Child-custody ruling due within 30 days

By Shirley Downing

April 13, 2004

The future of a 5-year-old Chinese girl raised by an American couple inched closer to a decision Monday as attorneys used legal arguments and character attacks to make their case.

Attorneys for the child and the guardians portrayed the birth parents as liars who are unworthy of parenting the girl, and who manipulated public sentiment through the media.

In response, an attorney for the child's father said the other side had resorted to "character assassination" because they had little else with which to bolster their case.

Circuit Court Judge Robert L. 'Butch' Childers heard six hours of closing arguments Monday, and has 30 days to decide whether the parental rights of Shaoqiang 'Jack' He and his wife, Qin Luo 'Casey' He, to firstborn daughter Anna Mae should be terminated.

Contact information:

Hon. Robert L. Childers
Circuit Court, Division IX
140 Adams Ave., Room 212
Memphis, TN 38103 Tel: 901-545-4022
Fax: 901-545-5659
Email: child-r@co.shelby.tn.us

I wrote, but I did not receive a response.

[hooligan]

i'm goign to write an e-mail as well. can someone give me an idea on what i should say?

[SunWuKong]

i'm goign to write an e-mail as well. can someone give me an idea on what i should say?


write about how China is not as bad a place as those bastards make it seem like.

[>:^|]

The Bakers are essentially arguing that it is not in Anna Mae's best interest to be moved at this point. However, they lied to and intimidated the Hes in order to pursue Anna Mae's adoption.

If the judge grants custody to the Bakers, basically that would set a precedent that it is acceptable to kidnap a child and keep her away from her biological parents until such time as that child has been forced to bond with the kidnappers--at which time you argue the child has bonded to you and must be given to you.

[lethal]

The Bakers' lawyers say that what ultimately matters is the welfare of 5-year-old Anna Mae He, who has seen her biological parents only once in more than three years as a result of a court order. "What kind of quality of life is the child going to have in China?" asked Larry Parrish, a lawyer for the Bakers. "Common sense dictates that to take a child out of an environment where she's firmly attached and settled is the ultimate devastation." Question...what kind of life does Elian Gonzalez have in Cuba right now. Was that a pursuasive reason to not deny his asylum hearing? No. And it shouldn't be a factor here either.

Verbal agreements don't mean jack...(lawyers opinion?)...and holds no ground; where is the proof.

Verbal agreements are valid under certain, specific circumstances when conditions are met. However, there must be an absence of a written agreement.

In this case, where there is a signed contract, the verbal agreement constitutes a side deal, so that evidence would be admitted under the parol evidence rule. I didn't study the parol evidence rule in contracts class, so I'll leave it up to the others.

[Banana]

I knew some really poor kids in high school. Does that mean I can just take them from their parents because I have a 4 room house and more than enough to eat?

[lethal]

I'd like to write an amicus brief, but I'm not sure if its too late to do so.

[hooligan]

4/14/2004

To Honorable Judge .... :

I am writing to you concerning the case of the He family and their daughter. I heard about this case through several websites and newsletters. I e-mailed you to let you know that I find removing Anna Mae He from her family one of the more depiscable things that the justice system can do to the He family.

Essentially, removing Anna Mae from her family has not only isolated her, but removed her from a perfectly loving and caring environment. The He family has provided her with a home full of love and outside of material goods, they have the heart and capacity to raise her. The arguments from what I have heard coming from the foster family ranked of cultural and ethnic sensitivity. They simply do not understand being Chinese American in America. Rather, they choose to do several underhanded actions to destroy the credibility of the He family and paint them as irresponsible and horrible parents.

In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down written by Anne Fadiman, who discussed the relevance of a Hmong cultural perspective on raising children in America, pointed out that we must be aware of cultural differences in our lives. Especially, how these miscommunications result in the law's misrepresentation of ethnic culture. The He case reflects very closely that of the Hmong family Fadiman studied in her book. To only see them as irresponsible parents can only add to cultural insensitivity and misunderstanding of Chinese American parents.

I hope that you let Anna Mae stay with their rightful parents. They of all people should know how to raise a Chinese American daughter. Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely yours,

----

i need suggestions. : |

[>:^|]

Great letter, hooligan. I think you meant "insensitivity" in your second paragraph though.

You might want to also add something to indicate you mean the biological parents in your last paragraph, in case the judge needs some explanation.

lethalweapon, in what situations are amicus briefs filed?

The Spirit Catches You is an interesting book and I think Fadiman overall did a very good job. One of my favorite people, Dwight Conquergood, makes an appearance.

[kitty]

Proofreading:

I e-mailed you to let you know that I find removing Anna Mae He from her family one of the more depiscable things that the justice system can do to the He family.


I am e-mailing you to express my opinion that removing Anna Mae He from her family is one of the more despicable things that the justice system could do to the He family.
(slightly over-emotional, with use of 'despicable' but if that's how you feel than okay).

The He family has provided her with a home full of love and outside of material goods, they have the heart and capacity to raise her.

The He family has not only provided Anna with the necessary material goods she has required growing up, but has also proven that they can provide an endless supply of the love, caring, and heart needed to raise her.
(switched the sentence frags around to make it a little more meaningful)

The arguments from what I have heard coming from the foster family ranked of cultural and ethnic sensitivity.

From what I have heard, the arguments of the foster family reek of cultural and ethnic insensitivity.
(reek, not rank, changed the sentence around little, and I think you mean insensitivity).

They simply do not understand being Chinese American in America. Rather, they choose to do several underhanded actions to destroy the credibility of the He family and paint them as irresponsible and horrible parents.


Hmmm, personally, this is where your letter loses me. I think you should elaborate here, 'cuz it sounds like hysteria without backed up reasoning. I think you should pursue the importance of cultural and ethnic influences of a child growing up, rather than attempt to paint the foster family in a negative light when you, frankly, have fewer of the facts than the judge does. Let him/her decide the credibility of the foster family -- I think you should toss these last two sentences and go back to elaborating on the importance of culture and ethnicity in a young child's life. Or just cut them and use the next paragraph you have written as your reasoning.

In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down written by Anne Fadiman, who discussed the relevance of a Hmong cultural perspective on raising children in America, pointed out that we must be aware of cultural differences in our lives.


In 'The Spirit Catches You' and 'You Fall Down' (are these two books or one?), Anne Fadiman discusses the relevance of a Hmong cultural perspective in raising children born in America, and argues that children of non-white cultures must be raised with an awareness of their ethnic heritage.
(Grammar/diction fixing up, and re-worked the sentence a little to be more meaningful).


Especially, how these miscommunications result in the law's misrepresentation of ethnic culture. The He case reflects very closely that of the Hmong family Fadiman studied in her book. To only see them as irresponsible parents can only add to cultural insensitivity and misunderstanding of Chinese American parents.

First sentence = huh? I don't know what you're trying to say.
Second sentence = unnecessary. By brining in the book, you are already establishing that it is relevant to the He case.

Third sentence = start a new paragraph. Now, you are talking about how the law may misunderstand cultural differences as inability to be good parents.

Furthermore, what may be misconstrued as a lack of proper parenting skills in the He family may be an example of the American justice system misunderstanding the differences between white American and Chinese American parenting practices. To decide that the He family is incapable of providing a good home for Anna Mae because of their cultural differences is to add to the cultural misunderstanding and insensitivity that the American legal system has shown towards Chinese American parents.
(not the greatest paragraph in the world, and some statements are unsupported, but it's a start).

I hope that you let Anna Mae stay with their rightful parents. They of all people should know how to raise a Chinese American daughter. Thank you for your time and attention.


I hope that you will allow Anna Mae to stay with HER rightful parents. The He family is far better equipped to raise a Chinese American daughter and provide the necessary cultural and traditional influences that she will be lacking should be forced back to her foster family.



Sorry to rip it apart :)

[hooligan]

yyyyyyeeeesss, i get a lesson in grammar. i <3 you jen.

[kitty]

yyyyyyeeeesss, i get a lesson in grammar. i <3 you jen.

i'm evil and nazi-ish when it comes to grammar.

no, no i'm not. i just get carried away with the power of the proverbial red pen. thanks for letting me go nuts like that.


you masochist.

