Zhang Haichao is a villager from Laozhai Village, Liuzhai Town, Xinmi City, Henan Province. He worked for Zhendong Naimo Material LLC in Zhengzhou, Henan from August 2004 to October 2007, where was responsible for gravel crushing. Later, he became unwell and sought medical treatment; he was diagnosed with pneumoconiosis by several large hospitals, both in Beijing and in Henan.

However, since the hospital where Zhang was treated was not a legally-designated institution for diagnosing occupational disease, their diagnosis was limited to wording such as "suspected pneumoconiosis", "cannot rule out the possibility of pneumoconiosis", etc. As a result, it was hard for him to have his ailment officially diagnosed as an occupational disease. According to China's Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases, if a worker is diagnosed with an occupational disease, a certificate from his/her workplace is required for it to officially constitute an occupational disease. However, Zhang Haichao's employer continued to refuse to provide such a certificate. In February 2009, Zhang went to seek help from the appropriate department in the Xinmi city government. After filing many appeals and complaints, Xinmi city leaders negotiated with the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration, and eventually allowed him to get a diagnosis at the Zhengzhou Occupational Disease Prevention Clinic (ZODPC). However, the ZODPC diagnosis stated "no pneumoconiosis, stage 0+ (medical observation) complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis". They recommended him for pulmonary tuberculosis treatment, tantamount to not defining it as an occupational disease, and exempting the company from liability for compensation.

Dissatisfied with this result, Zhang went to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University on June 22nd to undergo a lung thoracotomy and biopsy (opening his chest to perform a lung examination), at his own expense. During the process, a piece of his lung tissue was removed for pathological examination. Based on their pathological analysis, the hospital concluded that Zhang was suffering from pneumoconiosis. Similarly, since the hospital was not a legally-designated institution for diagnosing occupational disease, it could only conclude in the diagnosis report that "pneumoconiosis cannot be ruled out as the cause of the lesion". The incident attracted media attention, finally alarming the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Henan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The MOH immediately organized additional examinations, which finally resulted in an official diagnosis of stage 3 pneumoconiosis. A number of Zhang Haichao's colleagues were also subsequently diagnosed with pneumoconiosis. As a result, some company employees were also disciplined.

Zhang Haichao was eventually awarded compensation; but he also had to have a double lung transplant, and will require lifelong medication. This incident has led to calls for change to laws regarding occupational safety and health.

References: [維基百科("Wikipedia")(Chinese)] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/张海超开胸验肺事件); [大河網("dahe.cn")(Chinese)] (https://web.archive.org/web/20180727101032/http://www.dahe.cn/xwzx/csxw/zz/t20090710_1600729.htm); [美國之音("Voice of America")(Chinese)] (https://www.voachinese.com/a/a-21-2009-08-03-voa33-60877382/1013095.html); [BBC中文網("BBC News Chinese Edition")(Chinese)(1)] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/trad/hi/newsid_8160000/newsid_8162200/8162236.stm); [(2)] (https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/indepth/2009/12/091214_cr_china_society_by_lidatong)