The shocking case of a Chinese teenage who died in his own suicide 17 years ago, after he was sold to his parents as a baby by his Chinese parents, shocked the nation.
Liu Xuezhou died on Monday morning at a beach in Sanya, on China’s southern Hainan Island hours after posting an apparent suicide note which said he had been ‘abandoned twice by his biological parents’.
When he uploaded a December 6 video, the 17-year old shared his story and launched a search to find his biological family.
However, after a joyous first reunion, the relationship quickly turned sour and he was once more rejected by his parents. His mom even blocked him on social media.
Liu revealed to viewers, during his search, that he had been born somewhere in Hebei between 2004 and 2006. He was then sold by his parents and adopted by another family.
Liu claims that his parents, who adopted him at four years of age, later died in an accidental fireworks firework explosion.
Liu Xuezhou was pictured with a man who is believed to be his biological Father. He was reported as having been found dead after his parents refused him a second chance. Through a social media search, he had managed to track down his biological parents.
He lived then with his adoptive mom’s parents (he refers to his grandparents as his grandparents) and survived on the child support he received from them and his relatives.
On his Weibo page, the teenager stated that he had been working part time to help pay his tuition.
Later in December, Liu posted to Weibo that he had been able to track down his biological parents.
Local reports said police were made aware of Liu’s search and were able to find the teenager’s father through DNA testing on December 15.
He first met his father in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei, of December 27, according to Sina News.
Lui shared photos on Weibo that allegedly showed him with his father. He wrote, ‘We have met! and thanked all those who supported him on his quest.
Lui said later that his father had refused to accept him, and that he told his son that he already raised another family after separating from his mother.
In January the teenager managed to find his mother and tracked her down. However, he also refused to pay her financial support.
Beijing News said that she stated to him she wished for a peaceful lifestyle and added that her family was also important. Reports suggested that his biological parents had remarried but maintained separate families.
According to the news outlet, his two biological parents then pooled their money together and paid for him to go on holiday to Sanya, which he accepted.
Local reports say Liu Xuezhou was found dead on Monday at a Sanya beach on China’s southern Hainan Island. After posting a December 6 video, the 17-year old posted it online and launched a search to find his biological relatives.
Lui, who was abandoned as a baby, reportedly asked for more, asking his parents to either move in with him or to purchase him a nearby house.
Instead, his biological parents disapproved and cut him off. According to reports, his mother even banned him from the Chinese messaging app WeChat.
Lui denied that he asked them for a home. He said he just wanted to have somewhere to stay.
The teenager later said he would sue his parents for abandonment, writing in a post on Weibo claiming that he would ‘see them in court’.
Lui stated that as the story gained more online attention, people started sending him abusive messages. The Insider reported that as of Monday, Lui’s funeral conversations had received more than 150 million hits.
Insider reports that Lui had more than 160,000 followers.
Lui shared what looked like a suicide note via social media on Sunday night. This sparked panic in his followers, who asked him to not kill himself.
They tried to alert the local authorities of his location, and they started a search.
Lui (pictured) uploaded what appears to have been a suicide message on social media. It sparked panic among his fans who encouraged him to stop taking his own life.
In the 10,000-word message, Lui wrote: ‘In the past couple of days, there have been people attacking and cursing me on Douyin and Weibo. I’ve endured many kinds of curses.
He added: ‘The sun shines on the sea, and I also belong to the sea. This is the best place to end your life.
His life was recounted in the post, which said that he’d been abandoned twice by his biological family throughout his entire life.
His aunt later confirmed that he had been found dead hours after he posted the note, with reports saying he was found on a beach in Sanya.
Since then, his Weibo account has been overflowing with comments from followers who have expressed their sympathies for Lui as well as anger at his cyberbullies.
According to BBC, one said that he was too traumatized by cyberbullying to be a parent, much less a child.
Another said: ‘I hope in your next life you find parents who protect you, brothers and sisters who love you and live a life without worries’.
Call the Samaritans at 116123 for confidential assistance, or visit samaritans.org