[raacluse]

I don't read chinese, so I was pleased to learn indirectly that the Chinese-language World Journal newspaper has been covering many angles of this case. One of the things their reports or commentaries have suggested is that the He couple have been a little naive in their approach to the U.S. legal system.

I suppose there is enough blame to go around in this situation, just like the 9/11 commission is digging up in their investigation.

I remember reading somebody's website sympathizing with the He's from the point of view of a mother who'd struggled with the Tennessee social services agency that handles foster child placements. This mother had to wait 6 months or more after regaining legal custody of her kid, before being physically reunited.

[>:^|]

full text at http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/opinion/8516759.htm

If the Bakers keep Anna Mae from her natural parents, they will also deprive her of her Chinese culture. They say they belong to a group called "Families with Children from China" and that the girl participates in activities with other Chinese children.

Why do people insist on believing that taking adopted Chinese children to events run by White parents has anything to do with Chinese culture?

[xdlin22]

godamn this pisses me off, give it back to the real parents, its their daughter, came from teh mother's womb, i dont even know why they need to debate this shit, its not even their kid.

[kimpossible]

I can't believe that I missed this before now... I think I'm in shock. You know that turning in the pit of your stomach when you're thoroughly digusted. It's native kids kidnapped and sent to white Christian homes all over again. What underhanded pieces of shit to offer to help out, sign an agreement that it is a temporary situation, then not only renege but forcefully repel the parents from a life with their child. Evil. Fucking evil.

[Banana]

Their Christian and Christians can do no evil as long as God is on their side. Reminds me of the Christian missionaries that converted Latin America and if one refused, you had your hands cut off.

[Banana]

I think I'm going to need some help regarding something.

Jack and Casey He stopped by my site in the past few weeks and left a new comments regarding this case. I'm going to email them back to see if they wish to post a statement or answer a few questions in an interview.

What do you think would be questions that you would ask them and why? Thanks again.

[lethal]

I think I'm going to need some help regarding something.

Jack and Casey He stopped by my site in the past few weeks and left a new comments regarding this case. I'm going to email them back to see if they wish to post a statement or answer a few questions in an interview.

What do you think would be questions that you would ask them and why? Thanks again.
I'm not sure what you should ask, but make sure you don't post anything that can later be used against them in court.

[SunWuKong]

what can we do other than writing letters?

[Banana]

Not what what I would ask which is why I'm asking for help.

I'm guessing something along the lines of:

1.) Do you feel the people aren't getting the whole story?

2.) Do most of the Bakers' arguments involve Chinese people or culture? Or the country perhaps?

[Banana]

More information (http://familyrightsassociation.com/horror_stories/he/index.html)

[iris]

A culture clash at the heart of a painful custody battle (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-05-11-anna-mae_x.htm)

By Robert Davis, USA TODAY

CORDOVA, Tenn. — Five-year-old Anna Mae He sits on the floor in her family room, working on a jigsaw puzzle. Barefoot, wearing overalls and a bow in her hair, she appears uninterested in the conversation going on around her.

She is focused and silent as the adults, Jerry and Louise Baker, discuss the custody battle that has gone on for most of Anna's life.

Her biological parents, Shaoqiang and Qin Luo He — who go by the American names Jack and Casey, live just a few miles away with their two children. They do not know where Anna lives because Casey, 36, had gone to the Baker's last home, shouting from the street that she wants her daughter back.

Whether she gets her wish will be revealed Wednesday when Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers announces his decision about the Hes' rights to their child. Childers presided over a seven-week trial that ended last month.

This highly publicized case has pitted the Bakers, the girl's legal guardians, against the Chinese immigrants who swear that they never meant to give her up permanently. It has inflamed the passions of observers on both sides, including many in the Chinese community in this country.

Because there have been suggestions on Web sites that somebody should kidnap Anna Mae and take her to the Chinese Embassy, the Bakers are on guard. But they say that Anna is oblivious to all of this.

And as adults talk, the only thing that seems to draw Anna's attention is her sister, 4-year-old Aimee, born a year after the Bakers took Anna in. The Bakers have three older children, but Aimee and Anna have been raised like twins.

They share a bed. They wear matching shoes to preschool. And Anna keeps her sharp eye on Aimee. When Aimee goes into the kitchen for an afternoon snack, Anna quietly tells Louise that her youngest daughter has the apple cutter, which is "too sharp for her."

When it's time for Aimee's nap, Anna climbs into the queen-size bed that they share and lies down with her. About five minutes later Anna returns to the family room and says quietly, "She's asleep."

History of the troubling case

1997- Shaoqiang "Jack" He, a Chinese college professor, goes to the University of Memphis for a doctorate in economics.

Oct. 11, 1998 — He is accused of assaulting a female student. The school dismisses him.

Jan. 28, 1999 - Qin Luo "Casey" He gives birth prematurely to their daughter, Anna Mae.

Feb. 23, 1999 - Mid-South Christian Services places the baby with Jerry and Louise Baker as the Hes struggle with legal and financial problems.

June 3, 1999 — The Bakers offer to keep the baby beyond the three-month arrangement if the Hes sign over custody to them. Whether this agreement was meant to be permanent is part of the dispute.

April 3, 2000 - The Hes ask Juvenile Court to order the return of the child. The court declines, citing the unresolved criminal case and the couple's poor finances.

April 9, 2001 - The Hes again ask Juvenile Court to return their daughter. The court again declines.

June 20, 2001 - The Bakers seek adoption, asking Chancery Court to end the Hes' parental rights.

Feb. 7, 2002 - Chancery Court Judge D.J. Alissandratos grants the Bakers legal guardianship. He does not terminate the Hes' parental rights but orders that they have no contact with the child.

Feb. 22, 2003 - A jury acquits He of sexual assault.

Sept. 23, 2003 - The Hes are allowed to see the child in a videotaped, supervised visit.

Nov. 14, 2003 - Alissandratos, the focus of a judicial complaint filed by the Hes' because of repeated trial delays, withdraws.

Dec. 17, 2003 - Deportation hearing is postponed so that the Hes can resolve the custody issue.

Feb. 23, 2004 - A trial to determine custody begins before Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers in Memphis.

April 12, 2004 - Childers hears final arguments and sets May 12 as the deadline for his decision.



Different worlds

Both sides agree that the Bakers took Anna out of kindness. With the help of an adoption agency, the Hes placed Anna in the Bakers' home soon after the child was born. The plan was that the Bakers would care for the baby for three months until the Hes could get on their feet.

Jack faced legal problems after he was accused of sexually assaulting a student at the University of Memphis and dismissed from his job as a visiting professor. (A jury has since cleared him of this charge.) Casey was weak after a hard delivery. The Bakers had temporarily cared for 10 other children in the past.

But when the Hes were unable to take Anna back after 90 days, the couples entered into an agreement that is now at the heart of the dispute. The Hes say the Bakers told them that if they signed over custody to them, they could have Anna back anytime. The Bakers say they agreed to keep Anna because the Hes did not want her.

It is not uncommon in China for infants to be sent to live with relatives and to return to their parents as toddlers, the Hes say. They say they will bond quickly with the child if given the chance.

But life would be dramatically different for Anna in the Hes' one-bedroom apartment. Her younger brother and sister speak only Chinese. Toys and videos are strewn about on the floor. Avita, 1, and Andy, 3, jump on the mattress in the living room. The walls are covered with crayon drawings of something indecipherable. "I can't figure it out," says Jack, 39, about the scribble. "Maybe something in their minds."


A costly battle

A few miles east, in the Baker home, it is often Anna who is putting things away.

"She is compulsive," says Louise Baker, 42. "If her clothes are out of order in her closet, she gets upset."

The Bakers have only recently begun to talk to the media, in part because they now need the kind of help that the Hes have received from strangers who read about the case. A team of lawyers came to the aid of the Hes, who have had low-paying restaurant jobs, after reading about their struggle in USA TODAY.

Now the Bakers need money.

Jerry Baker, a mortgage banker, says fighting to keep Anna Mae may cost more than $400,000. The court-appointed advocates for Anna could cost the Bakers another $100,000, depending on the court's ruling.

