Frustrated Rescue Volunteers Blame Henan Local Authorities for Inaction, Corruption

This aerial photo taken on July 23, 2021 shows submerged cars following heavy rains in Xinxiang, in China's central Henan province. AFP via Getty Images

As people throughout in China’s Henan provinces begin to clean up after the disastrous floods, civilian rescue teams are being turned away from offering help. Coordinators and members of the teams say that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials are impeding rescue efforts and endangering civilian lives.

The CCP municipal Secretary of Weihui City, Nie Changming, said in a July 26 broadcast on provincial television that efforts for clearing the flooded city were underway. He said the floodwater level “would go down significantly in the afternoon.”