一只遺落包包 40年父女相認了

一只遺落包包 40年父女相認了

【聯合報╱記者盧禮賓／台北縣報導】

2008.01.23 03:36 am

三重市七十七歲蔡漢朝拿著年輕時的照片（左），及相隔四十年後才相認的父女合照（右）。
記者盧禮賓／攝影

台北縣七十七歲的蔡漢朝，四十年前在香港與越南女子的一場戀情，不僅讓他多了一名女兒，更巧的是從未謀面的女兒來台幫傭，雇主竟然是自己父親。他說：「從沒想到在一起十天，會種下愛的結晶。」

蔡漢朝昨天打電話到越南，陳氏康在電話中哭了起來，擔心他的病痛。他說，陳氏康育有兩名小孩，因丈夫沒責任感，上月結束在台幫傭工作返回越南後，已辦理離婚手續，希望政府幫忙，讓女兒能來台團聚，陪伴他安享晚年。

蔡漢朝育有三男三女，目前一個人住在台北縣三重市長壽街。四十年前已婚的蔡漢朝到香港出差，在百貨公司男飾部，邂逅越南籍十八、九歲的女店員何氏花，十天後他回台灣，短暫的婚外情就此結束，一隔四十年，音訊全無。

十年前，蔡漢朝的太太中風，雇用過多名看護，四年前最後一名看護陳氏康來了八個月，因他太太去世，陳氏康被轉介去金門。後來，陳氏康因東西遺留在蔡家，蔡漢朝幫忙尋找，發現竟然是他當年給何氏花的信物，他的照片和戒指。

原來，陳氏康是他和女友十天露水姻緣所生的女兒，來台當看護，竟然就在他家，只是在同一個屋簷下相處八個月，卻相見不相識。他和女兒在九十四年相認，也經抽血檢驗ＤＮＡ確定兩人是父女關係。

蔡漢朝說，早年在一家磁磚公司擔任外務工作，卅七歲那年到香港出差，邂逅越南籍的何氏花。兩人一起住了幾天，省下旅館費；回台灣前，他送給何氏花一張照片和一個刻有自己姓名的金戒指紀念。三個月後，再到香港出差，就找不到女友了，原來，對方因身體不好返回越南養病。

何氏花回越南後生下女兒陳氏康，兩個月後病逝，她生前將蔡漢朝所給的照片、戒指交給姊姊，請她姊姊在女兒出嫁那天告知身世，設法尋找生父。陳氏康真的來台尋父，但沒有提到尋找生父的事情，隨身攜帶的照片和戒指，也沒有拿出來過。直到轉到金門後發現生父照片和戒指不見了，向警方求助，警方連絡蔡漢朝，才促成這對父女相認。

http://udn.com/NEWS/SOCIETY/SOC5/4192288.shtml

【2008/01/23 聯合報】

Vietnamese reunited with Taiwanese dad

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A Vietnamese caregiver has been reunited with her Taiwanese biological father after 40 years of separation thanks to an old photo, a gold ring and aid from a kind-hearted police officer.

Tran Thi Kham came to Taiwan for the first time in 2004 to work as a caregiver, harboring a dream of finding her father whom she had never met. After many twists and turns, she discovered that her first employer, Tsai Chao-han, was in fact her biological father.

According to Tran, she was raised by her birth mother's sister, who kept secret her origin until the eve of her marriage in 1989. Her aunt told her that her birth mother met her father in Hong Kong in 1967. Her mother was pregnant when she had to return to her hometown in northern Vietnam to care for her ailing mother. At the time, Vietnam was mired in a civil war, so the Taiwanese man did not accompany his lover to Vietnam and instead gave her his photo and a gold ring as mementos.

Her mother was unable to return to Hong Kong and died two months after giving birth to Tran. On her deathbed, she asked her sister to care for her daughter and divulged that the man in the photo was Taiwanese and the baby's father.

After learning her story, Tran said she vowed to find her biological father. She later gave birth to a daughter and a son, but her marriage was not a happy one. She often fell victim to domestic violence and was the family's only breadwinner. She decided to travel to Taiwan to realize her lifetime wish after her two children grew up.

Through the arrangement of manpower agents, Tran was employed by the Tsai family in Taipei County's Hsinchuang City to care for Tsai's wife, who was disabled after suffering a stroke.

Seven months later, the woman died and Tran went to work as a caregiver on the outlying island of Kinmen.

In late 2005, Tran told a police officer at Kinmen's Chincheng police precinct, Ku Ke-ya, while he was conducting a household call, that she had lost her most important mementos that might help her find her father.

Through their conversations, Ku had the idea that the articles might have been left in the home of Tran's first Taiwanese employer, so he telephoned Tsai and asked him to search for Tran's bag in which she kept the photo of her father and the ring.

Tsai found the bag in his late wife's bedroom and out of curiosity and with Tran's consent, opened the bag and found the photo -- of himself in his 30s. On the back of the photo was inscribed his name and date of birth.

Tsai, now in his late 70s, then traveled to Kinmen to meet Tran with the assistance of Ku. After listening to Tran's life story, a tearful Tsai told a baffled Tran that she is his daughter.

Subsequent DNA tests proved their blood relations. Tsai was originally scheduled to accompany Tran to Vietnam earlier this month to complete legal procedures for recognizing Tran as his daughter, but a relapse of his heart disease ended his travel plan. Tran returned to Vietnam alone in mid-January in the hope of changing her nationality.

Ku told CNA reporters Tuesday that he is hopeful the Taiwan government will provide assistance for Tran to obtain Taiwanese citizenship so that she can return to Taipei to care for her senile father.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2008/01/23/140149/Vietnamese%2Dreunited.htm