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Ex-health minister's failed anecdote gets shot of healthy criticism

A former health vice minister's anecdote about waiting in line at a hospital backfired Wednesday as social media users called him out on how the privileged class can't relate to the struggles of everyday people, The Beijing News reported Wednesday.

Attempting to comment on the country's shortage of medical services during a National People's Congress press conference, Huang Jiefu recounted how his daughter was driven to tears after waiting in line for four hours to get care for her son at a Beijing children's hospital.

Huang's daughter eventually got to see doctors - only after dropping her dad's name.

"My daughter cried and said it was so difficult for ordinary people to see a doctor," the member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference told reporters.

Beijing's top hospitals are often overrun with people from all over the country seeking treatment that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

While many netizens echoed their own experiences and hospital woes, most criticized Huang for both being out of touch and failing to do his job as vice minister.

"Only four hours and your daughter cried? We have to line up from midnight and still can't get an appointment. Sometimes we have to pay high prices to buy a number from scalpers, how about trying that?" wrote Sina Weibo user "Sunshine all."

"That was apparently the first time your daughter had to register at a hospital to see a doctor, right?" wrote Weibo user "Ai Qifei."

The Beijing News