The Bakers rent their current residence after selling their home to cash in on its equity. They sold Rolex watches and other jewelry to pay legal costs. And they pulled their oldest daughter, Heather, 21, out of college to save the tuition money.

Many people are against them. On the Internet, Chinese script calls them devils or religious fanatics. "You get numb to it," Louise says. "People say all of these things about you and eventually you just get numb."

As Anna climbs into Louise's lap, Jerry, 45, asks, "Who do you love more Anna, Mommy or Daddy ... be careful." She wraps her arms around Louise's neck and says "Mommy."

Jerry growls, "You're making me mad." Then they both put forefinger to thumb, making the "OK" sign to each other behind Louise's back.

On this day, the Bakers say Anna's departure is too painful to envision. "Putting her in the car seat, if it comes to that," Jerry Baker says, his eyes tearing and his lip quivering. "I just can't picture it."

The Hes can.

"We have been fighting for this day for so long," Jack He says, laughing. "We are very excited and happy."




My Opinion


By the way, I do find the nature of this article slightly biased.

The writer pictures the Bakers as overwhelmed with sadness while he portrays the Hes as confused and ignorant of the Bakers emotional pain.

I.E. "We have been fighting for this day for so long," Jack He says, laughing. "We are very excited and happy." versus "Putting her in the car seat, if it comes to that," Jerry Baker says, his eyes tearing and his lip quivering. "I just can't picture it."

Eyes tearing and lip quivering? Jack He laughing? He might as well added "laughing hysterically" to that.

[kimpossible]

merging with other thread

Articles always favor the Bakers and their imperialist little crusade. I think I'm going to be sick.

[SunWuKong]

holy shit that article is disgusting.

[rice cracker]

But life would be dramatically different for Anna in the Hes' one-bedroom apartment. Her younger brother and sister speak only Chinese. Toys and videos are strewn about on the floor. Avita, 1, and Andy, 3, jump on the mattress in the living room. The walls are covered with crayon drawings of something indecipherable. "I can't figure it out," says Jack, 39, about the scribble. "Maybe something in their minds."

Uh, maybe they are just drawings made by a 1 and 3 year old. I'm not too sure what they're trying to say here, unless they really are trying to imply the kids are insane or Jack is a bad parent for not deciphering it?

[SunWuKong]

Uh, maybe they are just drawings made by a 1 and 3 year old. I'm not too sure what they're trying to say here, unless they really are trying to imply the kids are insane.

they're trying to one-sidedly paint the Hes as evil and their living environment unsuitable for Anna.

But life would be dramatically different for Anna in the Hes' one-bedroom apartment. Her younger brother and sister speak only Chinese. Toys and videos are strewn about on the floor. Avita, 1, and Andy, 3, jump on the mattress in the living room. The walls are covered with crayon drawings of something indecipherable. "I can't figure it out," says Jack, 39, about the scribble. "Maybe something in their minds."


A costly battle

A few miles east, in the Baker home, it is often Anna who is putting things away.

"She is compulsive," says Louise Baker, 42. "If her clothes are out of order in her closet, she gets upset."

i still can't believe the ending of the article. it's pretty much saying that the Hes take joy in others pain.

i wrote a "Letter to the Editor" on their website.

[kimpossible]

I think Robert Davis of USA Today is clearly saying he thinks the Hes can't provide for their crayon-scrawling children in a one bedroom apartment with toys strewn about. The horror that they only speak 'Chinese'. Ignorant fuck.

Say, maybe I should sue the Bakers for custody of Anna Mae He. I mean, I'm hardly any less white than they are. I'm technically Christian. I have more money than they do and can give Anna a life of privilege both here in the states and in China within the comfort of a Chinese-American home and family.

Then I can turn around and give Anna back to her parents.

[SunWuKong]

I think Robert Davis of USA Today is clearly saying he thinks the Hes can't provide for their crayon-scrawling children in a one bedroom apartment with toys strewn about. The horror that they only speak 'Chinese'. Ignorant fuck.

Say, maybe I should sue the Bakers for custody of Anna Mae He. I mean, I'm hardly any less white than they are. I'm technically Christian. I have more money than they do and can give Anna a life of privilege both here in the states and in China within the comfort of a Chinese-American home and family.

Then I can turn around and give Anna back to her parents.


i do hope there's somebody in that court that's more sociologically intelligent than some of the writers that have been writing these articles. i mean, for all we know, the attorneys for the fuckheads have successfully convinced many people that Chinese is bad for Anna.

[moser]

April 12, 2004 - Childers hears final arguments and sets May 12 as the deadline for his decision.

Any word on what the decision is?

[rice cracker]

merging with other thread

Articles always favor the Bakers and their imperialist little crusade. I think I'm going to be sick.

I've found a more He-positive site http://www.annamaegohome.org/ which gives more insight into the custody battle and also asks for donations for the Hes.

I found this rather telling about the racial attitude in this case:

The guardian also said a book titled "The Lost Daughters of China" helped convince her that Anna Mae would face gender discrimination in China. The book details alleged historical and cultural prejudices against women in China and the issue of abandoned baby girls there. It is hard to understand how a book could be used in court without the author being present to explain and to defend his/her conclusion and what expertise this author may or may not have.

[kimpossible]

They lied to the Hes even after the biggest lie (that they would give the child back) had become apparent—they suggested that the child would be returned upon the birth of the Bakers own child, which didn’t happen. Mr. Baker made a backroom offer to Mr. He to buy the child, which didn’t happen.


Speechless.

[applehead]

oh right because the gender discrimination she'll be
facing in china while living with her biological parents
is so much worse than the gender and racial discrimination
she'll be facing in the US while living with white adoptive parents.

how fuckin selfish.

[>:^|]

oh right because the gender discrimination she'll be
facing in china while living with her biological parents
is so much worse than the gender and racial discrimination
she'll be facing in the US while living with white adoptive parents.

how fuckin selfish.


Yeah, it would be nice to see a quote like this:

The guardian also said a book titled "Race, Rights and the Asian American Experience" helped convince her that Anna Mae would face racial discrimination in the United States. The book details actual historical and cultural prejudices against people of Asian descent in the United States and the issue of a White-dominated society there.

Judge Childers is going to announce his decision at 4:30 this afternoon.

[>:^|]

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_2880337,00.html

Bakers will keep Anna Mae
Childers' ruling terminates Hes' parental rights

A Cordova foster couple will keep a 5-year-old girl at the center of a bitter custody battle, a Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday.

The written ruling terminating the parental rights of the child’s Chinese parents was handed down by Circuit Court Judge Robert ‘Butch’ Childers at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

[moser]

Shriek of death!

Article (http://www.godesoto.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4252 )

The court found that the Hes willfully abandoned and provided no support for their daughter, Anna Mae, from Jan. 29 to June 20, 2001. Childers also ruled that the Hes only sought custody to prevent their deportation.

‘‘The Court concludes, by clear and convincing evidence, that there is parental misconduct or inability to parent by the Hes,’’ the ruling said.

When the trial wrapped up last month, Childers said he would consider what was better for the child — leaving her with the Bakers in their middle-class, suburban home or reuniting her with the parents who plan to return to China.

This doesn't make sense how the judge ruled that the Hes only sought custody to prevent their deportation, while the parents were planning to return to China anyway.

I hope they plan to appeal.


----------------------------------
Also, how are the Bakers planning on providing a better financial situation for Anna Mae when they've spent all their money on this case?

[applehead]

oh man.

[kimpossible]

I hope they plan to appeal.

Yes, and if anyone gets word of an appeal please post it here.

[iris]

This is some bullshit and I really hope the Asian community steps up on this.

How can they "willfully" abandon her when all this time, they've been trying to get her back?

I'm sick to my stomach over the blatant racism & discrimination exhibited in our courts today.

[Banana]

Aye. That post about them only trying to get their child back to prevent being deported doesn't make sense if they wanted to go back to China anyway. Something smells fishy here.

What is also "funny" is that the court allowed the Bakers' lawyer to postpone original settlement date which is extreamly rare. The judge's response after the He's lawyer's objection? "Everyone make mistakes."

I would do some research into this judge's background.

