Wuhan (China) (AFP)

"I'm not scared anymore". Having lost his father at the very beginning of the epidemic, a resident of Wuhan accuses the Chinese authorities of having minimized the disease and delayed reacting, at the cost of many lives.

The metropolis of 11 million inhabitants, where the new coronavirus appeared at the end of last year, is gradually emerging from its confinement, which must be lifted entirely on Wednesday.

Seeking to forget the chaotic beginnings of the epidemic, Beijing boasts of having succeeded in stopping the contagion, which has spread all over the world like wildfire.

But for Mr. Zhang, victory in sight has a bitter taste.

Accusing the authorities of lying and incompetence in the management of the virus, he awaits explanations.

"I am no longer afraid," said the man, who claims to have contacted Wuhan town hall in vain. "I want to know the truth".

Mr. Zhang will not give his full name due to the consequences for those who speak to the foreign press.

- "How many families devastated?" -

Like him, relatives of the victims pour their anger on social networks, accusing the regime of President Xi Jinping of underestimating the toll of the epidemic.

"How many families have been devastated by a plague that could have been arrested?" wonders a Wuhan widow, who treats the power of "criminal" on the social network Weibo.

If the appearance of a new virus was noted at the beginning of December, doctors in Wuhan were reprimanded at the end of the same month for giving the alert on its dangerousness. It was not until January 20 that the health authorities announced its capacity for human-to-human transmission, just before the city was quarantined.

Meanwhile, millions of people have left the city, spreading the disease to the rest of the country and the world.

Mr. Zhang's father fell ill shortly after his operation. He died shortly after being admitted to a quarantine service.

"I am haunted by remorse. To bring him here was to lead him to death," said the son, convinced that his father contracted the disease during his hospitalization.

- Contested balance sheet -

Outside of China, Beijing faces growing doubts about the exact number of victims, including from President Donald Trump.

According to the latest official figures, the disease has infected nearly 82,000 people in China, including more than 3,300 fatally, a toll now much lower than that of countries like Italy, Spain and the United States.

Beijing suggests that its authoritarian political system has brought the epidemic to a halt quickly. But popular discontent also appeared in Wuhan in early March, when the visit of an official of the communist regime was disturbed by the jibes of confined residents.

No official investigation has been announced concerning the responsibilities in the outbreak of the pandemic and the government has so far been content to dismiss local officials.

Not enough for Mr. Zhang, who found comfort online from other relatives of the victims.

"Some families have lost three people," he says.

But the internet is not without risk in China and the group in which he participated was infiltrated by the police who summoned the main host this week, he said.

- Funeral under surveillance -

Shortly after his death, his father was cremated in the absence of the family, confined like the rest of the city.

Skinny, tense and his face covered with a mask during his interview with AFP, Mr. Zhang now resists pressure from the authorities who ask him to come and collect the ashes in order to bury them.

The man does not want to comply with the new rules which require the family to make an official request for access to the cemetery and to be accompanied by officials.

"It's surveillance," he says.

The authorities justify these measures by the need to avoid gatherings and any risk of contagion.

Relatives of victims demand formal investigation and punishment for the perpetrators, said Zhang.

"The behavior of Wuhan's leaders caused this catastrophe, this human-made catastrophe," he said, before listing: "The cadres hid the truth and the experts lied, which killed many people, including my father. "

"He is dead but I am still alive. I need an explanation."

tjx-llc-jya-dma / bar / ehl / sba

© 2020 AFP