BEIJING, China
For nearly 10 years, Jiang Hui has been searching for answers as to why the plane carrying his 70-year-old mother back from vacation in Malaysia vanished without trace.
Jiang’s mother, Jiang Cuiyun,
was one of 239 people on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 when it deviated
from its scheduled path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and disappeared over the
Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014.
To this date, the fate of
MH370 remains one of history’s greatest aviation mysteries, and Jiang has never
given up on his quest to find out what happened.
On Monday, a Chinese court
will begin hearing claims for compensation for families of MH370 passengers,
who say the disaster not only deprived them of their loved ones, but also
plunged some into financial distress.
“Almost 10 years on, the
family members (who refused to accept settlement offers) did not receive any
apology or a penny of compensation,” Jiang, 50, told CNN in an interview ahead
of the hearings at the Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing, more than
seven years after the lawsuits were initially filed.
“In fact, my mood is very
complicated now. There is both a sense of relief and a deep feeling of
helplessness.”
Jiang is suing Maylasia
Airlines, its insurer, Boeing and the manufacturer of the plane’s engine –
companies he believes should be held responsible under Chinese law for damage
occured during transportation. His demands include compensation, a formal apology,
and the resumption of psychological assistance to family members, as well as
the creation of a fund to continue searches for the plane.
About 40 Chinese families are
taking these companies to court with varying but largely overlapping appeals,
with hearings expected to last until December 5, Jiang said. His own case will
be heard on Friday, he added.
Of the more than 200 people
aboard the flight, 153 were Chinese nationals.
“The complete lack of legal
remedies over the past decade has made our painful lives even more unbearable,”
Jiang said.
In a statement to CNN on the
court hearings, Boeing said: “Our thoughts continue to be with those who were
on board MH370 and their loved ones.”
CNN has also reached out to
Malaysia Airlines, Allianz and Rolls-Royce for comment.
It’s unclear what enforcement
power the Chinese court can wield over the defendants if it rules in favor of
Jiang and the other plantiffs. All of them are international companies
headquartered outside China, though Malaysia Airlines, Boeing and Roll-Royce
have offices in China.
Similar cases brought in the
United States by the victims’ families have been dismissed on the grounds that
these lawsuits should be handled by the Malaysian legal system.
In Malaysia, two young boys
who lost their father on the flight sued Malaysia Airlines for breach of
contract and the Malaysian government for negligence in 2014. The case was
settled out of court the next year.
In China, families who signed
a settlement agreement with Malaysian Airlines received 2.5 million yuan
($350,000) in compensation. Only a few dozen Chinese families signed initially,
but over the years more have opted to settle.
By March 2021, about 90
families had still declined to settle, but the number halved after the Covid-19
pandemic, according to Jiang.
Now, only about 40 families
have not settled, according to Jiang, who said they refused to sign the
agreement because it removed all responsibility from the airline and the
Malaysian government.
Three years of Covid lockdowns
and other stringent control measures wreaked havoc on the Chinese economy,
leaving many families struggling to make ends meet.
“On our long journey seeking
the truth, many families fell into a tough livelihood or even survival
situation. They settled as a last resort to ensure their lives,” Jiang said.
“But no matter having settled or not, our ultimate goal remains the same – which
is to find the plane and our loved ones.”
A 2018 report by Malaysian
authorities concluded the investigation team was “unable to determine the real
cause of the disappearance of MH370.” Human interference or error were more
likely the cause of the plane’s disappearance than an aircraft or system
malfunction, the report found.
The lack of conclusive
evidence led to various theories and speculation about what happened to the
flight, and Jiang said some family members still believe their loved ones are
alive. He says he’s keeping an open mind – and will accept any outcome, as long
as there is evidence.
While the jetliner was never
found, pieces of apparent debris have washed up on islands in the southern
Indian Ocean and the shores of Africa – suggesting the plane had broken up.
Jiang’s persistence was driven
by a key motivation – the urge to do something for his mother, who enjoyed
traveling in her retirement.
“I’m at an age where I should
pay filial piety to my mother, but I no longer have the chance to do that. So,
finding her is the only way I can be filial to her,” he said.
Before the MH370 tragedy,
Jiang was an ambitious manager at the Beijing office of a state-owned
communications company. But one year after the flight went missing, he left the
company and has since focused his time and energy on finding the plane.
Over the years, he has visited
search teams in Australia and roamed the remote shores of Mauritius, Madagascar
and Réunion – a French island in the Indian Ocean – to scour for the Boeing
jetliner’s debris.
In Beijing, he has held
regular gatherings with family members of other flight victims to discuss the
next step in seeking answers and justice for their loved ones’ disappearance.
“I used to get completely
immersed in my job, but now I can truly understand what’s the meaning of life,
and what are its most precious things,” he said.
“If I can push for any
progress (in finding MH370), or I can try my best till the end, I would feel
very gratified and happy – and such happiness is beyond comparison with earning
a higher salary.”
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