Civil affairs authorities in China's quake-hit Sichuan Province on Saturday issued the first list of 88 children orphaned in the May 12 earthquake for adoption.

The process is restricted to qualified Chinese mainland families in line with guidelines jointly instituted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the provincial government of Sichuan after the earthquake.

"Of 532 children who lost both parents in the earthquake, 240 were under the age of 14. Most of them had their grandparents or other relatives as guardians. Only 88 orphans currently need care," said Chen Kefu, deputy head of the provincial Civil Affairs Department.

He said families that met the regulations for adoption could apply through civil affairs departments in the children's birthplaces from Saturday.

According to the guidelines, only childless Chinese aged over 30 would be considered as adoptive parents.

The ministry also stipulated that only children under the age of 14 could be adopted, and those older than 10 should be consulted on their preferences.

Tens of thousands of families across China overwhelmed civil affairs departments in Sichuan with telephone calls asking to adopt orphans for a week after the magnitude-8 earthquake on May 12.

"The status of orphan can only be determined with death certificates of both parents, which should be given by police or hospital departments. Those whose parents are missing must wait for a court to declare their parents dead after two years," said Jiang Tao, a Sichuan adoption official.

He said his colleagues were still working to find relatives of orphans.

Sichuan's civil affairs departments gave custody priority to the children's relatives.

The provincial government has found temporary foster homes or school boardings and provided an allowance of 600 yuan (US$88) per month for each orphan.

The tremor claimed nearly 70,000 lives, left thousands of others missing and millions homeless in Sichuan and Gansu provinces.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2008)