[Broadcast on 25 February 2006]

With the sound of a large explosion on the evening of November 27 last year, tragedy struck at the Qitaihe Dongfeng coal mine, part of the Longmei Group in Heilongjiang province. A total of 171 miners trapped at the coal face were killed. For the families of these men, a period of interminable sorrow had begun.

In the previous few broadcasts, family members of the victims have told us of the unfair treatment they have received following the accident. They told us that the mine would not engage in any discussion on its unilateral decision to offer the families 200,000 yuan in compensation for the loss of life of each family member.  The mine also pressured the families into accepting this compensation agreement by offering an additional 10,000 yuan, conditional on the families signing the compensation agreement immediately after identifying the body of their loved ones. If they did not, the mine would deduct 3,000 yuan a day from this additional offer. Lured or pressured by this additional 10,000 yuan, the families signed the agreement with misgivings.  After recovering from bereavement, the families went to the mine offices to demand a minimum livelihood payments (zuidi shenghuo baozhang) and fuel allowances. But their requests were callously rejected.

The wife of one miner, who died in the accident and who was in fact already retired, said that her husband had returned to mining because they could not live on his retirement pension. After his death, the working group on the compensation arrangement from the mining company said that according to the regulations she should not be getting anything, and indicated that she was taking advantage of them.  The following is a continuation of my conversation with that miner's wife, the first part of which was broadcast last week.

Han Dongfang: What did the working group say to you the first time you met with them?

Miner's wife: The working group said I had two children. The eldest had already set up his own family and he could support himself. Although I said my daughter was still in university, she is over 18, so they didn't agree to that. They then said they'd give me compensation, that is, 210,000 yuan.

Han: 210,000 yuan?

Miner's wife: Yes. 200,000 yuan. The other 10,000 yuan was for the cremation. If you wait for three days, then you won't get the 10,000 yuan. We didn't wait so long. We had the cremation before three days had passed, so there was that 10,000 yuan.

Han: So that's to say the 10,000 yuan was to help you carry out the cremation early?

Miner's wife: That's right, that's right. That was the idea.

Han: If you didn't carry out the cremation within three days...

Miner's wife: Then you won't get that 10,000 yuan.

Han: Did you ask for anything else at the beginning in addition to this basic 200,000 yuan?

Miner's wife: We didn't raise any other demands. They had it all in order. We're just ordinary housewives. We were crying non-stop.

Han: Didn't the family think of getting some legal assistance?

Miner's wife: I don't understand the law. They said that the 200,000 yuan that they were giving me was not a small amount. I said it was not a small amount, that's true. I just couldn't think clearly.  You usually should give me more than 100 yuan in living expenses. Because my family member has died in the mine, there is no money for everyday needs. I have no money at all.

Han: Didn't anyone in government offer you any legal assistance?

Miner's wife: The government isn't concerned about us at all. You can approach them, but they won't give you any answers.

Han: Right after the incident happened, didn't anyone give you some legal advice, tell you about your legal rights?

Miner's wife: No, nothing. There was nothing about that. I said I would try later [Editor's note: with legal advice]. I didn't ask for much. Because my husband was retired, I was entitled to receive more than 100 yuan each month in daily living expenses. He said you can try again later. If you can do it later, then try later. I don't know where to go to get help. I don't understand the law.

Han: Who said to you to try again later?

Miner's wife: The one who came to handle this. I said that if my husband hadn't retired, I wouldn't have any requests. Because my husband was retired, I didn't have enough to live on. He then got a second source of income. His retirement pay was less than 600 yuan.

Han: How long had he been working in the mine again after retiring?

Miner's wife: He was down the mine again about three to four years.

Han: How much did he earn each month?

Miner's wife: About 700 to 800 yuan a month. The last two months were better. It was more than 1,000 yuan.

Han: There was a report in the Heilongjiang Daily News on November 20 that said those of you working in the mine were owed 14 years worth of back wages, but that these had been paid (before the incident occurred). Did you receive anything?

Miner's wife: My son is now working in a service sector job. He's owed 800 yuan, but they haven't paid me. I can't find the office to claim this money.

Han: What money is that?

Miner's wife: My son's. It was snowing and there was nothing to do. We still can't get that money.

