China Wants 'One-Child' Compensation For New Zealand Quake Victims

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- A Chinese official said Monday that New Zealand should consider special compensation to parents of Chinese students killed in an earthquake last month because their loss was magnified under the country's one-child policy.

Seven students from China have been identified among the 166 confirmed deaths in the quake that devastated Christchurch city on Feb. 22, and as many as 20 others are still missing.

Chinese Embassy official Cheng Lei said Monday that Chinese quake victims had lost not just their only child, but also a future breadwinner.

He said New Zealand should consider providing additional financial assistance to those families.

"You can expect how lonely, how desperate they are ... not only from losing loved ones, but losing almost entirely the major source of economic assistance after retirement," Cheng told Radio New Zealand.

Such compensation would be consolation for the families of the victims "but also a demonstration of the importance the New Zealand government attaches to the Chinese international" students, he said.

Prime Minister John Key said New Zealand had the greatest sympathy for the Chinese families and that they were eligible for compensation under an existing government accident insurance fund.

"The government's made it clear it will help in terms of repatriation of bodies and helping families so, outside of that, at this stage we don't have any intention to make any other changes," Key told reporters.

Key also confirmed on Monday that a planned government inquiry into the disaster would be a royal commission, a sub-judicial format that is the highest-level investigation New Zealand's parliamentary and justice system allows.

While the inquiry will be broad-ranging, Key said it would focus on the collapse of the Canterbury Television and Pyne Gould Guinness Corp. buildings in downtown Christchurch where many people died.

"We understand the need to provide answers about why such loss of life occurred in these buildings. The government is determined to get those," Key told a news conference.

The inquiry would thoroughly examine building codes and construction methods, and whether they were followed.

The inquiry will make a preliminary report within six months and deliver its final report within a year.

Comments

[Harry Jiang]

10:13 AM on 03/15/2011

It is very bad

[Harry Jiang]

10:12 AM on 03/15/2011

maybe, they think the Nz GOV have a lot of money, and have the perfect insurance compesation systme. So, can get more money from the NZ. Lost the life is vey bad. but get the money as many as can is also importance. China is facing a big inflation now, maybe have a high inflation in future.And the Social security and help system is not good enough. So, need more moeny for the life after the retirement.

[Staxx]

10:42 PM on 03/14/2011

I dread the day when they will have the political and military might to back up their demands. What the.........?

[Christopher Millsap]

06:31 PM on 03/14/2011

They must be drinking too much rice wine....why should NZ compensate Chinese parents for the one child policy the Chinese government enforces? Insane.

[fredgladys]

05:21 PM on 03/14/2011

The Chinese embassy official's comments were absurd, of course the parents are grief stricken at the loss of their children, but;
New Zealand did not institute the one child ruling, it did not force the students to study in New Zealand and it did not cause the earthquake.
Also his comments on the future economic disadvantage caused by the children's death and the implication that the chinese student program might be disadvantaged has a rather callous ring to it.

[xtiangodloki]

05:20 PM on 03/14/2011

The thing is that if the Chinese government doesn't do something more for the victims, people would be complaining that the Chinese government doesn't care about its own.

Personally I think Chinese government is stupid for requesting, but then it's not like other powerful government don't try to win something extra for its citizens when they are overseas (US government's defense of its citizens in Pakistan for example). The problem with the Chinese government is that its PR department sucks.

[Whinger]

04:55 PM on 03/14/2011

No amount of money could compensate for the loss of your child.

[Alaskangel]

04:53 PM on 03/14/2011

How is it NZ's fault that there were people killed in a natural disaster?
Now should Japan pay all the parents of Chinese children killed in that earthquake?

[m1urice]

03:57 PM on 03/14/2011

I think the obvious question is why wouldn't the Chinese government offer the assistance themselves. Head scratcher.

[ammsamm]

03:51 PM on 03/14/2011

Perhaps this is a way for Chinese officials to save face in front of the grieving parents.
What good does more money really do if you have lost a child....
Don't turn this into a typical bashing opportunity - different cultures do things differently.

[American Air]

03:06 PM on 03/14/2011

An immoral nation without a moral compass, ...its bizarre.

[American Air]

03:05 PM on 03/14/2011

NZ and other countries should not allow people from countries with one child policy to make sure this single child stays with his/her parents all the time.

[American Air]

03:03 PM on 03/14/2011

What is the source for Chinese values? What do they look towards fior morality. What is their moral compass?

I doubht if they have any.

[DAE]

04:11 PM on 03/14/2011

And America's?

[carrot6]

05:21 PM on 03/14/2011

a bit higher....go to China and you will figure that out pretty quickly.

[missmanners]

02:57 PM on 03/14/2011

China should consider special compensation to parents of Chinese students, it was their policy.

[American Air]

03:02 PM on 03/14/2011

Exactly.,.I was thinking the same thing.

[NitramNos]

02:56 PM on 03/14/2011

The suggestion that somehow a Chinese child is of more value than a non-Chinese child is an insult to every parent that lost a child in the earthquake. Arrrogant and callous.