♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -I think before going into the film, it's important for viewers to know sort of the historical context surrounding the rise and fall of the Chinese birth tourism industry in Los Angeles.

The One Child policy was still in effect, so that influenced a lot of people wanting to come.

Hong Kong had just shut its doors to pregnant Chinese tourists who were doing the same thing.

I believe it was $4.6 billion of investment of Chinese money in the U.S. economy in 2016.

It was the high point.

It was before Trump and the trade wars.

It was before COVID hit.

So it's interesting to note that this phenomenon that you're about to really dive into happened and was made possible by the height of U.S./China relations where the U.S. was welcoming, so to speak, the spoils of China's rapid economic rise.

It was the confluence of these sort of events that catapulted this idea of having an American baby into the Chinese public consciousness.

Part of the story is the impossibility of fully understanding such a deep and complex ecosystem.

For audiences to sort of undergo this process of coming into confrontation with their own internal biases, being okay with the questions that arise to get into the human stories of the dreams, anxieties of a group of people from mainland China, middle class, that has never before been represented to Western audiences at this level of intimacy before.

I think it tells us a lot about Chinese society, but it also tells us a lot about our own society.

[ Vehicles passing ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Cellphone ringing ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Vehicles passing ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] -Bye-bye, bye-bye.

[ El Chicano's "Sabor A Mi" plays ] ♪♪♪ [ Camera shutter clicking ] [ Birds chirping ] ♪♪♪ [ Camera shutter clicking ] -♪ Tanto tiempo disfrutamos ♪ ♪ De este amor ♪ ♪ Nuestras almas se acercaron ♪ ♪ Tanto así ♪ ♪ Que yo guardo tu sabor ♪ ♪ Como tú llevas también ♪ ♪ Sabor a mí ♪ ♪ Si negaras mi presencia en tu vivir ♪ ♪ Bastaría con abrazarte y conversar ♪ ♪ Tanta vida yo te di ♪ ♪ Que por fuerzas tienes ya ♪ ♪ Sabor a mí ♪ ♪♪♪ [ Conversing in Mandarin ] -[ Laughs ] [ Camera shutter clicks ] [ Woman speaking Mandarin ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Mid-tempo music playing over P.A. ]

[ Indistinct singing ] [ Airplane engine humming ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] -[ Laughs ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] -Um... [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Conversations continue ] [ Baby cooing ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Thudding ] [ Vehicles passing ] [ Indistinct conversations in distance ] [ Birds chirping ] [ Keys jangle, lock disengages ] -[ Groans ] [ Baby cooing ] No!

No, no, no, no, no, no.

[ Vacuum cleaning whirring ] [ Whirring continues ] [ Baby crying ] [ Rain pounding ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Food sizzling ] Whoo!

Ee!

Ee!

[ Speaking Mandarin ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] -[ Inhales sharply ] [ Cooing ] [ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Baby coos ] [ Man speaking Mandarin on TV ] "Y-M." -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Video game sound effects ] [ Baby crying ] [ Woman speaking Mandarin ] [ Up-tempo music playing ] [ Singing in Mandarin ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Conversing in Mandarin ] -Okay, begin.

-I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic, for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

-Alright, thank you.

-That's really my presentation.

I just wanted to reach out to you and let you know we're here.

The reason we're here is to work with the community.

We want you to come to us when you have questions.

We want you to call us.

We get calls all the time, from being -- we get noise, we get people next door, we have a maternity home, and he's gonna give a full report on that.

-What do we do?

"Building and Safety."

I'm gonna be talking on behalf of "Building and Safety."

I cannot say anything about the other agencies, and I can't even talk about the meetings that we had.

I'm sorry that I cannot say much about it.

But right now, "Building and Safety," the only thing we're doing is making sure these houses are safe for these type of occupancies.

-And you've got people that are living in other places.

Their safety seems to be -- You know, what I was thinking -- how do they know that they're gonna be safe with all these people coming into an apartment building?

-You're talking like a big apartment complex?

-This is a large apartment complex.

-I know which one you're talking about exactly, and actually that was a part of the -- There was much more than one unit there.

There have been maybe seven, eight, nine units.

There was even one of them that was being used only and exclusively for kitchen.

One for kitchen, one for laundry.

-It's been going on for years and years.

Back in the old days, it used to be in Hong Kong because a lot of these kids were born and they became British citizens.

-Mm-hmm.

