Shenzhen to build Guangdong's first baby hatch

A abandoned baby hatch in Shjiazhuang, Hebei province. (Photo source: CNS)

(ECNS) – Guangdong province's first center for abandoned babies will be set up in Shenzhen next year, the local Yangcheng Evening News has reported, citing Tang Rongsheng, chief of the Shenzhen Social Welfare Center.

The hatch will cost an estimated 150,000 yuan (US$24,615), cover around 10 square meters, and contain cribs and incubators, according to Tang.

Tang said the hatch will be built at the welfare center, which has received 3,571 abandoned babies since it was established in 1992.

Yang Jiangchang, a representative of Shenzhen's Municipal People's Congress, said the move could create problems, however. "There are too many migrant workers in the city, and a large number of them prefer boys to girls. The baby hatch will likely encourage them to abandon their babies."

"Many babies are abandoned in trash cans or at hospitals, and some are even killed," Tang responded. "The center is concerned about the right of innocent babies to exist and develop."

The baby hatch will improve their chances of survival, Tang added.

China's first baby hatch was established in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, in 2011.