Pilot project for abandoned babies causes controversy

Child abandonment is a growing issue in China. In order to protect abandoned children, the Civil Affairs Administration is rolling out pilots of baby shelters across the country. The temporary shelters will provide facilities for the babies before they are transferred to child care facilities. But this move is not without controversy.

A shelter for abandoned babies...that is the aim behind the latest move to set up these temporary shelters. Literally, translated as "Babies' Safe Havens", Shenzhen is one of the cities chosen to pilot the project. It is now planning to build the first such shelter in Guangdong province early next year. It is expected to cost around 150,000 yuan, or 24,000 US dollars.

Each shelter will have incubators, cribs, bedding, alarms, ventilation fans, air conditioners and infrared intruder detectors. No surveillance camera will be installed at the site to protect parents' privacy. But such a move is not without its critics.

But experts believe establishing the shelters is in line with international practice, and will not lead to an increase in abandoned babies.

The first such shelter in China was launched in 2011 in Shijiazhuang in Hebei province. The facility has so far taken in about 170 children. Over two years of its running, no obvious change has been noted in the number of abandoned babies.