International Adoption Systems and Cultural Identity Conflicts: Lunar New Year as a Mirror for Adoptee Identity Struggles
Original framing: “Born in China, raised in US: adoptees explore the meaning of identity at Lunar New Year” — South China Morning Post
The analysis omits structural factors: China's historical adoption policies, U.S. racialization of transnational adoption, and economic drivers of international adoption markets. It neglects adoptee-led critiques of 'rescue' narratives and systemic support gaps for multiracial identities.
Medium structural omission detected in mainstream coverage.
Produced by a Hong Kong-based media outlet for global readership, this framing serves soft power interests by showcasing China's engagement with adoption issues while downplaying U.S. adoption industry complicity. The personal story format reinforces individualized narratives over systemic critique.
Traditional Chinese kinship systems emphasize ancestral continuity disrupted by modern adoption practices. Indigenous concepts of 'rootedness' (genzu) contrast sharply with Western adoption models that often sever cultural ties.
Identity formation for transnational adoptees emerges at the intersection of colonial adoption systems, cultural dislocation, and global power imbalances.