Relatives of COVID victims ask to meet WHO experts in Wuhan
Al JazeeraFamily members say they face immense pressure from Chinese authorities who have interrogated and threatened them. “I hope the experts don’t become a tool to spread lies,” said Zhang Hai, whose father died of COVID-19 on in February last year after travelling to Wuhan and getting infected. This was a criminal act, and I don’t want the WHO to be coming to China to cover up these crimes.” Zhang, who is originally from Wuhan but now lives in the southern city of Shenzhen, has been organising relatives of coronavirus victims in China to demand accountability from officials. “You obliterated all our platforms, but we still want to let everyone know through the media that we haven’t given up.” Last month, a Chinese citizen journalist was sentenced to four years in prison for reporting on what was happening in Wuhan. The WHO said its visit to China is a scientific mission to investigate the origins of the virus, not an effort to assign blame, and that “in-depth interviews and reviews” of early cases are needed.