[>:^|]

Here's a link to the court order: http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=1863039&nav=3HvDN3Bd

If the Hes are unfit parents, is the state going to take their other two children? Or will they do so only if other parents want to steal them?

And anybody know what can be done? Can the PRC intervene?

Here's a link to the TN statute about termination of parental rights: http://www.state.tn.us/tccy/tnchild/36/36-1-113.htm

Here's a longer version of the article that moser posted above:
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/nation/8651236.htm

The judge also cited China's "one-child-per-family" policy in his ruling, noting that families with more than one child in China were subject to financial penalties and the loss of government benefits.

[BigLew]

The article is obviously trying to paint the picture that Anna Mae's life is just so wonderful under her kidnapper's care. This pisses me off to the core.

[experiment888]

when i first read about this, i thought it was a simple case of kidnap that had a obvious result (Anna returning to her biological parents).

i would have thought all these racial/political stereotypes used as an argument would be thrown out of court...because they are basically ridiculous. maybe i should try to obtain custody by citing the problems in the US.

justice is not served...i hope they appeal and take it to a higher court

[rice cracker]

The judge's opinion http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=1863039&nav=3HvDN4ah

[kimpossible]

This is some bullshit and I really hope the Asian community steps up on this.

How can they "willfully" abandon her when all this time, they've been trying to get her back?

I'm sick to my stomach over the blatant racism & discrimination exhibited in our courts today.

Not to mention imperialism. I know I have a lot of feelings about this but I'd like to turn those into action. What can we do other than write? I don't know if this means it's all over and the parents are to be deported or if they can stay and appeal. What's the next step if there even is a next step possible for them?

[Banana]

Must be because the court thinks that it was the He's fault they didn't speak English and didn't understand the form.

This is what I said to every single immigrant coming into this country. Know your rights and laws for your location. If you don't, the American people will eat you alive.

[AngryABCGirl]

I hope the Asian-American community can steop up and do something about this with as much passion as we have against the media, cause this is a real deal issue.

[raacluse]

I've been reading the judge's opinion (the link to it thoughtfully provided by >:^| and rc). Only got halfway through. Very complicated case, especially when you consider the other legal situations and calamities that the He's went through.

From the judges recounting of events, it seems that the He's are not completely innocent victims. At the very least (discounting some probable bias in the opinion), the He's did not help their own cause in some instances.

Could they win an appeal? Don't know.

In any event, I expect this case will be the subject of books, articles, and academic papers.

What I really want to know is how this will play out in Anna Mae's life. Guess I'll have to wait 20 or more years to find out.

[kimpossible]

This is quoted from the judge's opinion. That's a lot of interpretation on the judge's part based mainly on his esteem of her language ability. I can tell you first hand that there are times that I understand sentences and conversations in Mandarin perfectly, and others I understand partially, and others I don't have a clue. It's dependent on my vocabulary, how tired I am and if I understand idioms or slang. It is absolutely normal to have varying degrees of language ability given different situations. Has nothing to do with being sneaky or calculated.

Mrs. He is an impetuous person not subject to being intimidated or deterred in achieving whatever she sets as her goal. The evidence shows that she is calculating, almost theatrical, in her actions. The evidence further shows that she is dishonest and manipulative, and has a history of acting in an unstable manner when it serves her own self-interest. For example, during cross-examination, Mrs. He would begin sobbing when asked difficult questions. However, Mrs. He would immediately regain her composure when asked subsequent questions. It appears to the Court that Mrs. He’s courtroom hysterics were calculated by Mrs. He in an effort to avoid answering the difficult cross-examination questions.




_ Though Mrs. He speaks sufficient English to carry on her daily affairs in the United States, she is not as proficient as Mr. He in knowledge or use of the English language and, unlike Mr. He, sometimes needs assistance with translation in technical or extraordinary use of the English language. She has confidence in Mr. He, prefers Mr. He as her translator, has no desire to part company with Mr. He for any reason and intends to cooperate fully with Mr. He to remain together with him as a family and believes Mr. He has never failed to keep her fully and honestly informed about the legal matters involving AMH.

_ Although Mrs. He does not speak the English language fluently, she appears to speak and understand English better than she professes. For example, Mrs. He spoke English during some of the Hes’ visits with AMH at the Bakers’ home and when Mrs. He took the Hes’ other children for medical treatment. She also spoke English during the incident when she was holding a sign outside of the Bakers’ home, and the Bakers’ neighbor, Rebecca Smith, asked Mrs. He to move her car, and she spoke English during the December 2003, incident at the Wal-Mart store. During the trial, in response to a question from attorney Linda Holmes, Mrs. He responded to the question by speaking in English, before the interpreter had begun interpreting Ms. Holmes’ question to Mrs. He. Mrs. He said, “Mr. Parrish filed legal motion,” then she stopped speaking English and began responding to the question in Chinese.

[>:^|]

It is a very complicated case. Sounds like the Hes had several runs of misfortune.

However, the judge seems to take a lot of liberty with interpretation. There are the language issues, as kimpossible notes. I have a friend who received her Ph.D. in the states and yet we sometimes have communication problems based in part on cultural expectations. She has been here more than 20 years and works in an all-English-speaking environment. I don't doubt that despite Mr. He's apparent intelligence and fluency with the language, even he might have had difficulty truly understanding what was going on.

The portrayal of Mrs. He as "hysterical" especially struck me. If your daughter were taken, would you be hysterical? Might you break down on the witness stand?

The judge also discounts the (Chinese, I assume) psychologist's assessment of Mr. He, saying that it was based on Mr. He's word. Um ... that's generally how psychologists assess clients.

Some of the negative information contained in the opinion seems to have come from a single source: the Bakers. An example would be the living conditions of the Hes. That is based on Jerry Baker's testimony. I would assume that if a court official had observed filthy living quarters, that might have been noted in the record.

And there's no mention of how the Bakers and their attorney attempted to get the INS to deport the Hes, and how they interfered with the Hes' jobs by calling their employers.

I was interested in the judge's assertion that Mr. He said that Chinese girls have a 50 percent mortality rate. Also, the judge cites the one-child policy as a reason to keep AMH here. Aren't overseas Chinese exempt?

The Hes' attorney has said they will file an appeal. Generally appeals in adoption/custody cases are limited because of the concern for the welfare of the children. So if they lose the appeal, the chances are not good.

So yellowworlders, what can we do?

[Banana]

I read that transcript like a news article and I detected a huge bias since the start. You can see it already in the description of each of the parents.

[SunWuKong]

i hate this country and i wish Anna has the utmost hate for the Bakers when she grows up.

[AngryABCGirl]

i hate this country and i wish Anna has the utmost hate for the Bakers when she grows up.

I completely agree with you, and she will.

[hooligan]

let's find a way to send her asian american literature! : D (hopefully radical lit! glenn omatsu anyone?)

[BigLew]

So yellowworlders, what can we do?Give me the Baker's address, I'll take care of this shit. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

i hate this country and i wish Anna has the utmost hate for the Bakers when she grows up.I hate to say this but at this very moment and everytime I think of this bullshit I agree.

[Kuchana]

Give me the Baker's address, I'll take care of this shit. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Now now. Temper temper. :smile: But hopefully this situation will be set right.

[SunWuKong]

i've emailed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China to ask them to do something. originally i tried to email the Chinese embassy here in the US, but it seems their mailbox is currently full at the time of this posting. i also emailed www.atimes.com to ask them to do a story about this.

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/

http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/default.htm

although i'm sure their hands might be tied because for them to do anything would mean a lot of politics.

[amietron]

originally i tried to email the Chinese embassy here in the US, but it seems their mailbox is currently full at the time of this posting.
Chinese Embassy
2300 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC, 20008

[SunWuKong]

according to www.annamaegohome.org, The Committee of 100 (http://www.committee100.org/) is already providing assistance to the Hes. i wonder how else its members can help, since they're all influential people.

[kuilong]

Gahh, this is really pissing me off.

They have a donation link, on their website -- unfortunately, Paypal's down right now.

I hear the Chinese Embassy sent an officer to Memphis or something. Are any major news sources carrying this story?

