Published: 2025/7/4 19:31 Updated: 2025/7/4 20:37
Chen Guanxun Chen Hongyi / Comprehensive report
In the Chu Liqing transnational baby trafficking case uncovered by prosecutors and police more than 40 years ago, at least 60 infants and young children were stolen and abducted. The baby trafficking group tampered with their information and sold them to other countries. Many “Chu Liqing babies” returned to Taiwan to find their relatives, but only some of them found their biological mothers. Today (4), another person returned to Taiwan from Australia. In addition to retrieving information from the household registration office, he also went to the Criminal Investigation Bureau for DNA sampling, hoping to successfully find his mother.
Vanessa Miles, who is about 40 years old, posted a photo of her infancy and said, “This photo was taken when I was very young, about 2 months old. I really hope my mother can recognize me. Maybe that was the last time she saw me.”
Vanessa Miles came to Taiwan from Australia to find her biological parents. Because of the difference in appearance, she knew at a young age that her adoptive parents were not her biological parents. A few months ago, she learned that she was sold abroad by a baby trafficking group and made up her mind to cross the sea to find her biological mother.
Vanessa Miles also said, “If my mother didn’t send me away on purpose, I hope to give me a chance to get to know her. Even if she gave up on me on purpose, I want to tell her that I love her and thank her for giving me life.”
When she choked up and cried, Vanessa emphasized that she had a birthmark on her left buttocks and hoped that this feature would increase the chance of recognition. She also went to the household registration office to retrieve her birth certificate, but due to legal restrictions, she was unable to obtain the biological mother’s contact information and had to go through the relevant agencies of the Ministry of Health and Welfare that assisted the case.
Ms. Yang, director of the Adoption Information Center of the Social Affairs and Family Affairs Department of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, pointed out, “We will first check the biological parents through the household registration system. If we find the address, we will send a notification letter. As for the Chu Liqing case, our information center has handled about 8 or 9 cases so far, but most of the information we get is that even if we contact them, the other party will say that they are not biological. Although some are willing to cooperate with DNA testing, the test results also confirm that they are not biological, proving that most of the information is forged.”
In fact, many years ago, some people crossed the sea to find their relatives, and like Vanessa, they all said that they were sold abroad by Chu Liqing’s baby trafficking group.
This incident started in the 1980s. In addition to kidnapping infants and young children, Chu Liqing and his wife also found families who were unwilling to raise them, lying to them that they could adopt and take care of them, but they cooperated with the clinic to falsify birth certificates and resell at least 60 infants and young children for rewards.
As Chu Liqing’s baby, Vanessa also went to the Criminal Investigation Bureau to take DNA samples and compare databases in order to make the search for her relatives go further.
Wang Po-Chi, associate professor of the Department of Criminal Justice at Ming Chuan University, pointed out, “His biological mother may not have a special criminal record in Taiwan, or if there is a DNA record collected, the database may need to find relevant information to identify the relative. I personally think it is not impossible, but the chance is not that high.”
Even if the chance is slim, Vanessa will not give up. She not only hopes that the biological mother can see it through the camera, but also hopes that more mothers will come forward to find their “Chu Liqing babies”.