Can we get one thing clear? The name of the little girl abandoned by her father at a Melbourne railway station is not Pumpkin. It never was. It was a convenient and lazy nickname adopted by Australian Police. There is absolutely no excuse for any news media organisationto refer to the little girl by that name ever again.
She was given a name by her parents - Qian Xue - and although, like me, you probably have to ask how it is pronounced, it's really not that difficult - Chan Sheh.
The wee girl faces an uncertain future - her grandmother is likely to get custody but it appears her long-lost stepsister has staked a claim for raising Qian Xue as well.
Although, by all accounts, she is doing well with her foster family in Melbourne, there will come a time when Qian Xue realises that her mother won't be coming to take her home. Apparently, she got very excited when she saw images of her mother on Australian television and took some settling when her mother didn't appear in the room in person.
The poor wee tyke has lost everything - her mother, her father, such as he was, her home - and now a sloppy media wants to take her name from her as well. Is it because they think Pumpkin is a cutesy little name? Or that they think a Chinese name is too hard for the public to comprehend? Or worse, that the public won't care if it's a Chinese name?
Whatever the reason, it is inexcusable to continue calling her Pumpkin. Use her name, you know it.
