image source,Getty Images
Due to construction vehicle traffic restrictions during the day, many construction workers tend to work at night.
A man who came to Beijing to work in search of his missing son has sparked shock and sympathy among many on Chinese social media after his life was unexpectedly found to be extremely difficult after contracting the novel coronavirus.
According to reports, the 44-year-old man surnamed Yue lives in Weihai, Shandong Province. He traveled to more than 20 locations in Beijing to work overnight in 18 days.
In an interview with Chinese media, Mr. Yue, a former fishing boat crew member, said he came to Beijing to work last year because his eldest son, who went missing in August 2020, worked in Beijing as a chef.
While in Beijing, he lived in Shigezhuang Village, a remote Pingfang Township in Chaoyang District. On Tuesday (January 18), he was stopped on the train returning to Weihai after the epidemic prevention department found that he tested positive for the new crown virus.
Beijing’s epidemic prevention officials reported his situation on Wednesday (January 19), which attracted the attention of many netizens, especially reports that he went to the post office to send a petition letter while in Beijing, reflecting the problem of his son’s loss. He said the Weihai police repeatedly shied away when handling his report.
The Weihai Public Security Bureau responded on Friday (January 21) that the police determined that Mr. Yue’s son had passed away, but Mr. Yue did not accept it.
“The hardest Chinese in the tune-up”
According to the official flow report, from January 1 to January 14, Mr. Yue worked odd jobs in 23 places in Beijing to support his family. He often had to work until three or four in the morning. On some days, after finishing work at one construction site, he would rush to another construction site non-stop.
China adheres to the policy of “zeroing out” the new crown epidemic, so it will regularly report epidemiological investigation data, including the movement trajectory of infected people, to call on those who overlap with the trajectory to take the initiative to carry out nucleic acid testing.
Mr. Yue, who is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Beijing, told China News Weekly that since his son Yue Yuetong disappeared in August 2020, he has been searching for his son in Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other provinces.
Mr. Yue appealed to the public not to donate to him.
“I went to more than ten cities, but I didn’t have any information. When I got there, I slept in the ATM machine of the bank. The weather was hot and there were many mosquitoes. If I had no money, I would work in the local area. If I made enough money, I would go to other cities. ‘ he said.
In Beijing, he lives in a room of about 10 square meters and rents 700 yuan a month. He sleeps 4 to 5 hours a day, and uses the WeChat group to pick up the rest of the time, including carrying sandbags, cement and other construction materials, or transporting construction waste to the garbage station.
Since the traffic of construction vehicles is restricted during the day in downtown Beijing, Mr. Yue usually works at night and earns 200 to 300 yuan at a time. He said that he has earned more than 10,000 yuan in more than 40 days.
“I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars looking for a child. The part-time jobs are all odd jobs. If I make money, I will find a child. If I don’t have any money, I will work part-time. I work hard to get my child back. Get inside and get the child back,” he said.
Mr. Yue said that his father was paralyzed, while his mother broke his arm and suffered from heart disease, coronary heart disease and other diseases, so he could not take care of himself. With his wife and young son, he needed to support six people by himself. people.
“I don’t feel sorry for myself either. I just work hard, I don’t steal or rob, I rely on my own strength… just to live, to take care of the family,” he added.
image source,Getty Images
Workers in Beijing walk past an apartment building under construction after get off work at night (file photo)
Many people expressed sympathy for him after his trajectory was revealed.
“I really admire this kind of people who face the bleak life and still work hard. What reason do we have to complain.” A Weibo netizen said.
Some netizens angrily questioned why the police failed to help him in time.
“All kinds of surveillance and cameras can clearly check where people go every day, but they can’t find his missing son.” Another comment read.
Netizens across China have also launched the “#Searching for Yueyuetong” campaign online, hoping to use the power of the Internet and the media to help him find his child as soon as possible.
police response
According to reports, Yue Yuetong was 19 years old when he disappeared in 2020. He was last seen at a bus station in the city of Rongcheng, part of Weihai, and disappeared.
Mr. Yue told the media that the police initially refused to locate the mobile phone and adjust the monitoring, and did not file a case until three months later. He added that the police asked him to go to the hospital in October to claim a body, but he refused to identify it as Yue Yuetong because he believed that the face shape of the body did not match the child’s.
“When the dead body was first discovered, I asked the police station and they said it was not my son. As soon as I appealed, they said it was my son in order to close the case,” he said. He believes his children may have been “cheated”.
The authorities have responded as Mr Yue’s experience has drawn more and more attention. The Shandong Public Security Department said it was urging the Weihai Public Security Bureau to speed up the inspection.
image source,Reuters
In China, migrant workers who go to other places to work are still the main force of urban construction.
The Weihai Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice on Friday (January 21) that on August 26, 2020, the police received an alarm from the public and found a highly corrupt body in a pond, but no criminal facts were found. traces, so no case was filed.
The report stated that the police collected the DNA of Mr. Yue and his wife, and after multiple identifications, it was found that the body was indeed Yue Yuetong, but the couple “has never accepted the facts.”
While more investigation may be needed to determine whether Mr. Yue’s son has passed away, this personal story that has inadvertently raised eyebrows has made many Chinese reflect on society’s protection and care for vulnerable groups ahead of the traditional Chinese reunion festival, the Spring Festival.
On social media, some have compared Mr. Yue’s message to the trajectory of another infected person in Beijing a few days ago, who made multiple trips to high-end shopping malls to buy luxury goods. They see this as a reflection of China’s widening gap between rich and poor.
Hu Xijin, a special commentator of the state-run Global Times, also wrote that social construction needs to benefit the people at the bottom.