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Tears of joy, excitement flow as children return home

By Chen Hong (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-05 07:59

DONGGUAN, Guangdong: Eleven-year-old Gu Jinlong has started enjoying life with his biological parents once again after being missing for five years.

"We are helping him get back his memories with us and he is making really good progress," said the boy's father, Gu Ming, who couldn't restrain his excitement. "We can't believe we have our son back."

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Young Gu was the second one of 60 children whose photographs and personal information were published online by the Ministry of Public Security last month.

He was the second lucky child on the list to be reunited with his parents.

The boy was nabbed by a gang of human traffickers in early 2004 while playing in a market in Gaobu town, Dongguan, where his parents sold vegetables. He was later sold to a couple in Shantou.

Although the gang members were caught in August, the boy could not find his parents and local police arranged for him to live with his adopted parents until he could find his biological parents.

"The adopted parents were nice to him. They came with him and handed him back to me in person," Gu told China Daily. "We will keep contact with them just like our relatives."

The junior Gu is quiet. He happily follows his father and listens to his story silently.

The boy will be transferred to a nearby primary school.

"We don't make a lot of money from our small vegetable business, but we will try our best to bring him up happy and healthy," said Gu, who migrated from neighboring Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to settle in the small town more than a decade ago.

For Song Yanhong, being reunited with her parents meant learning how old she really was.

The 24-year-old, who got lost during a family trip to Guangdong province in 1994, was separated from her parents for 15 years.

Though she was adopted by a couple of acrobats and now works in a garment factory, she never let go of her dream of returning home.

Her only memory about her family was that it was in East China's Anhui province and that her younger brother's nickname was Xiaogao.

With her fingers crossed, Song told Anhui police what she knew, and on Tuesday Song became the third lucky one on the list of 60 missing children to be reunited.

DNA tests confirmed her relation with an Anhui couple who claimed to be her parents earlier this month after they heard about the list from a neighbor.

Tearful mother and daughter turned wordless when they met on Tuesday in Hefei, capital of Anhui province.

After she calmed down, Song told reporters she will become a volunteer to help missing children find their parents.

Ministry of Public Security officials said they would continue to publish more photos and information about the rescued children on its website and through media across the nation.