In 2012, 11 violent attacks on medical staff occurred in hospitals in eight provinces and municipalities, killing seven people and injuring 28, including doctors, patients and a security guard, according to a joint statement issued by China's National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Public Security in October 2013.

There were certainly more incidents that were not reported or counted in hospitals in China in 2012, and the hostile attitude that encourages violence against doctors and nurses is still pervasive in China. A well-known TV host Wang Mudi in Guangdong province also threatened to kill the nurse on China's popular social media website weibo.com just because the nurse tried four times to find the blood vessle when his girlfriend vistied a hopital to get IV injection on Feb. 22, 2014. Mr. Wang has since apologized under the critism from the public.

The situation has not improved since 2012 even though Chinese government has tried various measures to improve the situation. Just days ago, a doctor was killed by a patient in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province according to comfirmed media reports. Incrasing security at hospitals along doesn't seem to solve the problem.

We petition WHO to send a team of experts to China to investigate the situation. We believe experts from WHO would be able to help Chinese government identify the root causes of violence toward medical staff and make nessesary policy changes to ensure safety of medical staff and all patients in China hospitals.