Film crew shooting inside China hospital ICU tells grieving family to ‘cry softly’ sparking public outrage

After the video of the incident went viral online, a

• Crew member poses as hospital manager, threatens lawsuit for disrupting filming, prompting family to demand hospital issue public apology

A hospital in central China is under fire after a film crew reportedly asked a grieving family to lower the volume of their crying in order to "not disrupt the filming".

The family's mother, who was in the intensive care unit (ICU) for treatment, passed away later that evening.

The incident took place at Hopeshine Minsheng Hospital in Henan province on May 31.

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Yu, a family member who did not disclose his full name, posted a video clip of the incident online.

The video showed the film crew setting up a large piece of lighting equipment and aiming it towards a hospital bed. Various filming equipment was scattered around the room.

The shoot took place approximately 15 metres away from the ICU, near the doors to an operating room that was not in use at that time.

Yu recounted that his sister was crying nearby when the film crew told her to "cry more softly".

"We are not even allowed to cry? How have I disturbed you?" Yu replied, but he was not in the mood to argue, given his mother's medical emergency.

After the filming concluded, an individual claiming to be a hospital manager approached Yu, warning them that the film crew might sue the hospital for disrupting their shoot.

When the video of the incident spread online, the "hospital manager" persistently contacted Yu, urging him to delete it.

Yu later discovered that this "manager" was actually an actor from the film crew, a fact that Yu verified through promotional photos released by the film company.

The filming was for a television series about urban romance and is reportedly set to air on a provincial television channel.

On the morning of June 3, a film crew member met with Yu to apologise. However, Yu insisted the company apologise publicly.

The hospital declined reporters' interview requests, and the local Health Commission promised to urge the hospital to apologise.

Though without a public apology from both parties, Yu later stated on his social media that "misunderstandings were resolved" during a June 4 meeting with the hospital and film crew.

He explained that the crew was not aware that he was a family member of an ICU patient.

Online observers expressed their outrage.

"Aren't there dedicated sets available for rent? Why film in a hospital?" one commented.

Another person said: "I've noted down the name of the TV series. We must boycott it."

Hopeshine Minsheng Hospital, part of a local health industry group, was privatised in 1997 as part of medical reforms.

According to Dute News, external teams intending to film in hospitals must first obtain explicit permission from the institution. Once permission is granted, it is also necessary to ensure that filming activities do not disrupt normal hospital operations.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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