Man Abducted at Age 4 Reunited with Mum after 33 Years through Map of his Village he Drew from Memory
- A married man who was abducted from his village at the young age of 4 has finally being reunited with his biological mum after 33 years
- The reunion was thanks to a map drawing of his hometown he did that went viral on social media and was matched by the Chinese police with a small village
- After DNA tests, Li Jingwei and his biological mother were reunited on Saturday, January 1 in Yunnan province, China
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A Chinese man, Li Jingwei, who was snatched by a child-trafficking gang in 1989 has recently being reunited with his mother.
Daily Mail reports that Li grew up in Henan, 1,200 miles from his original home in Yunnan province after his abduction at age 4.
A memory map of his village, his saving grace
The married man's reunion with his mum was set in motion after he shared a hand-drawn map of his hometown on Chinese video-sharing social media platform Douyin on 24 December 2021, BBC News reports.
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Police then matched the hand-drawn map to a small village and to a woman whose son had disappeared over three decades ago.
DNA tests were conducted on the duo, their relationship as mother and son confirmed after which they were reunited on New Year's Day in Yunnan province on Saturday, January 1.
A video capturing their emotional reunion showed Li first removing his mum's face mask carefully in order to properly examine her face. The young man then breaks down in tears before hugging his mum.
Social media reacts
@marmec1 remarked:
"My God how and why are the children abducted in Chine, they became slaves or something. I can't believe this in 2022."
@arif.lau stated:
"This is truly amazing!! It must be crazy to see their son after all this time !!"
@vivaciouss_dreamer wrote:
"This is an incredible example of the resilience & resourcefulness of the human spirit I hope the family is able to mend old wounds & create wonderful memories moving forward."
@on.thebutton opined:
"I’m so happy he’s back home and safe. It’s tragic to think about how many children and are going through this…"
Man reunites with son who was snatched 24 years ago
Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported that a Chinese man had reunited with his son who was snatched 24 years ago.
According to a report by the BBC, Gangtang's son had been snatched aged two in front of their home in the province of Shandong.
It is said that the son was taken to the neighbouring Henan province and sold there by the kidnappers. China's Ministry of Public Security has revealed that the police were able to trace the son's identity using DNA testing.
Gangtang and his wife cried and hugged their son when they were reunited in Liaocheng, Shandong.
"My baby, you came back," cried the mother.
Gangtang told reporters that he believes life will be better now that the child has been found.
Source: Briefly News
Stefan Mack (Editor) Stefan Mack is an English and history teacher who has broadened his horizons with journalism. He enjoys experiencing the human condition through the world's media. Stefan keeps Briefly News' readers entertained during the weekend. He graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2010 with a Bachelor of Education (BEd), majoring in History and English. Stefan has been writing for Briefly News for a number of years and has covered mainstream to human interest articles.
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.