China 'harasses, threatens and silences' Hubei COVID-19 survivors who plan to sue the government over its 'mishandling' of coronavirus outbreak

 China has reportedly harassed, threatened and silenced multiple citizens who vowed to hold the government responsible for its perceived missteps in dealing with the new coronavirus outbreak.

One civil servant is said to have been interrogated and gagged by the police after filing the country's first lawsuit against the provincial government of Hubei for 'causing unprecedented losses' to its people's lives and properties.

Other grieving Wuhan residents were allegedly hassled, intimidated and hushed by authorities after planning to draw up petitions against officials over their response to the health crisis, which has killed more than 250,000 worldwide.

China is facing mounting criticism from global leaders over its handling of the pandemic, including punishing whistleblowers who tried to warn the public about the new virus.

Multiple activists, journalists and ordinary internet users have reportedly vanished after criticising Beijing's approach to the crisis.

In Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged in December, seven residents have sought legal help in suing the government, according to the New York Times.

These residents either suffered from COVID-19 or lost their family members to it, a legal rights advocate told the paper.

And it's not just mourning families. The Chinese government has allegedly warned lawyers not to help file suit against it too.

'They are worried that if people defend their rights, the international community will know what the real situation is like in Wuhan and the true experiences of the families there,' Yang Zhanqing, who had been giving these families legal advice, told the New York Times.

New York-based Mr Yang said at least two out of the seven residents had to drop their plans after authorities had harassed and threatened them.

The seven families' misfortune came after another citizen of Hubei, named Tan Jun, had reportedly been grilled by police for submitting a legal petition against the Hubei government over the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Tan, a civil servant, is the first person to make a public attempt to sue authorities over their response to the epidemic in China. He lives in the city of Yichang, which is around 200 miles west of Wuhan.

He handed in a petition against the provincial government of Hubei to the Xiling District Court of Yichang in person on April 13 and mailed another appeal to the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court two days later, according to media reports.

Online pictures of a legal petition believed to be submitted by Mr Tan show that he accused the Hubei government of concealing the virus's human-to-human transmission and hosting a series of political meetings on January 11 and January 12.

The petition also accused officials of organising a vast banquet ahead of the Lunar New Year, knowingly putting more than 40,000 attending families at risks of being infected.

Mr Tan demanded the Hubei government make a public apology on state-run newspaper Hubei Daily over their actions for one day.

Reports suggest that Mr Tan was forced by police to sign a statement, promising not to release related pictures and words on the internet, but officers said his case could 'proceed in line with the law'.

News about Mr Tan's lawsuits has been censored in mainland China. Still, it is reported by Chinese-language websites based outside the mainland, including Hong Kong-based Apple Daily and US-based Radio Free Asia.

It was also reported by China Citizens Movement, whose founder Xu Zhiyong is believed to be held in secret detention after openly calling Chinese President Xi 'not clever enough' and demanding the leader step down over 'the coronavirus catastrophe'.

China's President Xi is facing widespread doubts that his government has covered up the true scale of the outbreak.

The country has so far reported 4,633 deaths, including 3,869 deaths in former epicentre Wuhan, and 82,881 infections nationwide.

In comparison, the United States has reported more than 69,000 deaths and over 1.2 million cases.

Wuhan locals believe the virus has killed as many as 42,000 people in the city alone, more than 10 times the official figure, according to a previous report.

Besides, experts in Hong Kong suggest that up to 232,000 people – nearly three times the national tally - may have contracted the disease in China during the epidemic.

World leaders, including Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, have hinted their disapproval of Chinese tactics of false information amid the ongoing pandemic.

US President Trump has said that China made a 'horrible mistake' and tried to cover-up the coronavirus outbreak after threatening to impose tariffs on Beijing.

Beijing is known for suppressing independent voices who challenge its one-party ruling.

According to Amnesty International's China researcher Doriane Lau, the government has used various tactics, include online censorship, sending threats and detention, to stifle activists.

'Some people received warning from the police. Some have their social media accounts closed. Some were arrested and held incommunicado,' Ms Lau told MailOnline.

'Some, like independent journalist Chen Qiushi, were "quarantined" in an unknown location for over three months. It's likely that these people will continue to be under heavy surveillance and/or in detention in the coming weeks,' she added.

Li Wenliang, an eye doctor in Wuhan, was given severe oral warnings by his boss and police officers after sending a message onto social media to warn other medics of a 'SARS-like' disease. The 34-year-old later died of COVID-19 after contracting it from a patient.

Three citizen journalists have disappeared after sending independent reports from Wuhan showing crowded hospitals and body bags.

Ren Zhiqiang, an outspoken Chinese Communist Party critic and millionaire property tycoon, was detained after he penned an essay fiercely critical of Xi's response to the outbreak, calling the leader 'a clown'.

Also, three Beijing-based internet activists have disappeared and are likely in detention for saving backup copies of censored coronavirus news stories online, according to a relative.

Ref: Daily Mail