Teenage Victim of China’s Rail Crash Pleads for Help

A teenaged girl who lost one of her legs, and both her parents, in the high-speed rail collision in Wenzhou City, says she desperately needs help and has nowhere to turn to.

Nineteen-year-old Zhao Simin, a college freshman from Fuzhou posted an SOS on the Internet. Her life dramatically changed when she became an invalid and an orphan, losing a leg as well as both her parents in the deadly high-speed rail crash on July 23.

On top of the psychological trauma and her inability to cope with everyday life, she said authorities have been telling her to “shut up.” Now she doesn’t know where to turn for help.

“I thought the country would seek justice for us. It never crossed my mind that the authorities would force me to be quiet. Now I have no one to turn to. I hope that kind people can help me obtain help,” Zhao said in her Internet post.

Her message caught a lot of netizens’ attention, but all the blog posts were quickly removed by state censors.

Zhao’s name is on the official Ministry of Railways list of people who were injured in the train collision, according to an Aug. 25 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report.

Mr. Huang, who lost his niece in the train collision, has been paying attention to Zhao’s post. Huang told RFA that Zhao’s emails are all blocked. He said when her mails are opened, the content is just random characters.

Huang said he really feels sorry for Zhao. She lost her entire family and a leg, making it hard for her to work and difficult to make a living. In addition, the compensation is incredibly low, he said.

“I believe that she was silenced because she insisted on getting fair compensation, and asked that those responsible for the accident be held accountable,” Huang said.

Embezzlement of construction funds and cutting safety corners is said to be at the root of the tragic accident.