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Court Rejects Quake-Deaths Suit in China
School Collapse Killed Thousands of Children in Disaster; Some Parents Alleged Shoddy Construction
By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH
SHANGHAI -- Parents of some of the thousands of children killed in school collapses during China's massive earthquake in May said a court has rejected their lawsuit alleging shoddy construction was to blame for the deaths.
Altogether the quake left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing. The government says about 7,000 classrooms and dormitory rooms were destroyed. In some cases, school buildings collapsed when other structures nearby remained standing. In Fuxin No. 2 primary school in Wufu, more than 120 children died, according to the government count.
Some of the more than 50 families taking part in the suit over the Fuxin collapse have said they faced pressure from local authorities not to pursue the matter. Many parents across Sichuan province in southwestern China contend that poor construction and negligence by local officials were major contributors to schools' structural failures, and have complained about official investigations into the issue. Parents said the suit seeking damages over the Fuxin collapse was the first effort to put the issue before a court.
A grandparent, left, and a parent hold pictures of children who died when the Fuxin No. 2 school collapsed during an earthquake in May.
A judge of the Intermediate People's Court in nearby Deyang said last week that the court wouldn't hear their case, parents said. Sang Jun, one of the parents, said the judge told parents' representatives that government internal documents made it clear that the court should not be involved. The court in Deyang declined to comment. Mr. Sang, whose 11-year-old son died in the collapse, vowed the parents would petition the Supreme People's Court in Beijing to get the case heard.
After the earthquake, Mr. Sang rushed to the Fuxin school. He and his wife joined others digging through the debris. He said they rescued several trapped children and uncovered 10 corpses. They found the body of their own child huddled in a corner of the fallen building.
The parents' complaint, presented on Dec. 1, alleged that a substandard building and inadequate rescue efforts led to unnecessary deaths. It demanded a public apology and 7.68 million yuan, or about $1.1 million, in compensation, said Xu Peiguo, a lawyer who helped prepare the suit. The parents sued the school, the town government, the county education bureau and the boss of the construction team that built the school. Mr. Xu said he has sought but not yet received formal notice of the rejection from the court.
A group of parents in a nearby city, where a middle school collapsed, said they had visited several law firms in the provincial capital, Chengdu, but couldn't find anyone willing to represent them. "All the lawyers told us the government didn't allow them to receive such cases," a parent said.
In June, faced with protests at a number of schools, the local county warned parents in a letter not to do "things hurting the national dignity," and offered parents a one-time payment and increased monthly pension if they would sign an agreement not to participate "in any activities that will affect overall rebuilding efforts."
Mr. Sang, reached on his cellphone, said he is moving around in an effort to avoid the police, fearing that he will be detained. He said another parent was held briefly by police at the weekend and warned not to talk to foreign reporters.
The Fuxin school parents have been especially vocal in calling for an investigation. They are careful so say they don't blame the central government or the Communist Party, but rather that they believe local officials didn't do enough to ensure the quality of construction.
Mr. Sang said that families who lost children have each received an average of about 60,000 yuan, or about $8,800, in payments from government agencies.
"But no one has ever apologized," Mr. Sang said.
—Ellen Zhu in Shanghai contributed to this article.Write to Gordon Fairclough at gordon.fairclough@wsj.com
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