The first civil trial in China on the issue of tainted milk powder, originally scheduled for Nov.10, was abruptly postponed last Friday by the court. No new date has been set .

Zhao Lianhai, organizer of a parents group for victims of tainted milk powder, said that he is sure that the delay was related to his online appeal for victims' families and other advocates to attend the trial. He feels that the regime postponed the trial to “flex its muscles.” Parents of the victims expressed outrage over the court’s decision, which offered no reason for the delay.

It has been over a year since the tainted milk powder issue was first brought to the attention of the public. To date, four cases have been accepted by the courts. Two of them were filed in Hebei province and the court refused to go through trials and ordered both sides to undergo mediation. The other two cases were scheduled to be tried in Beijing. One of them was scheduled to be tried on Nov. 17 in Daxing District Court.
On Friday morning, Nov. 6 , Peng Jian, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, received notice of the trial’s postponement from the Daxing Court. Zhao Lianhai, organizer of the Coalition of Families of Children with Kidney Stones, said that he believed the court's action was targeted against him.

“After I sent out notices online [inviting victims' families to come to the trial,] the government feared there would be too many people present, and they would not be able to handle it. This is the first civil case [on the issue of tainted milk powder requesting compensation. I had hoped that the victims' families would join forces, attend the trial, and show their support.” Zhao said,

The case also received broad media attention, which Zhao claimed was part of the reason for the indefinite postponement. “They hope to drag this out for a long time, and then, suddenly and hastily hold a trial,” he said .

Zhao expressed regret and anger over the government's interference with the consumer rights initiative. He said parents of many of the victims were planning to attend the trial, and were very disappointed that the trial had been postponed.

Hou Rongbo’s wife, the mother of a child who died from tainted milk powder , expressed her despair over the trial’s postponement. She explained how she and her husband had left their home in Shandong to travel to Beijing several times to support the citizens appealing for justice. On each occasion they were apprehended by the authorities.

“My husband and I have tried to go to Beijing several times, but were stopped. We've spent a lot of money. I don't know when the trial will be rescheduled. It's been over a year since the tainted powder was exposed. As parents, we've suffered so much, yet have no channel to sue them. Every time I think of my child, my heart aches. I am so angry, but can't do anything about it.”

Attorney Peng said that the court offered no reason for why the trial was postponed. He also thought it was related to Zhao’s online appeals.

Peng said that while the court's action was legal, it was a rare occurrence. “The court only told me to wait for further notice. Typically, when a trial date is set, it is very rarely changed. It's even more unusual for a civil case to be rescheduled.”

Peng added that it's been nearly four months since the court accepted the case, and that he also felt helpless about the situation.

In July 2009 five families of tainted milk powder victims in Beijing filed lawsuits in Daxing, Shunyi, Xuanwu, Xicheng, and Fengtai district courts. Only two of these cases have been accepted. The other three cases have not received responses.

Parents chose to sue in civil court because the compensation originally offered by the authorities was too low. A few parents of children who died from the tainted powder sought over one million yuan in compensation, but had to withdraw their suits due to prohibitive legal fees.

In January 2009 China's Ministry of Health announced that approximately 296,000 children in China had been affected by tainted milk powder. The government has acknowledged six deaths from the tragedy. Since then, no new official reports or statements have been issued.

Read the original Chinese article.