Nearly three years after the incident occurred, the official report from Beijing announced that 19 individuals involved in the fatal fire at the Changfeng Hospital in April 2023 have been sentenced to imprisonment.
According to the Fengtai District Court in Beijing, the defendants, including Wang Wenjie, were convicted of the crime of major responsibility for the accident and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 2 to 6 and a half years.
The court stated that on April 18, 2023, around 12:50 p.m., during the renovation construction at Changfeng Hospital in Beijing, the construction unit violated regulations by conducting self-leveling floor construction and door frame installation cutting operations simultaneously. This led to the volatilization of flammable and explosive components in the epoxy resin primer material, forming an explosive gas mixture. The sparks generated by cutting metal purification plates with an angle grinder ignited nearby combustible materials, causing a fire that spread to the wooden decoration materials inside the building. Some of the fire separations did not function properly, the fixed fire facilities failed, and as a result, the fire escalated, releasing a large amount of smoke. Additionally, ineffective organization of patient evacuation for high-rise floors contributed to the death of 29 people, injuring 42 others, and causing severe economic losses.
The Changfeng Hospital fire was one of the deadliest fires in Beijing in recent years.
In October 2023, the Communist Party of China officially announced that more than 40 public officials, including Deputy Mayor Jin Wei, were held accountable for the incident. Among them, Wang Wenjie, the legal representative of Changfeng Hospital Co., Ltd., and Wang Xiaoling, the director of Changfeng Hospital, along with 18 others, were suspected of the crime of major responsibility for the accident and were under investigation, 19 of whom were subsequently arrested.
Public opinion has long held that whenever accidents occur, the Communist Party tends to use scapegoats to protect higher-ranking officials. Weibo users questioned, “It seems like the scapegoat is once again taking the fall for the higher-ups.” They also criticized the light punishment of a mere “administrative warning,” suggesting at least a dismissal for those responsible.
The Hong Kong newspaper “Ming Pao” has raised doubts about the handling of the serious fire incident at Beijing’s Changfeng Hospital, insisting that accountability should not stop at the current Party Secretary Yin Li and Mayor Yin Yong, each in their roles for only six months, but should also extend to the former Party Secretary Cai Qi and former Mayor Chen Jining.