PRC law and Covid.
This reminds me of the case of the Wuhan mayor who, at the outset of the epidemic, said in a TV broadcast interview The Law and Wuhan Mayor Zhou’s Excuse: I Followed the Rules, Blame Higher-Ups, Not me — the Law the PRC on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases .
What happened to Mayor Zhou? He was not charged with any crime or of negligence. The Wikipedia has some information:
Zhou Xianwang (Chinese: ???; pinyin: Zh?u Xi?nwàng; born November 1962) is a Chinese politician currently serving as vice chairman of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.[1] Previously, he served as Deputy Party Committee Secretary and mayor of Wuhan. He is of Tujia heritage. He entered the workforce in September 1980, and joined the Chinese Communist Party in January 1987.[2]
Wikipedia article “Zhou Xianwang“
I saw this on the twitter feed of Zhang Lifan @zhanglifan who commented on it:
Wuhan: Law firm sues street office and district government
This is the first law firm in China to sue a government agency for violating the law in a “lock down”.
But I wonder if the People’s Court will comply with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Law and allow the case to be filed?
English translation of the Wuhan law firms administrative complaint Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court of Hubei Province against the local government.
Administrative Complaint
Plaintiff: Hubei Lai Law Firm, domiciled at No. 139 Hanyang Avenue, Hanyang District, Wuhan City, the entire 20th floor of the office building of Hanshang Building, director Liu Yuanbo, telephone 85717171.
Defendant : Wuhan Hanyang District People’s Government Jianqiao Street Office (hereinafter referred to as defendant one), domiciled at No. 1 Lotus Lake Road, Hanyang District, Wuhan City (Lotus Lake Park, rear entrance), legal representative
Director Wu Chongyuan, telephone: 84768229.
Wuhan Hanyang District People’s Government (hereafter referred to as the defendant two), domiciled in Wuhan
No. 1 Fangcao Road, Hanyang District, Wuhan City, legal representative Guo Xiaocheng, telephone 84468561.
The lawsuit requests:
- First, to confirm the two defendants in October 26, 2022 to November 5, 2022 and November 21, 2022 to the present has not allowed the plaintiff to enter the residence and office is illegal:
- Second, the two defendants are ordered to bear the litigation costs of the case.
Facts and reasoning:
At about 9:00 on October 26, 2022, the plaintiff’s staff came to the office building of Hanshang Building, where the plaintiff resides, as usual, and found that the door on the first floor was locked. Many people gathered in front of the door because they could not enter the office building. The plaintiff’s manager Liu Yuanbo immediately called 12345 to inform the relevant departments excessive action for epidemic control, in violation of the State Council’s precise prevention and control of prevention policy.
About half an hour later, the secretary of the party branch of Xidajie community, the community where the Hanshang Building office is located, came to discuss but still only allowed each unit to send personnel to take out emergency office supplies, but did not allow personnel to enter the office building to work in the office.
The plaintiff learned through official channels that defendant one had issued a control notice not to allow the plaintiff to enter the premises for office work from October 26, 2022 to October 30, 2022; and defendant one, which actually originated from defendant two, issued an extended control notice on October 31, 2022, when the plaintiff should have been able to resume field work according to the above control requirements. However the defendant one issued an extended control notice with an indefinite deadline. In fact, Defendant I’s control ended on November 5, 2022. For the following two weeks, Plaintiff was allowed to work in the office. However, on November 21, 2022, the Plaintiff was again subject to the same control as described above.
As far as we know, there has never been a confirmed case of novel coronavirus pneumonia or any asymptomatic person infected with the disease in the office building of the Hanshang Building. Currently, all shopping malls and office buildings in the Hanyang District do not allow offices to function. The defendants’ excessive epidemic prevention is a serious violation of the law, and may even be considered a prime example of bad behavior. In order to promote the life and work of the whole society so that people can return to normal as soon as possible, the plaintiff share popular opinion, shares the urgency in the people’s minds and applies to your court for relief according to law.
Filed at the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court of Hubei Province
Writer: November 23, 2022 Liu Jia
See Docs at
2022: Wuhan Law Firm Sues Government Over Illegal Office Lockdown