-You know, now it moved to New York, from New York to San Francisco.

Now we have it here.

But it's been going on for a long time.

These are very well organized people.

I mean, they have seminars in China where they sit all these people around -- And I didn't know this.

The FBI is telling me.

They sit all these people and they give them seminars and tell them how much it's gonna cost them, the benefit of being a U.S. citizen and yadda yadda yadda.

So, they're very well organized.

I mean, they're way ahead of the government here.

I mean, we've been trying.

We tried the taxes.

We tried Homeland Security, We tried, I mean, every-- Health Department.

There's not much we can do, really, you know.

-And sometimes you can go in there and you can, let's say, shut down three apartments, okay?

You shut down three apartments.

That organization that was leasing those three, okay, they'll come in and they'll bring somebody else.

And I'll walk in, and I'm gonna lease this unit and that unit, or I'll lease this, you come in and lease that, you come in and lease this.

And guess what.

You get paid a hundred bucks.

You get paid a hundred bucks.

This guy gets paid a hundred bucks, and then three families move in again with maternities.

I mean, the methodology of actually really getting to where they want when it comes to apartments specifically has been incredibly -- I don't want to say ingenious, but it's really out of the box.

There are people that are doing this full time.

[ Car alarm blaring ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Airplane engine humming ] [ Baby cooing ] [ Baby cooing, water splashing ] -[ Speaking indistinctly ] [ Baby crying in distance ] [ Vehicle approaching ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Laughter ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] -[ Singing in Mandarin ] [ Cellphone ringing ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] -I've had people report to me that in the middle of the night they hear babies suddenly crying, very young babies.

They smell rubbish in the trash.

There's blood in the trash.

And what can these people do if that happens?

Who do they report it to?

-Now, from my experience, from what I've seen throughout these investigations, and from the information that I've received, most of the babies are not born in these homes.

They're born in some clinic, some hospital, some doctor's office, but most of them are not born in these maternity boarding homes.

-So, my thought is, we, the community, people who live in these neighborhoods, we're the watchdogs.

We are sending in the complaints.

Every complaint to the government must be answered.

So, if you hear babies wailing or crying and you think it's a birth, that's a complaint.

The complaint is, "I am worried about this baby's healthcare.

"I am worried about the mother's postnatal care.

Are they getting it in this home?"

-We don't have the resources to go door by door to see who has a maternity boarding home.

So we have to rely on complaints.

But if you do complain about them, we'll put it on the list and we're gonna go out there.

-This parking issue is a deal.

You cannot pass on our street.

And I've been in Rowland Heights since '68.

And you cannot pass.

Anybody, even a paramedic cannot get down my street when both sides are full.

-Once again, it goes back to, if they meet the threshold, they have four people in that house, only four people, they're okay.

According to our code, they're okay.

-It's the 14th Amendment.

You get that situation taken care of, and all of this stuff will come to a screeching halt.

There will be no incentive to come here to get their -- it's called the "anchor baby," okay?

So, all this, we're just running around in circles here, folks.

Until that happens, it's gonna continue what it is because you're holding out the carrot.

You're holding out the apple.

And you think these people are stupid?

To the contrary.

As long as you're gonna give it -- freebies -- they're gonna take it, and they're the smart ones.

-Hear, hear!

[ Applause ] -36 in Hacienda Heights, 99 in Rowland Heights... [ Crowd murmuring ] ...4 in La Puente, and 5 in Pasadena.

Now, there's probably more than that in the county, but these are the complaints that we receive.

[ Crowd murmuring ] [ Gossip's "Heavy Cross" plays ] ♪♪♪ -[ Speaking indistinctly ] ♪♪♪ -[ Vocalizing ] ♪♪♪ -[ Speaking Mandarin ] ♪♪♪ -♪ It's a cruel, cruel world to face on your own ♪ ♪ A heavy cross to carry along ♪ ♪ The lights are on, but everyone's gone ♪ ♪ And it's cruel ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ It's a funny way to make ends meet ♪ ♪ When the lights are out on every street ♪ ♪ It feels alright ♪ -Come on in, folks.

-♪ But never complete ♪ ♪ Without joy ♪ ♪ I checked you ♪ ♪ If it's already been done, undo it ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ It takes two ♪ ♪ It's up to me and you to prove it ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ On the rainy nights, even the coldest days ♪ ♪ You're moments ago, but seconds away ♪ ♪ The principle of nature, it's true but ♪ ♪ It's a cruel world ♪ -Ahh!

