Fait Divers: Qian Xun

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[o começo]
Police believe father abandoned NZ toddler at station

Victorian police believe a New Zealand toddler found abandoned at a Melbourne railway station on Saturday was left there by her father.
The little girl, of Asian appearance and dubbed "Pumpkin" by the police, was left by a man thought to be her father about 8am.
The pair were captured on CCTV cameras, the girl holding the hand of a man pulling a small suitcase.

The man disappeared and the toddler was found wandering around the station 15 minutes later by security staff.
Today police said they had identified the man and think he boarded a flight for the United States later in the day.

Police have confirmed that the three-year-old girl, named by police as Pumpkin as she was wearing a Pumpkin Patch top, and her father flew in to Melbourne from New Zealand last Thursday and stayed in the city for two nights. They were travelling on New Zealand passports.

A search is now on to find relations of the child and the New Zealand police and United States authorities are working with their Victorian
So far police in New Zealand have not been able to trace Pumpkin's mother.
A police spokesman in Auckland confirmed that three addresses in the city had been visited, but the child's mother had not been found.

He said that the Auckland Central police station would probably be dealing with the investigation tomorrow and more information would be available.
Pumpkin is currently in temporary foster care with the Department of Human Services.
Department spokeswoman Chris Asquini said Pumpkin had settled in well with a foster family.

But she said the little girl spent a restless night on Saturday and was longing for her mother.

"She's predominantly asking for her mother," Ms Asquiri said. "It's not to be unexpected that she would be distressed and when she has been distressed, the carers have comforted her.

"She's been watching children's DVDs over the weekend and was giggling and laughing," Ms Asquiri said.

The child had begun speaking after two days of silence.
"I believe she is saying `yes' and `no' when asked questions, and she is asking for her mum and that's all we are aware she is vocalising at the moment," a police spokeswoman said.

Inspector Brad Shallies, from the Transit Safety Division, said officers believe the man had boarded a flight to the US on Saturday.
"Our belief at the moment is that he has left Melbourne, in fact left Australia. Our belief is that he may be travelling toward, or may now be in, the United States," Mr Shallies said.

He confirmed the girl and her father travelled to Australia on New Zealand passports.
"That would indicate they have been in New Zealand for some time. What type of travelling has been undertaken since her birth I'm not in possession of yet," he said.

[o meio]




Qian Xun's grandmother thanks public, reunited with toddler

MELBOURNE/AUCKLAND/CHRISTCHURCH - Xiao Ping Liu - today reunited with her granddaughter Qian Xun Xue - has written a letter to the New Zealand public thanking them for their support.

In the open letter, Mrs Liu also pays special thanks to the police in New Zealand, Australia and the US.
Mrs Liu arrived in Auckland today from China and was whisked out of the airport to a meeting with three-year-old Qian Xun.

The toddler arrived in Auckland from Melbourne in secret yesterday with a caregiver on a Qantas flight.
The Herald Sun's website reported Qian Xun, who became known as Pumpkin after being abandoned by her father at a Melbourne railway station nine days ago, left the city at 10.30am local time yesterday (8.30am NZT) on a Qantas flight to Auckland.
Authorities in the United States continue to search for her father Nai Yin Xue. He is accused of abducting Qian Xun and murdering his wife and Qian Xun's mother, An An Liu.

New Zealand Chinese Herald editor Jerry Yang received Mrs Liu's letter. He said the it was originally written in Chinese by Mrs Liu and translated in China before being sent to an unnamed associate of Mrs Liu in Auckland.
Mr Yang said the man who gave him the letter is a close friend of Mrs Liu and comes from the same city in China.

"I think she wants to say thanks to everybody who helped her family and her only daughter," Mr Yang said.

Mr Yang said the English translation of the letter was literal and some of the emotion in the language had been lost.
"The English translation is what we call Chinglish. It's a word-for-word translation," he said.

Mrs Liu refers to Qian Xun Xue as "Xun Xun". Mr Yang said this was an affectionate modification of Qian Xun's name.
In the letter, Mrs Liu says she is writing on mid-Autumn Day, a day for family members to come together but for Mrs Liu, it is the day she leaves China to attend the memorial ceremony for her murdered daughter.
"At this very moment, anyone who has a conscience would understand the deepest pain in my heart," Mrs Liu said.

She writes she will take her grand-daughter back to China.
Mrs Liu said she is grateful to the authorities who have cared for her grand-daughter and expresses a desire to see justice done in the ongoing hunt for Nai Yin Xue - the man wanted in connection with her daughter's death.

Family reunited

Child Youth and Family officials have taken Mrs Liu and Qian Xun to an undisclosed location where they have been provided accommodation, Associate Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove said this afternoon.

[Madeline do mundo bizarro? Ao invés da criança, quem sumiu (um morreu) foram os pais. Ao invés de adultos precisarem de ajuda, foi a criança sozinha. Existem outras considerações, mas elas sã muito provocativas para esse blog, agora não estou com paciência (leia-se tempo) de me explicar ou me defender de desforra. Talvez depois]