Grandmother reunited with abandoned toddler

A Chinese grandmother arrived in New Zealand for an emotional reunion yesterday with her 3-year-old granddaughter who became the center of international attention after being abandoned at an Australian train station.

Liu Xiaoping flew into Auckland from Hong Kong and officials whisked her from the airport for a meeting with the toddler, Qian Xun Xue, who returned to New Zealand on Monday from the southern Australian city of Melbourne where she was abandoned by her father 11 days ago.

"The little girl and her grandmother ... were reunited today," Associate Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove told reporters. "Obviously they are emotionally distressed, given the circumstances."