Update | Vaccine scandal: parents protest in Chinese capital to demand justice over children’s plight

Nearly 70 parents of children injected with suspect vaccines protested outside the health commission in Beijing yesterday morning amid a heavy police presence.

The parents gathered at the main gate of the National Health and Family Planning Commission along with about 10 children who were fit enough to join the demonstration.

They wore blue caps and white masks bearing short slogans, urging justice and awareness about their children’s plight.

According to photographs provided by parents, they held up white T-shirts that read “compulsory vaccines lead to disabilities in children”. They were prevented from wearing the shirts.

China punishes hundreds of officials over vaccine scandal

The protests came after mainland authorities sacked and demoted 357 officials and arrested 202 suspects for their alleged involvement in a scandal in Shandong province, where a racket involving illegally traded vaccines worth 570 million yuan (HK$683.3 million) had thrived since 2010.

After nearly three hours of peaceful protest at the commission, the parents were told to address their grievances to the commission’s petition office.