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China anger over death of girl, 14

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The family of a 14-year-old girl in China who died after she was put in a Covid quarantine centre are demanding justice, saying their calls for medical help were ignored.

Guo JinJin, 14, developed a fever two days after being taken to the centre in Ruzhou, Henan province last Friday.

Videos of her shaking and convulsing on a bed sparked an outcry online in China which retains strict pandemic controls.

Her family had shared the clips, appealing for help and accountability.

Officials contacted by the BBC have yet to comment on the allegations or the cause of Guo Jinjin's death, which remains unclear.

In his video, her father Guo Lele said workers at the centre had failed to provide any treatment to JinJin as her condition worsened.

On Sunday, she had begun to "convulse, dehydrated and shaking", he said in a video uploaded to Douyin, China's local version of TikTok.

"Health workers at the centre took no care of her, no one even inquired," he said in the video, which was widely shared before censors took it down in some places.

Mr Guo's video - and another uploaded by JinJin's aunt calling for justice - have been increasingly censored in the past 48 hours.

"I'm requesting the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Discipline Inspection Commission come down to investigate the Ruzhou government's neglect... and give my daughter's life back!" he said, in a video which shows him next to his daughter's body.

The BBC has confirmed JinJin's death and the circumstances surrounding it with a separate member of the family.

They confirmed that the ninth-grader's condition had swiftly deteriorated on Monday afternoon and she was taken to Ruzhou No.4 Hospital that evening.


However she was in a critical condition by then and could not be saved.

JinJin's death and the circumstances surrounding it have triggered an outpouring online, with people expressing anger over her treatment and criticising President Xi Jinping's Covid policies, which are unpopular with many people in China.

"I'm so angry. Why didn't they just give her a [medicine] pill?" one user wrote. Another said: "It's always like this. Nothing will ever change."

Some referenced a bus crash in September, where 27 people were killed as they were being ferried to a quarantine facility.

However the case has not been reported in Chinese media - which some users attributed to a "media blackout" during an important Communist Party congress this week at which Mr Xi's tenure is expected to be extended.

   

Ruzhou city officials are yet to issue an official comment. A spokesman told the BBC on Thursday he was personally aware of the case but had no official comment from his superiors.


Local Communist Party officials also declined to respond to BBC inquiries, saying: "Please wait for an official announcement."

China's Covid rules demand that anyone who is infected, or a close contact, must be sent to a state-run quarantine centre.

 

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The family of a 14-year-old girl in China who died after she was put in a Covid quarantine centre are demanding justice, saying their calls for medical help were ignored.

Guo JinJin, 14, developed a fever two days after being taken to the centre in Ruzhou, Henan province last Friday.

Videos of her shaking and convulsing on a bed sparked an outcry online in China which retains strict pandemic controls.

Her family had shared the clips, appealing for help and accountability.

Officials contacted by the BBC have yet to comment on the allegations or the cause of Guo Jinjin's death, which remains unclear.

In his video, her father Guo Lele said workers at the centre had failed to provide any treatment to JinJin as her condition worsened.

On Sunday, she had begun to "convulse, dehydrated and shaking", he said in a video uploaded to Douyin, China's local version of TikTok.

"Health workers at the centre took no care of her, no one even inquired," he said in the video, which was widely shared before censors took it down in some places.

Mr Guo's video - and another uploaded by JinJin's aunt calling for justice - have been increasingly censored in the past 48 hours.

"I'm requesting the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Discipline Inspection Commission come down to investigate the Ruzhou government's neglect... and give my daughter's life back!" he said, in a video which shows him next to his daughter's body.

The BBC has confirmed JinJin's death and the circumstances surrounding it with a separate member of the family.

They confirmed that the ninth-grader's condition had swiftly deteriorated on Monday afternoon and she was taken to Ruzhou No.4 Hospital that evening.


However she was in a critical condition by then and could not be saved.

JinJin's death and the circumstances surrounding it have triggered an outpouring online, with people expressing anger over her treatment and criticising President Xi Jinping's Covid policies, which are unpopular with many people in China.

"I'm so angry. Why didn't they just give her a [medicine] pill?" one user wrote. Another said: "It's always like this. Nothing will ever change."

Some referenced a bus crash in September, where 27 people were killed as they were being ferried to a quarantine facility.

However the case has not been reported in Chinese media - which some users attributed to a "media blackout" during an important Communist Party congress this week at which Mr Xi's tenure is expected to be extended.

   

Ruzhou city officials are yet to issue an official comment. A spokesman told the BBC on Thursday he was personally aware of the case but had no official comment from his superiors.


Local Communist Party officials also declined to respond to BBC inquiries, saying: "Please wait for an official announcement."

China's Covid rules demand that anyone who is infected, or a close contact, must be sent to a state-run quarantine centre.

 

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