Civil affairs officials in quake-hit Sichuan Province said they are considering to make registrations for people who are willing to adopt earthquake orphans, but the adoption process may have to wait after normality resumes in quake zone.

"We appreciate people's kindly offers, but they have to be patient, because our focus is still on search and rescue," said Jiang Tao, an official in charge of adoption with Sichuan provincial civil affairs department.

"Besides, it takes almost a year to finish the legal process of adoption, but we are planning to accept registrations of those who are willing to offer such generous help," Jiang said.

Ye Lu, head of the social welfare division at Sichuan provincial civil affairs department, said it was still too early to ascertain the number of quake orphans.

The civil affairs department in Guangdong said people who wanted to adopt quake orphans could register at local offices. Beijing has opened a hotline for residents to register their information.

Newspapers and television stations in many other provinces, such as north China's Hebei, are also taking details of people with such offers.

Meanwhile, public and private funds have been established to offer financial help to orphans. Chinalife, the country's top insurer, has pledged to pay for the tuition of all these children under the age 18.

However, Jiang, from Sichuan, said the status of "orphan" could only be decided after the search and rescue operation had ended and the children were confirmed to have no living relatives. In addition, adoptions were only valid if there were no objections during a public notification period.

The fate of the children has become one of the top public concerns. Internet portals and online forums are flooded with offers to adopt quake orphans.

"The telephone in the office is ringing from morning to evening. Many people call to inquire how to adopt the orphans," said an official surnamed Shen at Sichuan provincial civil affairs department.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs told its local bureaus to care for the rising number of homeless children and to try to locate their parents or other relatives.

The ministry asked local bureaus to accommodate the children properly and help them recover from the trauma of the quake. It also ordered adoption procedure to begin at a proper time and proceed lawfully.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2008)