[amietron]

Another way you might help:

If you can help financially, please send a check to:
Anna Mae Foundation
P. O. Box 382656
Germantown, TN 38183-2656.

Alternatively, there's a paypal link on the site, also. http://www.annamaegohome.org/

edit: oops. sorry, i didn't see his post.

[BigLew]

Does anyone think an online petition would help or an email campaign to local Memphis AA organizations to organize protests and such? I'm not above donating money but some how I feel getting the word out so lots off people get pissed and voice thier opinion would be a help. Maybe aimed at Tenn. state offices?

[>:^|]

- Write the Department of State:

Assistant Secretary James A. Kelly
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

- Send a message to the Secretary of State:

http://contact-us.state.gov/ask_form_cat/ask_form_secretary.html

- Write the Tennessee governor (do we have any TN residents?):

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen
Tennessee State Capitol
Nashville, TN 37243-0001

Phil.Bredesen@state.tn.us

- Make a complaint against the judge, Robert L. Childers:

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/geninfo/COJ/COJBroch.htm

Interestingly, although judicial misconduct includes "Displaying obvious bias toward a party," it specifically does not include "Rulings involving alimony, child support, custody or visitation rights." ?

- Write the judge:

Hon. Robert L. Childers
Circuit Court, Division IX
140 Adams Ave., Room 212
Memphis, TN 38103 Tel: 901-545-4022
Fax: 901-545-5659

Email: child-r@co.shelby.tn.us

full text at http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_2884492,00.html

Thursday, officials with the Chinese Embassy in Washington expressed disappointment and regret.

"We will see if we can provide any help to protect their civil rights," said Qian Zhou, third secretary and vice counsel of the embassy.

[kimpossible]

i've emailed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China to ask them to do something. originally i tried to email the Chinese embassy here in the US, but it seems their mailbox is currently full at the time of this posting.

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/

http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/default.htm

although i'm sure their hands might be tied because for them to do anything would mean a lot of politics.

I believe the largest obstacle for any Chinese official is that He Mei/Anna is a born United States citizen. The difference in citizenship between her and her parents seems to have been used as a tool to wrest her from her family.

[BigLew]

I'm want to try to use email links provided by face and others to start a citezenpeak.org (http://www.citizenspeak.org/index.html) campaign. This is what I came up with for the email that will be sent to those parties. Please give me feedback and corrections of anything like grammar and especially facts. I haven't slept in over 24 hrs so I'm not that confident about it yet.

Adoption is for children who do not have a home. It is for children who do not have willing and able biological parents to care for and raise them. When a child's custody is given to another family while the child's biological parents are indeed willing and able then it ceases to be adoption. The word that best describes this situation is kidnapping.

May 12, 2004 a decsion was made at the 13th District Memphis Court. In the decision handed down, Jack and Casey He lost parental rights of thier biological daughter Anna Mae to Jerry and Louise Baker.

The lawyer for the Bakers suggests Anna Mae's quality of life will suffer with her biological parents in the country of her people. With this supremist logic in mind, are we to assume that all Chinese children are better off growing up in white American homes? It would seem presiding judge Robert L. Childers thinks so.

Childers states "Mrs. He is an impetuous person not subject to being intimidated or deterred in achieving whatever she sets as her goal." It might not have dawned on judge Childers that Mrs. He's goal is to recover her stolen child. What mother would be deterred in a goal such as this? Further written statements of judge Childers observations point out Mrs. He's supposed hysterical behavior obviously seen in the judges eyes with a negative bent. What mother would not be hysterical is a situation that threatens to take away her child? The judge goes further to assume this behavior is just manipulation on Mrs. He's part to put on a good show. The belief in the long standing stereotype that Asians are sneaky, is apparent here in the assumptions the judge makes of Mrs. He's reactions.

It also seems apparent that a large part of the judges weighing would rely on defining Mrs. He's handle of the english language. Again another assuption is made based on another long standing negative social stereotype that Asians speak and understand more english then they let on, when judge Childers assumes that Mrs. He speaks and understands more english than she is feigning to. It is very disturbing that racial stereotypes were used to consider the outcome of Anna Mae's fate.

With what the judge held against the He's, there is no mention in judge Childers written statement in consideration the Bakers' underhanded attempt to have the INS deport the Hes. The fact that the Bakers interfered with the Hes' workplaces by calling their employers was not taken into account either. We see this, Yet who does the judge Childers label as manipulative?

Part of this message is to complain about Robert L. Childers judicial misconduct. It is obvious that the judge showed extreme bias towards the Bakers. It is also quite appalling and disturbing that racial stereotypes were used by a judge of the United States judicial system to consider the outcome of Anna Mae's fate. Common sense shows that their loss of parental rights should never even have been considered.

The most important part of this message is to implore the powers that be to bring justice to He's. Bring justice to Anna Mae and reunite her with her real family. The longer 5 year old Anna Mae He is kept from her rightful parents, the more she will undeservedly suffer.

[rice cracker]

Good letter, biglew.


Should we move this topic now to "Get Involved?"

[BigLew]

After I make the changes on my citizen speak account. I'll give a link and instructions in the get involved forum.

It's just easier to convince people to get invovlved when there is a prewritten letter and all they have to do is sign it and it gets sent to 10 different places automatically.

[mr. x]

anyone got a petitiononline.com goin?

[SunWuKong]

from www.isthisamerica.com

The Bakers asked to reschedule the hearing citing a conflict in their lawyer's schedule. Judge Horne rescheduled for June 22, 2001 when he would presumably return Anna Mae to her parents. On June 20th, the Bakers' lawyer surreptitiously filed a motion that moved the trial out of Judge Horne's hands into the hands of Judge DJ Alissandratos who stretched the case out for years and then recused himself after 2 bias claims were filed against him. Think this sounds fishy? Get ready to question our legal system...

[>:^|]

The belief in the long standing stereotype that Asians are sneaky, is apparent here in the assumptions the judge makes of Mrs. He's reactions.

Thanks for the letter, BigLew.

I really felt like Judge Childers portrayed both of the Hes as manipulative, cunning and sneaky. It did seem to play into racial stereotypes.

Another thing I noted was that he kept emphasizing that the Hes were working illegally and yet he chastized them for not paying child support. They were never ordered to pay child support. However, if they were not working they definitely could not pay child support. And what's the deal with the illegal status? Illegal aliens have no rights to their children?

Additionally, he notes that while they attempted to give the Bakers some money (which was never a part of any agreement or court order), that this could not be counted as support because doing so would constitute an attempt to "repent" for previous non-action.

Finally, I'd like to note that if the Hes are such unfit parents, perhaps their other two children should be removed from their unfit home as well. Except I'm afraid that somebody might kidnap them, too. The department of child services in Tennessee told a reporter that it has no plans to remove the other two children.

[BigLew]

Some one with IM wanna help me proof?

Another addition in light of SWK's last.

Face I'm not ignoring your error checks I just haven't got around to fixing them yet.

The most important part of this message is to implore the powers that
be to bring justice to Hes. Bring justice to Anna Mae and reunite her
with her real family. This situation has already gone on too long with the underhanded manipulations of the Bakers who know they face opponents with language barriers and who are poor foreigners who do not have the knowledge nor financial recourses to use protect themselves under the system. Unfortunately the Bakers do have the knowledge and financial power to hire lawyers that do know how to manipulate the system for their own selfish wants. In the past they had judge Horne rescheduled a hearing on their behalf pushing the date to June 22, 2001 when the judge would presumably return Anna Mae to her parents. June 20th, the Bakers' lawyer filed a motion out to move the trial out of Judge Horne's hands into the hands of judge DJ Alissandratos. In turn this new judge stretched the case out for years only recused himself after 2 bias claims were filed against him. Anyone can see the injustice in this manipulation of the system. Meanwhile young impressionable Anna Mae grows further and further from her real mother and father who are forbidden to see her. The longer 5 year old Anna Mae He is kept from her rightful parents, the more she will undeservedly suffer.

Again I am going to use this letter with citezenspeak.org where people can just click on a link and sign this letter and add personal comments and send it to the decided email addresses.

Mr. X I think on online petition would be a good idea as well.

Thanks for the letter, BigLew.

