Son of coronavirus victim becomes China’s first to file suit against government

冠狀病毒受害者之子成為中國首位向政府提起訴訟的人

Son of Chinese army veteran seeks justice for his father, accuses Wuhan authorities of covering up COVID-19 information


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Zhang Hai (張海), a Chinese man who lost his father to coronavirus, said Wednesday (June 10) that he has filed a lawsuit against the Wuhan municipal government for concealing the seriousness of the pandemic that resulted in countless lives lost.

Zhang's 76-year-old father Zhang Lifa (張立發) was a retired Chinese soldier who passed away Feb. 1 after contracting the infectious disease. According to Now News, Zhang transferred his father to a hospital in Wuhan for better medical care, since the latter was eligible for free treatment as a local resident.

Emphasizing his unawareness of the outbreak at the time, Zhang said that his father underwent a simple surgery, which was successful and greatly improved the old veteran's health. However, Zhang recounted that his father became feverish and went into a coma soon afterward, dying one day after his COVID-19 diagnosis. He added that he was certain his father caught the disease at the hospital.

The bereaved son said the Wuhan authorities failed to inform the public about the danger of the infections even though scientific studies observed human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 by late December. He noted that the city's government placed political pressure on frontline medical workers and whistleblowers as part of its attempt to cover up relevant information about the outbreak.

According to Newtalk, Zhang is seeking compensation worth RMB$2 million (US$283,000) from the Wuhan and Hubei governments as well as the Central Theater Command Hospital. He also requested that the defendants issue an official apology for his father's death in local newspapers.

Zhang's lawsuit, if accepted by the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court, would be the first known case of a Chinese national holding the government accountable for its mishandling of the pandemic. He stressed that he would not stay silent until justice is served.