Chinese Parents Seek Long-Term Care and Research for Children Injured by Contaminated Milk Products

Hundreds of parents of children sickened in China by melamine-contaminated milk products have reportedly rejected the government-sanctioned compensation offer, which would have provided about US$29,000 to families that lost a child and US$4,380 for each child with serious kidney damage. The parents, who are gathering signatures in support of their demands, will instead seek long-term health care for those affected and research into the health effects that purportedly continue to afflict tens of thousands of children. They also apparently
complain that the offer provides nothing for children older than age 3 and will not provide assistance to the dozens of families facing significant hospital bills.

Zhao Lianhai, whose 4-year-old son was sickened, reportedly said in an interview, “Our biggest demand is not the compensation but medical treatment and academic research on the influence that melamine will have on the health of our children. We want to know what kinds of lives [our] children will face.” He also apparently said that government censors blocked an attempt to post online a version of the parents’ demand for greater compensation. According to a news source, Zhao was one of five people who were detained by the authorities on January 1, 2009, just before they were scheduled to hold a news conference in Beijing. See The New York Times, January 14, 2009.