Han: At that time, he was doing some work, but he didn't get paid?

Miner's wife: My son was doing some part-time, temporary work there. He earned 800 yuan in all. The mine should have given me that money. I don't know where to go to get it. Even when you do ask for it, they don't pay any attention to you.

Han: On 20 November last year, one week before the accident, the Heilongjiang Daily News carried a story saying that 1.4 billion yuan in back wages were owed to the entire group of miners for 14 years had been paid?

Miner's wife: We don't know anything about that.

Han: Since when has your son been owed his wages?

Miner's wife: He worked (for them) in 1997. He wasn't doing well in school and he thought that he would do some work in an auxiliary function. He still hasn't been paid. That's 800 yuan.

Han: What kind of work was he doing then?

Miner's wife: It's called tertiary services. He just did some casual work.

Han: What kind of injury did your husband have that brought him out of the mine?

Miner's wife: Spinal, and head injury

Han: Was that due to a collapse of the works in the mine or was he hit by a car?

Miner's wife: He wasn't hit by the car, it was a collapse. It hit his spine, and his head injured. Then he retired voluntarily.

Han: In what year was he injured?

Miner's wife: That was in the 1980s.

Han: He was injured in the 80s?

Miner's wife: Yes, he injured in the 80s. After he recovered, he didn't go back down into the mine again. He couldn't do it, so he came up and did some auxiliary services jobs. He didn't go back down. He hadn't been back down for 17 or 18 years. But after he retired, we didn't have enough to live on. There was nothing else for him to do, so he went back down again. And this time he died.

Han: Was he fit enough to handle it?

Miner's wife: Anyway, it had been a long time. And it didn't matter whether he was fit or not, he had to do it! That kind of situation is terrible. His mouth was full of blood. I've just been crying. What do you think about my situation? They gave me 200,000 yuan, but from now on, I have no income coming in. They said the state had a kind of minimum (social security) insurance. But it seems there's some difficulty with this, and I won't be able to get it.

Han: When you first signed the compensation agreement...

Miner's wife: He really rushed you! Hurry up with the cremation. People are trying to settle things. What you do later is your affair.

Han: In the beginning did you get the impression that that was their goal?

Miner's wife: That is just what I thought they were after, to get us to hurry us with the cremation. As though they had too many things to do.

Han: When you first signed the agreement, did you sign it willingly?

Miner's wife: At that time, we agreed. There was no one who disagreed. I didn't know anything about these things.

Han: Do those people tell you who they were representing?

Miner's wife: They were representing the mining company.

Han: In the beginning, did you sign an agreement?

Miner's wife: I agreed to the cremation and got 200,000 yuan. That was the meaning of it.

Han: Was the agreement something that was discussed by the two of you or had they already prepared the document that you signed?

Miner's wife: He discussed it and then asked you to sign it. He said that I had no basis to ask for anything else.

Han: by discussion we usually mean that both sides state what they want, and then, well you could say it is like negotiating the price of something, as though you were buying something in a free market. Did you have any kind of negotiating like that with them?

Miner's wife: Just when I started to negotiate, they said that I didn't have any basis (to negotiate anything). I didn't know anything about what kind of rights or basis I had.

Han: So the agreement (that you signed) was exactly what they had brought out in the first place?

Miner's wife: That's correct.

Han: It didn't include anything that you had brought up?

Miner's wife: He said based on my situation, that I was already getting a lot. I said: You say you are giving me more (than I deserve). I still say you are giving me less. My husband is dead. It happened in your mine. It wasn't something that I brought on myself. You say that I am taking advantage of you. My husband only received 550 a month (pension payment). My husband worked for 20 years. This money, that you have calculated, it's what my family earned. How can you say that I am taking advantage of you? I don't receive the 100 yuan a month in daily living expenses given to the wife. I don't receive that and I can't understand why. There is only so much retirement money. Why don't you give me some income for daily expenses. He said you bring it up later and that was that.

Han: So he didn't take up any of the points and demands that you raised?

Miner's wife: Yes. I don't understand it at all.

Please tune in again at the same time next week to hear a continuation of my conversation with this woman, the wife of a retired miner who died in this tragedy.