In the aftermath of the deadly high-speed train collision in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, complaints from family members of the victims have intensified. The regime’s handling of the tragedy has triggered protests demanding the true reason of the collision and the actual death toll.
On July 27, about one hundred family members wearing black arm bands and holding pictures of the victims, protested at the Wenzhou South Railway Station.
Some held banners saying “Return dignity to the victims of 7.23! Provide truth of the 7.23 collision!” Some shouted “We want the truth!” demanding conversation with the officials of the Railway Bureau.
58-year-old Tianjin resident Hao Naigang was killed on the D301 train—the one that smashed into a train that had stalled on a viaduct.
Hao’s son told The Epoch Times: “It happened without any logic. We cannot accept the excuses from the Railway Bureau. We want the truth.”
The regime’s mouthpiece media reported 39 dead and over 200 injured in the 7.23 collision. However, before all the bodies were removed from the debris, the regime ordered the rescue effort stopped, in the early morning of July 24. Huge construction trucks came to cut the train compartments into pieces, smashed flat, and buried.
A young man who did not reveal his name said on QQ Weibo (t.qq.com), a microblog in China, that his cousin, 40, was on the D301 train, which impacted at high speed the D3115 that had stalled on the track. Her body was found yesterday afternoon. But the DNA test results were not yet available. She was not among the official 39 dead.
Two-and-a-half year old girl Xiang Weiyi, whose parents died in the collision, was rescued in the afternoon of July 24. Spokesperson of the Railway Bureau, Wang Yongping called the rescue “a miracle.”
According to a July 27 report by bjnews.com, the uncle of Weiyi, Xiang Yuyu would not accept the apology from the Railway Bureau. He demanded an official investigation into the cause of the collision.
Xiang said, “What lightning strike? Those things are to trick a three-year-old. The way it is handled is very deceptive. The government did nothing but lying.”
Qianjiang Evening News reporter Li Lin (pseudonym) told The Epoch Times, “We are not allowed to report on the 7.23 collision any more. At the moment, we were told to limit the report to positive things and praise the rescue efforts.”
“Right after the collision happened, the Ministry of Propaganda issued notices twice a day, then three times a day, to tell us how to report on this accident.”
Regarding the death toll, Li said: “The real number is definitely censored. 39 have been used as the official number. But I believe it’s more than 39. Some say on Weibo (’microblog' in Chinese) that 179 died, some other say over 200 died. What they say on Weibo is probably true.”
Li questioned, “There were about 1,500 passengers on the two trains. Where are those missing? This is something to look into.”
Civil rights lawyer Wang Yajun told The Epoch Times, “The official voice repeatedly said there were no more signs of life, yet two children were found and rescued from the compartment that was about to be buried. In the handling of bodies and belongings of the dead, the government’s approach is far different from the Western world, where humanity is respected.”
Wang said, “Rumors online say that Wenzhou Municipal Bureau of Justice asked all lawyers to report when approached by victim families and they are not allowed to handle the matter on their own. Although it is not confirmed yet, but it is not unusual.”
Prominent lawyer Mo Shaoping told The Epoch Times, “It is very important to protect the scene in order to investigate the cause of the accident. If for the sake of traffic, the debris must be removed, they should at least take photographs, videos and samples before moving them. Whoever does not follow this procedure … damages the crime scene.”
Read the original Chinese article.
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