Zhu Min, 8, sits quietly in her wheel chair in the rear of the courtroom, listening to her father and lawyer appealing for 1.58 million yuan (US$19,0361) compensation to pay for her care until she reaches 70, the average lifespan of a Shanghainese resident.

The little girl does not really understand how vital the case is for her and her parents.

However, she does know she faces a life full of future difficulties because she is paralyzed from the waist down -- for example, she has to rely on her mother to assist her every bodily function.

Zhu's life totally changed on July 24 last year when she fell during a handstand practice in a dancing class in Shanghai Huangpu District Jiaojiao School.

"My hands were shaking when handstanding and I asked help from my teacher Gu Yaqin, but she didn't hear me at first," said Zhu. "I felt an ache in my hipbone right then but she asked me to do a handstand again."

Court disputes

The dispute was focused on whether the teacher was there when Zhu fell down and whether she asked Zhu to do a handstand again after knowing she had hurt herself.

Zhu Wenqing, the girl's father -- claims the Jiaojiao School had not fulfilled its duty to protect every student when they undertook dangerous movements.

Both sides have presented eyewitnesses -- Zhu offered the evidence of a classmate who was next to her at the time of the fall and two parents who were in the classroom have given evidence for the school.

The Zhu family's lawyer, Wu Hualiang, said a child's words were more reliable in this case because the parents giving evidence for the school dared not offend the school, behind which the district education department was.

"Their children have to study in schools in the district and they surely couldn't say something bad about the school," Zhu's father said.

The school's lawyer, Hu Lijun said Zhu's attorney had misused a legal concept that might cause the Zhu family's case to fail.

"As a lawyer, I can't correct my opponent's mistake, although I myself have much sympathy on the girl," Hu said.

The final verdict will be delivered in three months time.

"If I fail, I will give up my girl and send her to the school because I don't have the money to support her any more," said Zhu, who lost his job earlier this year. His wife is also now out of work and the family now has no income whatsoever. Before the accident, they were earning 2,300 yuan (US$278) a month, enabling them to live an ordinary life.

"We have to borrow 5,000 yuan (US$604) from the school every month to take care of my daughter," the father said.

So far, the school has given the family about 10,000 yuan (US$1,210) and loaned them 130,000 yuan (US$15,700) to cover medical fees.

Hu said Zhu's parents only wanted more money. "Whenever they were short of money, they would take the child to the school and put her on a table in front of everybody. Her mother looks better than she did before the accident."

Life in armchair

Zhu's father gave her a nickname, "Nannan", after she became paralyzed. The Chinese character refers to a kind of plant that can survive in harsh conditions and it also sounds the same as "difficult" in Chinese.

"My father's hair and beard have turned to grey," the little girl "Nannan" said. The 41-year-old father also has to rely on drugs to get to sleep.

"I am worried about my daughter's future. She is so young now but she will come to realize her disadvantages gradually. I'm afraid she cannot take in the full reality right now," the father said.

In the small yard of the Zhu's home many cloth diapers are hanging out to dry.

"Nannan" sits with her hips exposed and covered by a blanket. Under her is a diaper, required by the incontinence which has resulted from her injury.

"She cannot wear diapers all the time or a lot of sores will appear," said Lu Qi, "Nannan's" mother.

The little girl is sitting down with a blanket over her legs. Under the blanket, her legs are shrinking.

The disaster does not seem to have left any painful memories for the smart and talkative girl.

Her dream now is to go to a new primary school next September.

She spends her days now in front of a desk learning English, ancient Chinese poems and drawing by herself.

"I hope to become a painter when I grow up. And I want to swim, I was good at that," the little girl said.

(Shanghai Star December 4, 2003)