Chinese Widow Granted Visa To Bring Husbands Remains Home

Mourners gathered at the Chun Fook Funeral Home on Northern Boulevard Sunday to pay their respects to a Chinese immigrant worker whose life was cut short in an Elmhurst construction site accident.
Among the mourners was the widow of the laborer, Yue Xia Zhang, who was initially denied a visa last month to travel from China to identify her husband.
However, after the petitions to the State Department by Councilman John Liu, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Kai Wu, president of the American Shanghai Business Council Inc., the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service granted Zhang a visa.
"The granting of this visa is a glimmer of humanity in a process that has become cruel and dehumanizing," said Liu.
The Shanghai Association of America also helped to arrange and pay for Zhangs month-long stay.
Jian Guo Shen, 43, was killed on June 7 when an eight-foot-high concrete wall suddenly fell on a group of workers who were scooping out dirt in a trench at a location on 92nd Street in Elmhurst.
The accident has spurred an abundance of criticism, as Shens identity remained a mystery for days until his roommates came forward with his identity. Not even Shens employer was able to provide an identity for the worker who moved from San Francisco to New York just two months ago.
Following the accident, Yong Fa Cai, Shens employer at the construction site, was issued a summons and a stop work order. He maintains that he donated $5,000 to help pay for the funeral expenses.
As a result of the death, several politicians are now calling for stricter laws on worker safety. Liu also intends to ask his fellow councilmembers to hold hearings on the issue, and Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik has said that he will look into legislation on the state level.
Clinton met with the grieving widow on Monday.
"I am so pleased that I could work with Councilmember Liu to obtain this visa for Mrs. Zhang," said Clinton. "She has already been through so much pain and suffering the ability to come to New York and lay her husband to rest is the least we can do for her."