By Dwight Daniels

　　An ugly tug-of-war with racial and international political implications is now attracting global news attention. At the heart of the case is a five-year-old Chinese girl and the only family she's ever really known.

　　Four years ago, the little girl was given up by her Chinese immigrant biological parents to foster care in the US state of Tennessee.

　　The parents, Shaoqiang He and Qin Luo, seemingly unconcerned for their daughter's immediate welfare, said they were down and out and could not care for the child. In the US, when parents become so destitute that they cannot support their children, the State temporarily takes over.

　　But now an American judge has sided against returning little Anna Mae He to the Hes', and ruled she should stay with her foster family - parents and four siblings who love and value her.

　　Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers' decision, though, has outraged some Chinese-American groups who feel he has been unfair. Indeed, the trial was watched closely by Chinese-Americans and Chinese diplomats attended the early hearings to ensure the Hes received fair treatment.

　　In the trial, the Hes argued they only gave up Anna Mae because of what one may generously call a series of bad breaks - terrible financial and legal problems that befell them in the late 1990s.

　　To be fair, let's look at the facts as reported in news accounts.

　　Shaoqiang He came from China to study for a doctorate in business at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. That is when he first began to have serious problems. Another student at the university alleged that he sexually assaulted her in 1998.

　　While He was later acquitted of the charge, the university stripped him of his scholarship and small teaching salary. His visa was revoked as deportation proceedings began.

　　A custody battle soon ensued, and got uglier and uglier as time dragged on. The Hes said they gave up Anna Mae because they were "out-of-work" and destitute, and couldn't care for the girl.

　　However, the judge noted in the trial that Shaoqiang He admitted to immigration authorities he had lied under oath about his income and then again on a visa application for his wife. Apparently, He said he has the means to support a family when, in fact, he does not.

　　The judge also termed Qin Luo, Anna Mae's mother as "unstable", noting she demonstrated a pattern of irrational behaviour in court, such as sobbing when asked difficult questions, while quickly regaining her composure for others.

　　"Mrs. He's courtroom hysterics were calculated," the judge said in court.

　　"Both Mr. and Mrs. He have shown themselves to be persons who do not consider themselves bound by the rule of law," Childers said as he took away their parental rights last week, ruling that Anna Mae's best interests would be served by staying with the family she regards as her own.

　　Childers said Jerry and Louise Baker should be allowed to adopt Anna Mae unless his ruling is overturned.

　　The Hes, who now have had two other children in the US, face deportation and have vowed to appeal. A Chinese citizens group says it will help pay their legal bills.

　　"This is a typical travesty of justice," Shaoqiang He said after hearing the decision. Next to him, his wife cried uncontrollably.

　　The Bakers argued that Anna Mae has become part of their family. Pulling her away from brothers and sisters would be emotionally devastating for the girl.

　　They are correct. And what is clear is that the Hes were fly-by-night parents, at least at the time they gave up Anna Mae. It's likely they've used the birth of their other two children - American citizens by birthright - to gum up the immigration works some more.

　　A parent should never give up a child, no matter how tough the going gets, or if he or she does, it's with the understanding that all bets are off. Their parenting days are over.

　　To be blunt, if you aren't ready financially, emotionally or physically to care for a child, don't have one. It's that simple.

　　As tough as it had to be for him, Judge Childers saw through the muck and mire in this case and did the right thing. Ethnicity, blood, and nationality mean little when it comes to parenting. Love, care and nurturing mean everything.

　　"We're so relieved and proud that Anna is going to be allowed to wake up in the same bed that she woke up in since she was three weeks old," Jerry Baker said. "One day, we're going to be allowed to walk her down an aisle when she gets married."

　　Anna Mae is in the right place.

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