I really felt like Judge Childers portrayed both of the Hes as manipulative, cunning and sneaky. It did seem to play into racial stereotypes.

Another thing I noted was that he kept emphasizing that the Hes were working illegally and yet he chastized them for not paying child support. They were never ordered to pay child support. However, if they were not working they definitely could not pay child support. And what's the deal with the illegal status? Illegal aliens have no rights to their children?

Additionally, he notes that while they attempted to give the Bakers some money (which was never a part of any agreement or court order), that this could not be counted as support because doing so would constitute an attempt to "repent" for previous non-action.

Finally, I'd like to note that if the Hes are such unfit parents, perhaps their other two children should be removed from their unfit home as well. Except I'm afraid that somebody might kidnap them, too. The department of child services in Tennessee told a reporter that it has no plans to remove the other two children.Hey in the midst of your editing help show me where to stick that in the original and I'll do it, those are very good points I wouldn't want to leave out.

[>:^|]

Hey, I didn't feel ignored. :tongue:
Sent you a PM. I have to go out but I'll be back in a few hours.

Where's kittygirl? She loves to red-ink people. :wink:

[SunWuKong]

i just find it incredibly disgusting that the Hes had to stay away or face arrest, and they say that this was abandonment on the Hes part. fucking sick.

[BigLew]

Ok here is a new draft incase anyone wants to add points or help edit? So far all editing and last 3 paragraphs thanks to >:^l

Anyone else?

Adoption is for children who do not have a home. It is for children who do not have willing and able biological parents to care for and raise them. When a child's custody is given to another family while the child's biological parents are indeed willing and able then it ceases to be adoption. The word that best describes this situation is kidnapping.

May 12, 2004 a decision was made at the 13th District Memphis Court. In the decision handed down, Jack and Casey He lost parental rights of their biological daughter Anna Mae to Jerry and Louise Baker.

The lawyer for the Bakers suggests Anna Mae's quality of life will suffer with her biological parents in the country of her people. With this supremacist logic in mind, are we to assume that all Chinese children are better off growing up in white American homes? It would seem presiding Judge Robert L. Childers thinks so.

Childers states "Mrs. He is an impetuous person not subject to being intimidated or deterred in achieving whatever she sets as her goal." It might not have dawned on Judge Childers that Mrs. He's goal is to recover her stolen child. What mother would be deterred in a goal such as this? Logic should also show that this observation of Mrs. He’s undeterred disposition should be proof against prior allegations of abandonment, yet Judge Childers’ bias chose to cast it in a negative light and use it against the Hes.

Judge Childers' observations of Mrs. He's allegedly hysterical behavior serve to evidence his negative bias even more. What mother would not be hysterical in a situation that threatens to take away her child? The Judge further assumes this behavior is just manipulation on Mrs. He's part to put on a good show. The belief in the long standing stereotype that Asians are sneaky is apparent here in the assumptions the Judge makes of Mrs. He's reactions.

It also seems apparent that a large part of the Judge's consideration relies on defining Mrs. He's English-language ability. Again another assumption is made based on another long standing negative social stereotype that Asians speak and understand more English then they let on, when Judge Childers assumes that Mrs. He speaks and understands English proficiently but is feigning ignorance. It is very disturbing that racial stereotypes were used to consider the outcome of Anna Mae's fate.

With what the Judge held against the Hes, there is no mention in Judge Childers written statement in consideration the Bakers' underhanded attempt to have the INS deport the Hes. The fact that the Bakers interfered with the Hes' workplaces by calling their employers was not taken into account either. We see this, yet who does the Judge Childers label as manipulative?

Part of this message is to complain about Robert L. Childers’ judicial misconduct. It is obvious that the Judge showed extreme bias towards the Bakers. It is also quite appalling and disturbing that racial stereotypes were used by a Judge of the United States judicial system to consider the outcome of Anna Mae's fate. Common sense shows that their loss of parental rights should never even have been considered.

The most important part of this message is to implore the powers that be to bring justice to the Hes. Bring justice to Anna Mae and reunite her with her real family. This situation has already been dragged out by the Bakers' underhanded manipulations. The Bakers used every advantage against the Hes, who faced language barriers and economic difficulties. The Bakers, on the other hand, used the system, their influence and money to further their selfish desires.

Prior to arriving in Judge Childers' courtroom, the Bakers faced what they knew to be a judgment against them in Juvenile Court under Judge Horne. Under false pretenses, they requested that the hearing be rescheduled. On June 20, 2001, two days prior to Judge Horne's ruling, the Bakers' lawyer filed a motion to move this case to the court of a sympathetic Judge, D.J. Alissandratos. Judge Alissandratos consistently ruled in the Bakers' favor until finally two bias complaints were filed against him and he was forced to recuse himself.

As a result, nearly three years passed. The injustice in this manipulation of the system is obvious. It forced Anna Mae to remain in the Bakers' home and now the Bakers have laid claim to her based on the fact that she is the only parents they have known. Meanwhile, young Anna Mae grows further from her real mother and father who have been forbidden to see her. The longer five-year-old Anna Mae He is kept from her rightful parents, the more she will undeservedly suffer.

[SunWuKong]

i just called the Chinese embassy and the person that answered the phone didn't know about this case. he transferred me to another number, but i got voicemail.

[BigLew]

Sorry don't mean to whore but I added another paragraph with points brought up by >:^l in further evidence of the Judge's bias.

Adoption is for children who do not have a home. It is for children who do not have willing and able biological parents to care for and raise them. When a child's custody is given to another family while the child's biological parents are indeed willing and able then it ceases to be adoption. The word that best describes this situation is kidnapping.

May 12, 2004 a decision was made at the 13th District Memphis Court. In the decision handed down, Jack and Casey He lost parental rights of their biological daughter Anna Mae to Jerry and Louise Baker.

The lawyer for the Bakers suggests Anna Mae's quality of life will suffer with her biological parents in the country of her people. With this supremacist logic in mind, are we to assume that all Chinese children are better off growing up in white American homes? It would seem presiding Judge Robert L. Childers thinks so.

Childers states "Mrs. He is an impetuous person not subject to being intimidated or deterred in achieving whatever she sets as her goal." It might not have dawned on Judge Childers that Mrs. He's goal is to recover her stolen child. What mother would be deterred in a goal such as this? Logic should also show that this observation of Mrs. He’s undeterred disposition should be proof against prior allegations of abandonment, yet Judge Childers’ bias chose to cast it in a negative light and use it against the Hes.

Judge Childers' observations of Mrs. He's allegedly hysterical behavior serve to evidence his negative bias even more. What mother would not be hysterical in a situation that threatens to take away her child? The Judge further assumes this behavior is just manipulation on Mrs. He's part to put on a good show. The belief in the long standing stereotype that Asians are sneaky is apparent here in the assumptions the Judge makes of Mrs. He's reactions.

It also seems apparent that a large part of the Judge's consideration relies on defining Mrs. He's English-language ability. Again another assumption is made based on another long standing negative social stereotype that Asians speak and understand more English then they let on, when Judge Childers assumes that Mrs. He speaks and understands English proficiently but is feigning ignorance. It is very disturbing that racial stereotypes were used to consider the outcome of Anna Mae's fate.

With what the Judge held against the Hes, there is no mention in Judge Childers written statement in consideration the Bakers' underhanded attempt to have the INS deport the Hes. The fact that the Bakers interfered with the Hes' workplaces by calling their employers was not taken into account either. We see this, yet who does the Judge Childers label as manipulative?

Judge Childers duly annotates the Hes’ illegal work status, yet he chastises them for not paying child support. They were never ordered to pay child support. However, if they were not working they definitely could not pay child support. Additionally, Judge Childers notes that while they attempted to give the Bakers some money, this could not be counted as support because doing so would constitute an attempt to "repent" for previous non-action. So are we to assume that illegal aliens have no rights to their own children? Judge Childers seems to think so.

Part of this message is to complain about Robert L. Childers’ judicial misconduct. It is obvious that the Judge showed extreme bias towards the Bakers. It is also quite appalling and disturbing that racial stereotypes were used by a Judge of the United States judicial system to consider the outcome of Anna Mae's fate. Common sense shows that their loss of parental rights should never even have been considered.

