Flight attendant Lucienne Chen claims she was on board when the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Alaska and criticised the mother on Facebook for concealing the pregnancy.
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She also wrote that when the woman’s water broke and she went into labour, she was advised to lie down and prepare for delivery.
(This couldn’t be verified according to The AP.) A passenger told Inside Edition, however, that when she told customs about what happened on the plane, she was informed that women coming to America from other countries to give birth is not uncommon.
Video footage of the birth shows the woman delivering a baby girl and the airline’s crew members were appealing to passengers for medical assistance.
The insurance firm of China Airlines will decide what to do.
The mother, whose surname is Jian, was photographed covering her face at Taipei airport without her child after United States immigration authorities ordered she be deported, Shanghaiist reports.
Minister of Transport and Communications Chen Jian-yu said the airlines (of which the ministry is the largest shareholder) will claim compensation for extra costs incurred due to the childbirth, EFE reported on Tuesday. According to Taiwanese aviation regulations, woman are prohibited from flying after 32 weeks of pregnancy unless they have a certified doctor’s note.
The news has sparked an online discussion about “birth tourism”. Many people slam Hsiao as selfish for putting her baby at risk. Susan Morgan, spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Social Services, explained that if baby is eligible for the U.S. citizenship if flight is the first place where the child has arrived, even when born in worldwide air space. We welcome the children and families to move here.
She recalled that the 1980s was a flawless time for journalists because Taiwan was undergoing a democratization process as it had just lifted martial law.
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“One of the reasons why this may have become so big is because of resentment about class privilege, and also the implication that Taiwanese citizenship is somehow devalued”, says Prof Lan. That’s because she may have planned to give birth in American airspace in order for her baby to gain American citizenship. Jian was deported back to Taiwan.
