Guy M. Wong supplies the following story in The Commercial Appeal on Jack and Casey He's fight for their daughter, Anna Mae. Writes Wong, it is a sad story that has attracted international attention. USA Today, AP Wire, ABC News have all covered the case. The Committee of 100 has also thrown in its support. A summary of the story by Shirley Downing on Sept. 29, 2003, is given below:
As their legal and money woes mounted in 1999, Shaoqiang 'Jack' and Qin Luo 'Casey' He voluntarily gave temporary custody of their newborn daughter, Anna Mae, to Bartlett banker Jerry Baker and his wife, Louise. Anne Mae, who was born prematurely, needed medical care. The Bakers promised to put the child on their health insurance. Within 5 months, the Hes were asking the Bakers for their daughter's return. More than four years later, they're still asking.
A bench trial, which could finally settle the issue, is scheduled to begin September 29 before Chancellor A. D. Alissandratos. The Bakers want the court to terminate the Hes' parental rights due to abandonment and the child's best interest, setting the stage for adoption. The case has sparked international attention, prompting letters and visits by the Chinese Embassy in Washington. "We are very concerned," said Vice Consul Zhou Qian.
Being charged with a crime or being poor or foreign-born is no reason to terminate a natural birth parent's rights, said Webb Brewer, Memphis Area Legal Services litigation director. "The Tennessee Supreme Court has been pretty uniform in preserving the constitutional rights of birth parents as opposed to foster parents," absent willful abuse or neglect, Brewer said. But he agreed such cases may linger for years and birth parents don't always win.
At the time the Chinese couple asked the Bakers to help with Anna Mae, Jack He was a graduate student and his wife was a homemaker. They said they were promised Anna Mae would be returned at their request. The Hes, who have not been judged neglectful or abusive, accuse the Bakers and the judicial system of kidnaping their child. "It is one of the most horrible things I've ever seen," attorney David Siegel, who donates his time as the couple's legal representative, said of the Bakers' actions.
Jack He, 38, and Casey, 35, sent hundreds of letters to the media and government offices complaining of the "kidnap." They set up an Anna Mae Web site.