Video showing unsanitary conditions of 4-month-old girl raises questions about Chinese social services
- A viral video of a destitute family raised into question living conditions required for state intervention
- The man had the girl with a mentally handicapped woman, complicating the public’s reaction to the video
A 4-month-old Chinese girl was taken to hospital on Thursday and is receiving a check-up after a viral video of her living in squalor brought into question how social service programmes should handle impoverished families who nevertheless raise a healthy child.
In the video, Huang’s daughter is seen lying on a jacket amid rubbish. Flies flit around the young baby’s face as she stares at the camera. Another moment shows her in a rotting paper box situated amid pigswill in a trailer behind a motorbike.
Volunteers tried to help the family and teach the man about raising children in more sanitary conditions but said their efforts were futile.
“He does not get better at all,” said Jelly Liu, a Nanjing-based children’s rights activist who noticed the family and reported them to the local government last month.