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WUHAN: Wuhan pensioner Zhong Hanneng endured every parent’s worst nightmare when the coronavirus claimed her son in February and, along with other grieving relatives, wants to sue the local government she blames for his death.
But their claims have been abruptly rejected, dozens of other people face pressure from authorities not to file a lawsuit and lawyers are being warned not to help them, according to people involved in the effort.
The families accuse the provincial governments of Wuhan and Hubei of hiding the outbreak when it first appeared there late last year, did not alert the public, and screwed up the response, allowing Covid-19 to explode out of control.
It has killed nearly 3,900 in the city and more than 900,000 worldwide so far.
“They say that the epidemic was a natural calamity. But these serious results are man-made and it is necessary to find who is to blame, ”said Zhong, 67.
“Our family is devastated. I can never be happy again. “
At least five lawsuits have been filed with the Wuhan Intermediate Court, said Zhang Hai, whose elderly father died from the virus and who has become a strong advocate and spokesperson for the families of virus victims.
The plaintiffs are each seeking around two million yuan (1.2 million ringgit) in damages and a public apology.
But the court has rejected the suits on unspecified procedural grounds, said Yang Zhanqing, a veteran Chinese activist now in the United States.
Yang, who coordinates two dozen lawyers in China who secretly advise families, said the denials have come through brief phone calls, not through official written explanations, as legally required, apparently to avoid a trace. of paper.
Wuhan court staff refused AFP requests for comments.
Stonewalling
The virus emerged in Wuhan last December, but city authorities initially delayed and pressured doctors who reported wrongdoing to keep quiet.
The Communist Party continues to downplay responsibility, even questioning whether the pathogen originated in China, while touting its subsequent success in suppressing domestic infections.
A grand ceremony was held in Beijing last week, where President Xi Jinping declared that the nation had passed an “extraordinary historical test” through a swift and transparent response.
But Zhong tells a different story.
As of late January, the contagion was spreading rapidly in Wuhan, but officials had yet to raise an alarm across the city.
With the extended Lunar New Year festival approaching, Zhong and his son Peng Yi, a 39-year-old elementary school teacher, happily shopped at crowded stores.
Millions more left Wuhan for the holidays, bringing the infection around the world.
“We had no idea that the buses were full of the virus… So we went out every day. We didn’t even know about the masks, “Zhong said. AFP.
On January 24, when Wuhan finally began to shut down, she and Peng fell ill. She soon recovered, but she got worse.
Fear gripped their home, which included Zhong’s husband, Peng’s wife, and their seven-year-old daughter.
For the next two agonizing weeks, they spent long hours in overwhelmed hospitals begging to be admitted, but without a positive result, and with test kits in short supply, they repeatedly rejected him.
Peng was finally hospitalized on February 6.
His family never saw him alive again. He died on a respirator two weeks later.
“He must have been so scared, so unhappy, with no family around. I can’t imagine how sad I was, ”Zhong said, repeatedly breaking down.
“Did he yell ‘Mother’? ‘Father’? I do not know.”
Never give up
Zhang Hai believes his father was infected in a Wuhan hospital during treatment for an unrelated ailment.
He says authorities are conducting a campaign to discredit him, suspending his social media accounts and spreading misinformation that the legal efforts are a scam to defraud families.
Others have also reported official intimidation, and the police have infiltrated chat groups of close family members, Zhang alleged, blaming the Wuhan government.
“They know that if I am successful in presenting a case, many other families will sue as well,” he said.
The Wuhan government did not respond to AFP requests for comments.
Zhang said dozens of grieving family members have joined in chat groups, but most are afraid to take action.
With his initial claim rejected in Wuhan, Zhang recently appeared before a provincial-level higher court. Zhong, the retired old man, plans the same.
Yang, the US-based activist, believes it is “very likely” that the government will finally quietly meet the demands of some families, although a public apology is inconceivable.
Until then, Zhang intends to appeal to China’s highest court in Beijing, regardless of personal risks.
“My father is my motivation,” he said. – AFP
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