He said there are no cameras. A parent can put the baby down, press the alarm button and leave without being traced. Welfare staff would pick up the baby minutes later.
"The life of an infant is fragile. Fifteen to 20 minutes after an infant is abandoned is the prime time to save its life," said Tang. "The shelter embodies the idea of prioritizing the interest of the child."
Tang is not worried that a safety booth could lead to a rising number of abandoned children.
He said as social morality improves, people have a stronger sense of responsibility. The welfare house has taken in close to 100 abandoned children so far this year. It was 200 in 2009.
While there is debate in Shenzhen, residents and welfare workers in northwest China's city of Yinchuan and south China's city of Guangzhou are calling for a safety booth. A baby was found dead at the foot of a bridgehead in Yinchuan on Oct. 24.
The premature baby boy died before he was sent by police to hospital.
Li Tao, a welfare worker in Yinchuan, said in his community about 100 babies have been found abandoned over the past decade.
In May, a newborn was dumped by an unmarried mother in an apartment building toilet in Jinhua City, east China's Zhejiang Province. The baby was wedged in a sewer pipe. Its crying alerted neighbors who called the police. Firefighters saved the baby.
In the same city, a homeless woman claimed she had rescued 30 babies abandoned in rubbish bins over the years.
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