[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Laughter ] ♪♪♪ [ Laughter ] -[ Laughs ] [ Electronic humming ] [ Indistinct speaking on TV ] -[ Sighs ] Mm.

[ Water running ] [ Water stops ] [ Indistinct speaking on TV ] [ Clattering ] [ Conversations in Mandarin, laughter ] [ Beep ] [ Cellphone chimes ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Raps table ] [ Tiles clattering ] [ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Baby crying ] [ Crying continues ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] Uh-huh.

[ Baby crying ] [ Door opens ] [ Crying continues ] [ Ultrasound whooshing ] [ Ding ] [ Ding ] [ Ding ] [ Ding ] [ Ding ] [ Ding ] [ Indistinct speaking ] [ Door closes ] -Oh, I think it goes up.

[ Ultrasound whooshing ] -[ Sighs ] [ Groaning lightly ] -[ Speaking indistinctly ] -[ Sighs ] [ Groaning lightly ] [ Line ringing ] [ Groaning ] [ Breathing heavily ] [ Cellphone ringing ] -Okay?

-Push.

[ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Cellphone ringing ] -Right there.

Push.

-Hold here tight.

Don't move.

-[ Speaking Mandarin ] -What time is it?

[ Indistinct speaking ] -55.

-55?

-Okay.

[ Baby crying ] Okay, good.

[ Cellphone ringing ] [ Crying continues ] [ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Baby crying ] -Mm-hmm.

[ Ding ] -[ Sniffling ] [ Crickets chirping ] [ Toilet flushing ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Mid-tempo music playing ] [ Singing in Mandarin ] ♪♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪♪ [ Whistle blowing ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Horns honking ] [ Rustling ] -[ Laughs ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Mid-tempo music playing ] [ Baby crying ] [ Camera shutter clicks ] [ Camera shutter clicks ] [ Baby crying ] [ Camera shutter clicks ] [ Baby cooing ] Okay.

[ Baby cooing ] [ Both cooing ] [ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Baby cooing ] -Meow.

Meow!

[ Baby cooing ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Crickets chirping ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Baby crying ] [ Laughter ] [ Baby crying in distance ] [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Food sizzling ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] -Ah.

[ Baby crying ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] [ Crying continues ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] -Mm.

Mm.

Mm.

[ Dinging ] [ Birds chirping ] -[ Crying ] [ Sniffling ] [ Inhales deeply ] [ Sniffling ] [ Birds chirping ] [ Airplane engine humming ] [ Indistinct announcing over P.A. ]

[ Indistinct conversations ] [ Vehicles passing, horns honking ] [ Conversing in Mandarin ] -[ Clears throat ] [ Coughs ] [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Machine beeps ] [ Mandarin dialogue plays on phone ] [ Singing in Mandarin ] [ Soft music playing ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Horn honks ] [ Laughs ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Whirring ] [ Footsteps ] [ Indistinct speaking ] -So, this one for here?

Okay.

[ Roberto Carlos' "Amigo" playing ] ♪♪♪ -♪ En ciertos momentos difíciles que hay en la vida ♪ ♪ Buscamos a quien nos ayude a encontrar la salida ♪ -Yeah, I know.

-♪ Y aquella palabra de fuerza y de fe que me has dado ♪ ♪ Me da la certeza que siempre estuviste a mi lado ♪ [ Conversing in Mandarin ] [ Birds chirping ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Mid-tempo music playing ] [ Conversations in Mandarin ] -[ Screams ] -[ Singing in Mandarin ] [ Soft music playing ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Up-tempo music playing ] ♪♪♪ -[ Singing in Mandarin ] [ Soft music playing ] [ Singing in Mandarin ] ♪♪♪ -[ Singing in Mandarin ] [ Soft music playing ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪♪♪ -[ Speaking indistinctly ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -[ Speaking Mandarin ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Speaking Mandarin ] -[ Speaking Mandarin ] [ Soft music playing ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -[ Speaking Mandarin ] -Mm.

♪♪♪ [ Door opens ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Roberto Carlos' "Amigo" plays ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ -♪ Tú eres mi hermano del alma, realmente el amigo ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Que en todo camino y jornada está siempre conmigo ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Aunque eres un hombre, aún tienes alma de niño ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Aquel que me da su amistad, su respeto y cariño ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Recuerdo que juntos pasamos muy duros momentos ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