The most important part of this message is to implore the powers that be to bring justice to the Hes. Bring justice to Anna Mae and reunite her with her real family. This situation has already been dragged out by the Bakers' underhanded manipulations. The Bakers used every advantage against the Hes, who faced language barriers and economic difficulties. The Bakers, on the other hand, used the system, their influence and money to further their selfish desires.

Prior to arriving in Judge Childers' courtroom, the Bakers faced what they knew to be a judgment against them in Juvenile Court under Judge Horne. Under false pretenses, they requested that the hearing be rescheduled. On June 20, 2001, two days prior to Judge Horne's ruling, the Bakers' lawyer filed a motion to move this case to the court of a sympathetic Judge, D.J. Alissandratos. Judge Alissandratos consistently ruled in the Bakers' favor until finally two bias complaints were filed against him and he was forced to recuse himself.

As a result, nearly three years passed. The injustice in this manipulation of the system is obvious. It forced Anna Mae to remain in the Bakers' home and now the Bakers have laid claim to her based on the fact that she is the only parents they have known. Meanwhile, young Anna Mae grows further from her real mother and father who have been forbidden to see her. The longer five-year-old Anna Mae He is kept from her rightful parents, the more she will undeservedly suffer.

If no one has got anything else except for grammar and spelling corrections I think this will be the final version I will try to post a link to sign it by the end of the day.

i just called the Chinese embassy and the person that answered the phone didn't know about this case. he transferred me to another number, but i got voicemail.I want to make a realy big deal about this so everyone knows, unfortunately it's not as easy to explain as a pictoral article in Details magazine.

[SunWuKong]

Adoption is for children who do not have a home. It is for children who do not have willing and able biological parents to care for and raise them. When a child's custody is given to another family while the child's biological parents are indeed willing and able then it ceases to be adoption. The word that best describes this situation is kidnapping.

May 12, 2004 a decision was made at the 13th District Memphis Court. In the decision handed down, Jack and Casey He lost parental rights of their biological daughter Anna Mae to Jerry and Louise Baker.

i would leave out the "biological" part and just say "parents" instead. the Hes should just be referred to as Anna Mae's parents.

Judge Childers' observations of Mrs. He's allegedly hysterical behavior serve to evidence his negative bias even more. What mother would not be hysterical in a situation that threatens to take away her child? The Judge further assumes this behavior is just manipulation on Mrs. He's part to put on a good show. The belief in the long standing stereotype that Asians are sneaky is apparent here in the assumptions the Judge makes of Mrs. He's reactions.

It also seems apparent that a large part of the Judge's consideration relies on defining Mrs. He's English-language ability. Again another assumption is made based on another long standing negative social stereotype that Asians speak and understand more English then they let on, when Judge Childers assumes that Mrs. He speaks and understands English proficiently but is feigning ignorance. It is very disturbing that racial stereotypes were used to consider the outcome of Anna Mae's fate.

i would leave out the mention of stereotypes and just state the bias against the Hes. if we are trying to gain support from non-Asians, and specifically whites, they may not understand that these are stereotypes and they may even disagree.

[BigLew]

Thanks for the feedback SWK, anyone else?

[SunWuKong]

this site shows the relationship between the Bakers' attorney and Judge Alissandratos which delayed the case for a couple of years and ordered the Hes to have no contact with Anna Mae. apparently they have worked together before in an unethical and illegal manner.

http://www.christianparentalrights.org/hestory.htm#parrish

Conflict of interest?
As Christians, we can always cheer when strip joints are closed down....but, do two wrongs make a right? Do the ends justify the means?

In 1995, Private attorney Larry Parrish and Chancellor Alissandratos worked very closely together to shut down Memphis' strip clubs.

"Plaintiffs allege that as early as December of 1995, Larry Parrish, a private attorney practicing law in Tennessee, and John Pierotti, who at the time was the District Attorney General for the Thirtieth Judicial District of Tennessee, agreed to investigate certain nightclubs in the Memphis area. District Attorney General Pierotti subsequently directed Amy Weirich and Jennifer Nichols, two of his assistant district attorneys, to work on the case. On July 7, 1996, Larry Parrish and the three prosecutors from the district attorney general's office met with D.J. Alissandratos, Chancellor for the Thirtieth Judicial District of Tennessee. This was the first of several meetings in which Chancellor Alissandratos allegedly gave Parrish and the three prosecutors " ex parte legal advice as to how the pleadings and/or supporting documentation in such lawsuits [involving the nightclubs] should be drafted so as to ensure issuance of ex parte orders to close the Plaintiffs' nightclubs or showbars." Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 495 (Cooper Am. Compl. ¶ 30)."

File Name: 00a0047p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

Judge Alissandratos got out of the lawsuit on a technicality---qualified immunity. In other words, he was guilty, but because he was guilty from the bench, he is immune from civil action. Parrish, was not so lucky, because he was a private attorney working on an unofficial basis.....So Parrish goes down while the judge did not. What does this have to do with the He case? Could one reasonably speculate that Judge Alissandratos felt he owed Parrish for taking the fall?

I mention this to simply show that Parrish and Alissandratos go back a ways in conspiring against citizens together. They took down strip clubs together, albeit a good thing to do..but they did it in an unethical and illegal fashion. Were Childers, and Parrish and the Bakers really qualified to comment on the He's character when it came to the He's filling out loan applications and visa applications?

Does not one wonder how the Bakers and Parrish obtained the He's loan applications in the first place??? I should note that it is only because of the complaint filed against Judge Alissandratos for his bias that he removed himself from the case. But the damage had already been done: his court order against Jack He essentially prevented the Hes from having necessary contact with their daughter in order to maintain parental rights under state law.

An honest man would interpret the law in the spirit of the law and conclude that it was intended to TPR parents who VOLUNTARILY kept their distance.

this sickens me the more and more i find out about it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_2884813,00.html
login: ywreader@hotmail.com
password: ywreader

Just cause for quick appeal by Hes seen
By Shirley Downing
Contact
May 14, 2004

An expedited appeal of a ruling that terminates parental rights of a Chinese couple to their first-born daughter could be concluded by year's end, a state courts official said Thursday.

And a local expert in family law said the ruling appears ripe for appeal.

On Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers ruled that 5-year-old Anna Mae He will remain with foster parents Jerry and Louise Baker of Cordova.

The child's natural parents, Shao qiang 'Jack' and Qin Luo 'Casey' He, have 30 days to file an appeal, said Sue Allison, spokesman for the state Supreme Court.

Baker attorney Larry Parrish said it would be a "real blessing" if the Hes do not appeal.

Allison said Childers would have no further comment beyond his 72-page ruling.

But Chris Zawisza, director of the Child Advocacy Clinic at the University of Memphis Law School, expressed shock at both the decision and its hostile tone toward the Hes.

The judge wrote that Jack He "has repeatedly engaged in a pattern of conduct marked by deceitfulness and dishonesty" and described Casey He's actions as "calculating, almost theatrical."

"I see a myriad of issues for appeal," Zawisza said. The ruling appears strongly based on the credibility of witnesses and "didn't seem to be a decision based with specific reference" to legal analysis.

"The issue in a termination case is whether there is clear and convincing evidence the parents either abused, neglected or abandoned the child, and that is it. It is irrelevant what potential adoptive parents look like."

The Hes have waged a four-year battle for the return of the daughter they voluntarily gave to the Bakers in February 1999. The couple, who are in this country illegally, said they made the decision when they were stressed by finances and legal problems. The Hes say the arrangement was temporary; the Bakers disagree.

The judge's ruling ignored virtually all of the Hes' versions of events, said David Siegel, who represents Jack He.

For instance, Childers concluded that Casey He pushed the custody case only when deportation seemed imminent. Siegel said there was no court proof to support that conclusion, but that the Hes were eager to regain their daughter so they could return to China.

Childers ruled the Hes were unfit parents because they had abandoned Anna Mae. On Thursday, state officials said it is unlikely the Hes' two younger children are at risk for removal. "The Department of Children's Services is not expected to get involved in this case," said Margie Maddux, a DCS spokesman.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.ocanatl.org/bin/htmlos/02269.2.1385574510900014553/1000150

OCA DEEPLY UPSET AT THE LACK OF SENSITIVITY TO THE CHINESE COMMUNITY AND POSSIBILITY OF RACIST STEREOTYPING IN MEMPHIS CHILD CUSTODY CASE

Date: : 05/14/2004

Contact(s)
Janelle Hu

202-223-5500
oca@ocanatl.org

Washington, DC - The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a national Asian Pacific American (APA) civil rights advocacy and educational organization with over 80 chapters and affiliates nationwide, is deeply troubled at the lack of sensitivity heeded to the Chinese immigrant community in the recent child custody case involving the He family.Due to economic and legal hardship, Mr. and Mrs. He were forced in 1998 to place their daughter, Anna Mae He, in foster services, believing they were only relinquishing temporary custody of Anna Mae until they regained their financial and legal bearings. Over the next two years, the Hes regularly vigilantly visited Anna Mae and diligently worked at local Chinese restaurants to get back on their feet.

However, after protracted custody battles and a court order preventing the Hes from seeing Anna Mae, the Hes were accused of legally abandoning their daughter, giving Anna's foster family grounds for terminating the Hes' parental rights.

The Hes have been embroiled in this complicated legal battle to regain custody of Anna Mae for over four years. Now parents to two additional children, the Hes have never been charged with abuse or neglect and their continued fight to regain custody of Anna Mae evidences they have not willfully abandoned their eldest daughter.

Nevertheless, a Tennessee judge stripped Mr. and Mrs. Hes' parental rights over Anna Mae, thus prolonging this excruciating custody battle, which has taken center stage in the Memphis community.

"OCA is alarmed about the possible racial bias, cultural insensitivity and lack of impartiality in this case. We are also deeply concerned that the initial degree of interpretation services provided the Hes were inadequate," stated OCA National President, Raymond Wong. "Furthermore, OCA is upset that the court may have disregarded the Constitutional presumption of reunification with biological parents based on inappropriate stereotyping of the Chinese culture."

"The APIA community is closely monitoring these proceedings and formulating teams of legal and community supporters to determine if injustice actually transpired, and if so, what the next steps will be," stated Christine Chen, OCA Executive Director. "The Chinese American community in Memphis have been following the case closely, and are seriously concerned about the fairness of these proceedings. Ultimately, OCA hopes Anna Mae's best interests are being considered as the Hes and Bakers enter the next phase of the appeal process."

[BigLew]

Hopefully good for print.

Adoption is for children who do not have a home. It is for children who do not have willing and able biological parents to care for and raise them. When a child's custody is given to another family while the child's biological parents are indeed willing and able then it ceases to be adoption. The word that best describes this situation is kidnapping.

On May 12, 2004 a decision was made in the Chancery Court of Tennessee for the Thirtieth Judicial District at Memphis. In the decision, Jack and Casey He lost parental rights of their biological daughter Anna Mae to Jerry and Louise Baker.

The lawyer for the Bakers suggests Anna Mae's quality of life will suffer with her biological parents in the country of her people. With this supremacist logic in mind, are we to assume that all Chinese children, or all poor children, are better off growing up in wealthy American homes? It would seem presiding Judge Robert L. Childers thinks so.

Childers states "Mrs. He is an impetuous person not subject to being intimidated or deterred in achieving whatever she sets as her goal." It might not have dawned on Judge Childers that Mrs. He's goal is to recover her stolen child. What mother would be deterred in a goal such as this? Mrs. He’s determination seems to clearly suggest that she wanted her child and never intended to abandon her, yet Judge Childers chose to cast it in a negative light.

Judge Childers' observations of Mrs. He's allegedly hysterical behavior serve to evidence his negative bias even more. What mother would not be hysterical in a situation that threatens to take away her child? Does this not show how distraught she was at the prospect of losing her daughter forever? Instead the Judge further assumes this behavior is just manipulation on Mrs. He's part to put on a good show.

It also seems apparent that a large part of the judge's consideration relies on his assessment of Mrs. He's English-language ability. Judge Childers' interpretation seems to suggest that Mrs. He speaks and understands English proficiently but is feigning ignorance. However, very real cultural and language barriers undoubtedly played a part in miscommunication between the parties.

With what the Judge held against the Hes, there is no mention in Judge Childers’ written statement in consideration the Bakers' underhanded attempt to have the INS deport the Hes. The fact that the Bakers interfered with the Hes' workplaces by calling their employers was not taken into account either. We see this, yet who does the Judge Childers label as manipulative?

While Judge Childers takes pains to note the Hes' status as illegal aliens working outside of the law, he simultaneously chastises them for not paying child support. In this regard, the Hes are trapped in a Catch-22. They need an income, but working allows them to be portrayed as lawbreakers. Additionally, the Hes attempted several times to provide child support. Not only was child support not mandated by the court, but their monetary offerings were refused by the Bakers. Additionally, Judge Childers notes that while they attempted to give the Bakers some money, this could not be counted as support because doing so would constitute an attempt to "repent" for previous non-action. In any event, their illegal status should not serve to strip them of their parental rights.

Part of this message is to complain about Robert L. Childers’ judicial misconduct. It is obvious that the Judge showed extreme bias towards the Bakers. It is also quite appalling and disturbing that racial stereotypes were used by a Judge of the United States judicial system to consider the outcome of Anna Mae's fate. Common sense shows that their loss of parental rights should never even have been considered.

The most important part of this message is to implore the powers that be to bring justice to the Hes. Bring justice to Anna Mae and reunite her with her real family. This situation has already been dragged out by the Bakers' underhanded manipulations. The Bakers used every advantage against the Hes, who faced language barriers and economic difficulties. The Bakers, on the other hand, used the system, their influence and money to further their selfish desires.

Prior to arriving in Judge Childers' courtroom, the Bakers faced what they knew to be a judgment against them in Juvenile Court under Judge Horne. Under false pretenses, they requested that the hearing be rescheduled. On June 20, 2001, two days prior to Judge Horne's ruling, the Bakers' lawyer filed a motion to move this case to the court of a sympathetic Judge, D.J. Alissandratos. Judge Alissandratos consistently ruled in the Bakers' favor until finally two bias complaints were filed against him and he was forced to recuse himself.

As a result, nearly three years passed. The injustice in this manipulation of the system is obvious. It forced Anna Mae to remain in the Bakers' home and now the Bakers have laid claim to her based on the fact that they are the only parents she has known. Meanwhile, young Anna Mae grows further from her real mother and father who have been forbidden to see her. The longer five-year-old Anna Mae He is kept from her rightful parents, the more she will undeservedly suffer.

Some more changes from face and the stereotype stuff taken out from SWK's suggestion. Anything else?

[>:^|]

We are also deeply concerned that the initial degree of interpretation services provided the Hes were inadequate," stated OCA National President, Raymond Wong. "Furthermore, OCA is upset that the court may have disregarded the Constitutional presumption of reunification with biological parents based on inappropriate stereotyping of the Chinese culture."

Interesting that the translator most often referred to is "Kenny Yao." He isn't listed on the TN judicial site as being either a certified or registered translator in Mandarin/English. Also, I'm wondering if this is the "Kenny Yau" from one of the Chinese Christian churches in TN who had been previously mentioned as having translated for the Hes. Legal translation is especially difficult; I believe very few people can do it properly.

And what's the deal with the one-child policy? I thought overseas Chinese were exempt? And what about the twice-mentioned claim that girls have a 50 percent mortality rate in China?

Great letter, BigLew.

Hey folks--write your own letters too, please.

[SunWuKong]

And what's the deal with the one-child policy? I thought overseas Chinese were exempt? And what about the twice-mentioned claim that girls have a 50 percent mortality rate in China?

Great letter, BigLew.

Hey folks--write your own letters too, please.

the He children are exempt from the one-child policy, because they are American citizens and would be protected by the American Consulate in China.

and i have never heard of the 50 percent mortality rate. i would love to see the sources that produced that number.

[>:^|]

full text at http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=1868644

The Court made its decision in this case based on the law and the evidence presented in the case, without bias, prejudice or sympathy."