With at least 5,500 children orphaned by China's massive earthquake and aftershocks, tens of thousands of Chinese couples are calling government offices to register to adopt them, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Chinese government is expected to ease its one-child restriction for adoptive parents. A rule already in place allows childless parents who adopt an earthquake orphan to also have their own biological child.
"I already have a boy, really a naughty one," said a mom hoping to adopt a daughter. "It makes a nice balance to have a boy and a girl." (More China stories.)