Chinese Authorities Delay Probe

Uncertainty still exists into the cause of death of the S.Korean diplomat who ate a sandwich in Beijing.

BEHIND THE NEWS / Envoy's death still unexplained / Chinese authorities delay probe into S. Korean diplomat's demise
Takuji Kawata

The Yomiuri Shimbun's city news section carried a small story in its Aug. 2 issue reporting on the death of a South Korean envoy at a Beijing hospital. Whang Joung Il, minister for political affairs at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, suffered a stomachache after eating a sandwich he bought at a shop on July 28. Whang, second in command at the embassy, died suddenly the following day after being put on an intravenous drip at the hospital.

His body remained in Beijing for two weeks before being transferred to the South Korean Embassy for a funeral service there Tuesday. Whang's body was flown back to South Korea later that day.

The slow pace of China's probe into the cause of Whang's death was behind the delay in the return of the body.

A South Korean official said: "If we send the body home without identifying the cause of death, the matter may remain unresolved. For this reason, we transferred the body to another hospital in Beijing." But the Chinese side has yet to submit a report on the results of its probe capable of satisfying the South Korean side. So the bereaved family decided to have the body sent home.
With the cause of Whang's death yet to be determined, I have no intention of criticizing the Chinese side without careful deliberation.

But, judging from the words of those involved and reports by South Korean newspapers, it seems the Chinese response to Whang's mishap was shoddy, no matter the cause of his death. For those of us living in Beijing, what happened to the South Korean envoy cannot be shrugged off as an unrelated affair. Therefore I would like to raise a few problematic points.

"The hospital staff recognized something was wrong with Whang 20 minutes after administering the intravenous drip. He stopped breathing, and there was no pulse. But the hospital wasn't equipped with artificial respiration equipment," a South Korean official said. The doctor reportedly made an emergency phone call by dialing 120 (the equivalent of 110 in Japan) but it took 40 minutes for an emergency squad to arrive. During this period, the only treatment given to Whang seems to have been cardiac massage.

The hospital in question is located in central Beijing and is used often by non-Chinese.
The South Korean authorities are taking a serious view of the drugs used to treat Whang. According to their independent investigation, the Chinese doctor inserted intravenous drips--containing Ringer's solution--into Whang's hand and leg after deciding the envoy was dehydrated. The doctor also administered an antibiotic at the same time.

The antibiotic given to Whang is not allowed to be used in conjunction with any medical substance containing calcium, as simultaneous administration causes blood clots, thereby threatening to block the arteries. Ringer's solution contains calcium, and many blood clots were said to have been found in Whang's body. If this proves to be true, his death likely was caused by a medical error.

"The Chinese authorities were confused [by Whang's sudden death]," a South Korean official said. Both police and public health authorities initially denied the incident fell within their jurisdiction. However, on the evening of Whang's death, it was decided that the public health authorities should take charge of the matter. Thus, the autopsy was postponed until the following day. The public health authorities reportedly said the results of the autopsy might not be known for a month, as it would take a long time to cultivate the bacteria.

I was concerned at how little coverage the incident received from the Chinese media. Although some Chinese newspapers reported the incident, it was treated as a small story. As a result, many Beijing citizens and non-Chinese residents do not know about the incident at all.

The Chinese media, which are under the direct control of the Communist Party government, do not run news that is considered unfavorable to the government. This makes me wonder whether this had any bearing on the coverage of Whang's case.

The safety of food and drugs is closely linked to human life. Therefore, it is an iron rule to publicize information on problems relating to food and drugs immediately and determine the cause of the incident as soon as possible, or similar incidents may occur.

About 600,000 people are expected to visit Beijing from overseas for the Summer Olympics next year. If the Chinese authorities continue to approach food safety in the same lax way it dealt with Whang's case, people will not even be able to consume a sandwich without concern.
Whang is said to have been the most conversant with Chinese affairs among South Korean diplomats and loved China very much. To ensure his regrettable death was not in vain, the Chinese authorities must clarify the cause of his death in a convincing way and draw up measures for improvements.

Kawata is head of The Yomiuri Shimbun's Chinese General Bureau in Beijing.
(Aug. 16, 2007)