KEY POINTS:
Xiao Ping Liu - today reunited with her granddaughter Qian Xun Xue - has written a letter to the New Zealand public thanking them for their support.
In the open letter, Mrs Liu also pays special thanks to the police in New Zealand, Australia and the US.
Mrs Liu arrived in Auckland today from China and was whisked out of the airport to a meeting with three-year-old Qian Xun.
The toddler arrived in Auckland from Melbourne in secret yesterday with a caregiver on a Qantas flight.
The Herald Sun's website reported Qian Xun, who became known as Pumpkin after being abandoned by her father at a Melbourne railway station nine days ago, left the city at 10.30am local time yesterday (8.30am NZT) on a Qantas flight to Auckland.
Authorities in the United States continue to search for her father Nai Yin Xue. He is accused of abducting Qian Xun and murdering his wife and Qian Xun's mother, An An Liu.
New Zealand Chinese Herald editor Jerry Yang received Mrs Liu's letter. He said the it was originally written in Chinese by Mrs Liu and translated in China before being sent to an unnamed associate of Mrs Liu in Auckland.
Mr Yang said the man who gave him the letter is a close friend of Mrs Liu and comes from the same city in China.
"I think she wants to say thanks to everybody who helped her family and her only daughter," Mr Yang said.
Mr Yang said the English translation of the letter was literal and some of the emotion in the language had been lost.
"The English translation is what we call Chinglish. It's a word-for-word translation," he said.
Mrs Liu refers to Qian Xun Xue as "Xun Xun". Mr Yang said this was an affectionate modification of Qian Xun's name.
In the letter, Mrs Liu says she is writing on mid-Autumn Day, a day for family members to come together but for Mrs Liu, it is the day she leaves China to attend the memorial ceremony for her murdered daughter.
"At this very moment, anyone who has a conscience would understand the deepest pain in my heart," Mrs Liu said.
She writes she will take her grand-daughter back to China.
Mrs Liu said she is grateful to the authorities who have cared for her grand-daughter and expresses a desire to see justice done in the ongoing hunt for Nai Yin Xue - the man wanted in connection with her daughter's death.
Family reunited
Child Youth and Family officials have taken Mrs Liu and Qian Xun to an undisclosed location where they have been provided accommodation, Associate Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove said this afternoon.
"They are, I am advised, in good health, but emotionally (it is) very tough," Mr Cosgrove said.
"They are comfortable, obviously, and officials are doing everything they can."
Child Youth and Family were now responsible for supporting the pair during their time in New Zealand.
"I am advised they are obviously distressed, and we want to ensure their emotional condition is respected. They appear to be well but obviously now they embark on what could be described as an absolute tragedy."
"The objective obviously now is to provide every facilitation we can to assist this family to knit their lives back together again."
Mrs Liu and her supporters had been given flexible visas for six months "so as to allow for transition".
Mr Cosgrove said he was unaware how long she planned to stay in New Zealand.
He urged media to allow the family to recover in peace.
"This is not a celebrity gig. This is not some kind of rock concert. These are individuals that have been through some of the worst and most tragic circumstances."
"What they don't know is a (media) scrum. We would hope they could have their privacy respected and protected so that they can get a path back to some degree of normality."
'Sunny and happy'
CYP regional director Marion Heeney said Qian Xun had settled since arriving back in Auckland, but had been eagerly waiting for her grandmother.
While she had been distressed at times, she was generally sunny and happy.
She had been chatting away and playing with her new toys but her focus has been on seeing her grandmother.
Despite the love and affection shown by those caring for Qian Xun, everyone had been new to her, Ms Heeney said.
"She needs and deserves to feel safe and secure with a family member that she knows well," she said.
"There is clearly a great deal of love and caring between Qian Xun and her nana."
Ms Heeney said it was important that the family had time to grieve together in private before making plans for the future.
"Let's not forget that while they are so very happy to be together, these events are underpinned by the tragic, sudden loss of a mother and of a daughter," she said.
"We ask that that be respected."
The plan now was to bring as many family members as possible together to consider the future, Ms Heeney said.
Issues discussed at a family group conference would not be released to the public because of the need to maintain confidentiality.
It's expected Ms Liu will seek custody of Qian Xun.
Qian Xun's lawyer, Raymond Huo, said there had been three requests from people wanting to adopt her.
He said one of the requests had come from a young Chinese family in Sydney who sent 10 photos showing their house and family.
Mr Huo said he had passed the requests on to Qian Xun's grandmother.
Police today said the ceremonial sword belonging to Mr Xue had been found in Ms Liu's car, abandoned at Auckland International Airport.
The sword had been confiscated - along with Mr Xue's passport - by police but Mr Xue picked the items up shortly before leaving the country.
Detective Inspector David Pearson said it was still sealed in a police exhibit bag.
Mr Xue left Melbourne hours after dumping Qian Qun at Melbourne's Southern Cross railway station on September 15.
An An Liu's body was found last Wednesday in the boot of his car, which was parked outside the family's Auckland home.
- AAP, NZ HERALD STAFF, NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA
