KEY POINTS:
National Party MP Pansy Wong wants the Chinese community to help uncover the events surrounding the abandonment of 3-year-old Qian Xun Xue.
Mrs Wong said she often met Qian's father, Nai Yin Xue, on the social circuit because of his role as publisher and editor of the Auckland magazine the Chinese Times.
She said she was taken totally by surprise by the case and was concerned about the mother, who she said seemed a private person.
"It saddens me every time I imagine her [Qian] alone in a strange place without anyone she knows. But no matter what, it's totally unacceptable for a father or parent to abandon a child in those circumstances."
Mrs Wong said Mr Xue was very well known in the Chinese community because of his role at the newspaper and his involvement in martial arts - his high profile meant people had mixed views of him.
"He was known as someone who is in charge of organisations that people tend to criticise. So there are people who would speak favourably of him but he would have his fair share of critics."
Mrs Wong met the family, including Qian, in March at a Sea Scouts event and said Mr Xue was very proud of his daughter.
"[Qian] was just exceptional and everybody made a real fuss of her on the day.
"My observation was that she's definitely very close to her mother. She was with her all the time and they had a real mother-daughter closeness.
"Mr Xue was obviously very proud of the daughter because the first thing he did was to say, 'Pansy Wong, come and meet my daughter. Don't you think she's gorgeous?"'
Mrs Wong said she was trying to get in touch with Qian's maternal grandmother in China.
The MP said she last saw Mr Xue at a performance at Epsom Girls Grammar which he was covering for the paper, but did not speak to him.
Mrs Wong said that yesterday, she asked on Chinese radio for information about the case.
She received an "incredible" number of responses. One caller told her Mr Xue was depressed and had financial and marriage troubles.
She referred callers with information on to the police.
The MP said she was sure that now that people were learning of the case "they will come forward to help the authorities piece together what is happening".
She understood Mr Xue also had a daughter from a previous marriage.
Police have said there is a history of family violence between Mr Xue and his wife An An Xue, for whom they hold fears. "Family violence is news to me," Mrs Wong said, "and I'm sure will be news to a lot of people who know of him."
- NZPA
