THE death of a job-hunter under a highway overpass in a central China city has caused widespread concern over the plight of the needy in the country that aims to achieve common prosperity in eight years.

Little is known of the 40-something peasant who died last Friday after at least three weeks of fighting illness, hunger and cold in downtown Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province.

Clinical records provided by the city's first aid center suggested that the man who had died may be 38-year-old Liu Hongwei, who called authorities for help on November 22 but who did not receive any treatment. Police have yet to officially identify the body.

Records from two weeks ago showed the man was conscious and his blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar levels were all "normal" when doctors visited him under a highway overpass in downtown Zhengzhou.

"He said he had not eaten for two days but was unwilling to go to the hospital," said a doctor surnamed Wang who arrived with an ambulance on November 22. "I left him some cash and told him to call again if he needed help."

But several migrants who took shelter under the same overpass said they witnessed the doctor's visit and told a different story.

The man never said he was unwilling to go to hospital, they said. "The doctor asked who could go with him, and because none of us offered to go, the ambulance left," said Ma Shuangyang, a migrant who was vaguely acquainted with the dead man.

In the Chinese context, "to go with him" would mean to pay the medical bills, sign the papers and receive reports concerning his treatment. None of the migrants knew him well enough to take on the responsibility.

A street janitor found the man dying at midday last Friday. Doctors came again, only to confirm he had died hours previous.

Police have ruled out murder, but have yet to determine the cause of his death.

Plight of underdogs

The anonymous peasant is not alone and his tragedy is not singular.

The open space under the overpass where he slept and died served as a camping site for more than 200 people in the same boat: penniless peasants who left their rural homes for the city and found themselves unable to afford rent.

Most of them are low-paid workers: carpenters, bricklayers and painters who are hired only on a short-term basis. As a result, they are constantly hunting for work.

"If I can find a long-term job at a restaurant or construction site, I'll probably be given shelter under a roof and a bed to sleep in," said a 27-year-old peasant who only gave his family name as Zhu.

Zhu is married and has a 5-year-old son. He left his home county of Zhongmu about two weeks ago hoping to find a better-paying job. After failing to find one, he has already spent more than half of his money: a 100-yuan (US$16) note his wife gave him.

Most peasants are reluctant to go home, even if they cannot find jobs.

"I have a big family to feed: two children going to school and two parents who suffer from chronic diseases," said a peasant surnamed Dong. "I can't go home empty-handed."

Temperatures in Zhengzhou dropped below zero degrees Celsius in early December and most peasants huddle under their quilts. Some of them drink liquor to keep warm.

The cold is nothing for Dong, who prepared for the worst and was willing to suffer anything to make more money when he moved. However, city life has still been harder than he could've imagined.

"I can't stand liars," he said.

Last week, a man hired Dong to carry away a large pile of trash in exchange for 50 yuan. When he finished, however, the man was nowhere to be found.

Many of the city's homeless are natives of Henan Province, some even hailing from the same county. When the lucky ones find jobs and leave their temporary lodging, they often leave their old bedrolls to keep others warm.

The man who died was apparently reluctant to befriend many people. All the other peasants knew of him was that he was a skilled bricklayer from Qixian County in Kaifeng and that he had been ill for about three weeks.

The peasant's death, which came only two weeks after five street children died in a dumpster in southwest China's Guizhou Province, has sparked widespread fury over public apathy and inadequate aid for the needy.

Nearly 40,000 people joined an online discussion regarding the tragedy on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging site.

Some blamed the man's fellow job-hunters, while many others lashed out at the local government for having turned a blind eye to the plight of the poor.

Such tragedies, they say, undermine China's goal of building a moderately prosperous society by 2020.

A prosperous society is not just one with a high GDP, but rather a society where every citizen can afford housing, education, medical care and retirement, said Professor Larry Lang, an outspoken Hong Kong-based economist.

The Beijing News said in a commentary published on Tuesday that the fundamental cause of the peasant's death was poverty, rather than disease or cold.

Policy loopholes

Poverty forced him to leave home and search for work in the city, but the door leading to abundance never opened for him," it said. "It's humiliating for a civilized society to witness a hard-working man die from poverty and disease."

Not everyone is apathetic towards the needy. Bus drivers at a terminal near the overpass where the peasants sleep often buy meals for them.

After news of the peasant's death was published, many citizens flooded to the site with quilts, food and other supplies. The city government of Zhengzhou has established relief hotlines and citizens are encouraged to report anyone in need.

Migrant job-hunters are often found roaming city streets, underpasses, railway stations, hospitals and other public facilities.

China still lacks policies regarding aid for migrants, said Professor Zhang Mingsuo, a sociologist with Zhengzhou University.

"It's hard to care for this huge group, but by all means, the government is liable for safeguarding every citizen's safety and rights of subsistence," he said.

Zhang says new policies to address migrants' basic needs for food, lodging, medical care and education for their children should be established. "It's vital for local governments to provide temporary lodging for the homeless in order to avoid similar tragedies."

The authors are Xinhua writers.