Conny Wiik, a Taiwanese man adopted by a Finnish couple as a toddler, has met his biological mother in Taiwan for the first time in more than 30 years.
Wiik arrived in Taiwan Thursday with his wife and two of his children. He said in a news conference Friday that it felt wonderful to be able to sit side by side with his mother in Taiwan.
The 35-year-old said he knows very little Mandarin and will have to learn the language so that he can communicate with his mother.
Wiik was adopted by a Finnish family at the age of one. For many years he tried to find his roots, and in May 2014 he made a breakthrough, thanks to help from Taiwan’s representative office in Finland and Taiwan’s police force.
He said the greatest reward of his first trip back to Taiwan is seeing his biological parents and connecting with the country of his birth.
Wiik’s mother tearfully recalled that she had no choice but put her son up for adoption after his father’s business failed. She also said that she is very happy and excited about the reunion.