A Chinese man who cryogenically froze his dead wife has sparked a moral debate online after Chinese media revealed he was seeing a new girlfriend while his ex-partner lay preserved in liquid nitrogen.
Gui Junmin cryogenized his wife PHOTO: X
A Chinese man who cryogenically froze his dead wife has sparked a moral debate online after Chinese media revealed he was seeing a new girlfriend while his ex-partner was being preserved in liquid nitrogen.
As a sign of his devotion, Gui Junmin decided to freeze the body of his wife, Zhan Wenlian, after she died of lung cancer in 2017 at the age of 49, becoming the first cryogenically preserved person in China, the BBC writes.
But after an interview in November revealed that he had been dating another partner since 2020, Chinese social media was torn over Mr Junmin's plight.
While some questioned why the 57-year-old didn't “just quit”, another commenter noted that he seemed “very devoted to himself”.
After doctors gave Zhan Wenlian a few months to live, Gui Junmin decided to resort to cryogenics – which is not scientifically proven – to preserve his body after death.
After her death, he signed a 30-year agreement to preserve his wife's frozen body with the Shandong Yinfeng Life Sciences Research Institute.
Since then, Zhan's body has been stored in a 2,000 liter container at the institute in a liquid nitrogen vat at -190C.
A “utilitarian” relationship
Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly revealed that although Junmin lived alone for two years after the procedure, in 2020 he started dating again, although his wife remained in cryopreservation.
He told the newspaper that a severe attack of gout that left him unable to move for two days began to make him change his mind about the benefits of living alone.
Soon after, he began dating his current partner, Wang Chunxia, although Junmin suggested to the newspaper that the love was only “utility” and that she does not take “entered” in the heart.
Reacting to the news, some commenters on Chinese social media site Weibo showed sympathy for Junmin's plight, pointing out how long it had been since his wife was placed in the cryogenic chamber.
Some felt the time had come for him to split from his frosty ex-wife, adding that he should “let the departed… rest in peace”.
But others suggested that he acted selfishly only to “to satisfy their emotional needs”with a post asking “Would Zhan agree to this? Is it fair to Wang?”.
