Senior Korean Diplomat to China Dies in China after Eating a Sandwich
Sun, 08/05/2007 - 09:10 — HG
China＇s State Food and Drug Administration confirms that it is investigating the death of Political minister Whang Joung Il of the Korean Embassy in China. The Senior Korean Diplomat to China died in Beijing on Sunday, July 29, 2007, after eating a sandwich. This incident occurred following many reports about unsafe ingredients in products from China and a CNN report that, "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday (June 28, 2007) announced it is blocking the import from China of five species of seafood until their importers can prove they are not contaminated." [1]
According to the official China Net, China＇s State Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Yan Jiangying stated at a press event on August 3, 2007, in response to reporter＇s questions about Whang Joung Il, "A reporter asked, on the 29th of last month, about Political minister Whang Joung Il of the Korean Embassy in China having died in a Beijing hospital after IV injections. ＇Has the SFDA investigated the incident? Some reports said the IV was fake product. Can it be confirmed?＇"[2]
"Yan Jiangying responded, ‘China and Korea are organizing relevant investigations.＇"
China Net is a key official news gateway under the China State Council. [3] However, its earlier report on the incident has been removed. [4] No reports on the incident had been found on other Chinese websites in China as of the time of this posting.
VOA (Chinese) reported on the incident on August 4, 2007. The following is a translation of that report.
"Political minister Whang Joung Il of the Korean Embassy in China suffered from severe diarrhea after eating a sandwich bought near the embassy. He died in a clinic in China while having an infusion. China is investigating the cause of death. The incident aroused doubts as to the credibility of China＇s food, drugs and state controlled media."
"Korean media reported that 52-year-old minister Whang was healthy before his sudden death in Beijing on Sunday, July 29. On Saturday evening, while working in his office in the Embassy, he ate a sandwich bought from a nearby food store. Afterwards, he suffered from severe diarrhea. The next morning, he went to a clinic in the Embassy district for treatment. After taking an infusion for about 20 minutes, he suddenly had trouble breathing and died."
"The Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the Chinese police and health departments are investigating Whang＇s death, and have promised to give the Korean Embassy in China their findings as soon as possible. The news report said that the Korean Embassy in China suspected that the cause of death could be the sandwich Whang ate the previous night, the infusion drug, or the speed of the infusion."
"Chinese writer and critic Zhao Dagong indicated that the Chinese people have been fear-ridden for years because of China＇s food and drug safety and its medical services, but they can＇t do anything about it. Minister Whang＇s abnormal death once again drew attention to China＇s problem."
"Before Whang＇s death, the safety of China＇s food, drugs and other products had already attracted international attention. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) initially kept silent regarding these issues. They later criticized Western media for exaggerating the safety issue of products made in China."
"Earlier, a reporter from Beijing Television (BTV) reported that there were law-breaking peddlers in Beijing mixing scraps of paper boxes into the stuffing when making steamed stuffed buns for sale. The Chinese authorities quickly responded that it had done a thorough investigation of the food market in Beijing and did not discover any problems. They immediately arrested the reporter from BTV. [5] Zhao said that the CCP and its propaganda department control China＇s media. They have been falsifying news for decades. They politicize everything. To advance their own political agendas, they do not hesitate to distort facts and lie blatantly. They have completely lost their crediblity and the public＇s trust. Though China＇s official media is trying hard to publicize that news about the paper stuffed buns was a fabrication, the majority of the public still believes that the official media＇s news is the real fabrication."
"Zhao indicated that the death of the Korean minister lends credence to people＇s concerns, as they feel that the CCP is deliberately evading a series of issues. He said, ＇The reason is simple. Why arrest the reporter? Why not allow him to talk about it and explain what is going on? Is the paper stuffed bun incident for real? Is there someone making fake steamed stuffed buns? They do not dare to talk about this.＇"
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