KEY POINTS:
Little Pumpkin's half-sister Grace Xue has suffered a vicious backlash from Chinese community members who are accusing her of trying to cash in on her sibling's tragic plight.
Qian Xun Xue has yet to meet her half-sister but that hasn't stopped Ms Xue from establishing the "Little Pumpkin Trust" to ensure the 3-year-old becomes financially secure.
Ms Xue's comments last week that she might consider adopting Qian Xun and the announcement of the trust have prompted a fierce reaction from many Chinese, leaving the mother of one surprised and saddened.
Dozens of people have posted messages on internet chat sites that imply Ms Xue is only out to profit from Qian Xun and that she should back off and let the child be adopted by her grandmother, who has flown to New Zealand from China.
Some people have gone so far as to wish the 27-year-old Auckland woman dead, while others have placed a curse on her young son.
Ms Xue's spokesman, Tony Edmonds, said she was aware of the comments being made about her and had taken legal advice.
"It's hurtful and the early legal advice is that it's defamatory."
Edmonds said many of the defamatory allegations being posted about Ms Xue seemed to be the result of cultural differences.
"She's philosophical more than upset, perhaps a little sad about it.
"Grace's advice to me is 'we are dealing with real cultural differences and that's what's behind it all'."
Mr Edmonds rebutted allegations that Ms Xue started the trust only to make money for herself.
It was set up so that could not happen, he said.
"She has consistently said she wants nothing from this other than to help her newly found sister. The financial administration of this now falls on six trustees. Grace is but one."
Meanwhile, a poll running on Skykiwi.com which asks readers who should take custody of Qian Xun strongly favours the little girl's grandmother Xiao Ping Liu over Ms Xue.
In an interview this week, Mrs Liu told Hong-Kong's Phoenix TV that she burst into tears when she saw security footage of her granddaughter at the Melbourne train station.
She said Qian Xun had spoken of her parents, saying: "Mummy is asleep now. She got up and then went to sleep again. Daddy left me at the train station. I don't know where he has gone."
Mrs Liu said her granddaughter grew anxious every time she left the room.
"She is worried that I just disappear at any moment and abandon her somewhere she didn't know."
At a farewell ceremony for Qian Xun's mother, An An Liu, this week Mrs Liu said, "I can't tell you how deep my sorrow is at this moment. My daughter died so young.
"I never got to come to New Zealand to visit her since she came. An An told me not long ago that she'd decided to take Qian Xun back to China. We could then reunite and go to see the 2008 Olympics. It's a promise now that could never be realised."
Qian Xun's Story
* Qian Xun Xue, whom police nicknamed Pumpkin, was left at a Melbourne train station two weeks ago by her father Nai Yin Xue, after he allegedly killed her mother An An Liu in Auckland.
* Nai Yin Xue's estranged daughter Grace came forward after seeing stories about her half-sister and said she would like to adopt her. She also established a trust for her.
* Qian Xun's grandmother Xiao Ping Liu has flown to New Zealand from China saying she wants to adopt the little girl. Grace said she wants the best for Qian Xun and might not attempt to adopt her.
- NZPA
