Chinese Toddler Chained To Lamp Post By Poor Father, To Get 3 Years Free Childcare

What would you do if you were so poor you couldn't afford childcare? It's a compelling question that has no easy answer. One Chinese man, felt he had no other options but to chain his 2 year-old baby boy to a lamp post, in the dead of winter. What immediately comes to mind is child cruelty, how could a father padlock his toddler to a post? Until we delve into the story of Chen Chuanliu, the father of Jingdan, we have no right to judge . Chuanliu is a very poor, unlicensed rickshaw driver whose wife is disabled and unable to take care of her son, so the father had to take his boy with him to work, but what to do with a toddler when you have a fare? His only option was to tie the little boy up, since child kidnappings are rampant in China. In fact, his little 4-year-old girl has been missing since January 22, but since they are so poor they were unable to afford taking photos of their children, so have no photo to show police. Chuanliu was terrified the same thing might happen to his son.

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What little money he makes goes towards food, rent and healthcare, which is very expensive. I thought that healthcare in communist China was provided, but apparently not for everyone. You see, Chuanliu and his family are not from Beijing, they are considered out-of-towners, so are not entitled to any governmental help. But thanks to the generosity of the owner of a local nursery school, Abei Kindergarten, young rosy-cheeked Jingdan will have free childcare for the next 3 years, courtesy of the owner, Mr. Pi.

'The biggest problem for Jingdan now is that he does not have a Beijing hukou, the permanent Beijing residence document,' explained Mr Pi.

'According to China's laws, the boy and his family have no rights to free health or education and other social security benefits because they are from out of town.'

So much for the wonderful communist system that claims it takes care of everyone.

And Mr. Pi was sure to add that it was out of compassion not 'social responsibility' that he stepped forward, but it's out of his hands, since officials have to okay whether the boy can attend the school or not.

But since the story and pictures of Jingdan circulated the world wide web like wildfire, photos that do not promote a very positive image of a supposed egalitarian society, local officials have been embarrassed into possibly making an exception for Jingdan. Let's hope they not only make an exception for Jingdan and his family, but for all Chinese citizens. They also need to toughen kidnapping laws:

The gap between rich and poor is growing in China and unscrupulous criminals go to extraordinary lengths to illicit money by kidnapping children and demanding a ransom from anguished parents. Children are also sold as slave labour.

And despite outrage of the 2007 brick kiln slave scandal, which saw 500 children and mentally handicapped adults kidnapped and sold into slavery, such evil trades continue in China.

Something needs to be done so that families don't have to fear having their children kidnapped, and resort to chaining them to lampposts to prevent that from happening. But kudos to Mr Pi, for showing some compassion. Some stories do have good endings after all.