Zhao Xin demanded to leave the hospital by going on a hunger strike and declined an intravenous drip to be administered by doctors. Last night (October 19, Beijing time) with the help from fellow practitioners, she successfully left the hospital. What will happen today is yet to be seen.

The reason Zhao Xin was delayed again and again from leaving the hospital was due to medical expenses. They totaled over 200,000 RMB Yuan (about $25,000, while the average income in Beijing is around 1,000 RMB Yuan per month). The State Education Commission has issued an official document that these be treated as public health expenses and paid entirely by Zhao's work unit. But the university [where she worked as a lecturer] felt the amount was too large, and filed a request for the Health Bureau to take on 80% of the expenses, leaving 20% to be paid for by the university. However, due to its inefficiency, the Health Bureau, after much delay, hasn't reached any decision so far. This has caused a delay in Zhao Xin's checking out of the hospital.

After a comprehensive check up last month, the hospital had agreed to let her check out since no matter how much more "medical treatment" she received, there wouldn't be much improvement. From the perspective of modern medical science, her having lived at all is a miracle.

[Editor's note: Zhao Xin is the woman who had three of her vertebrae crushed while in police custody. She became paralyzed from the neck down and was unable to speak after surgery because her vocal chords were damaged]