‘Give this chubby driver a good review’: daughter’s letter for ride-hailing driver father goes viral in China and sparks business boom

The daughter was diagnosed with a brain disorder that has put a financial strain on the family

She wrote the letter to boost business by improving her father’s score to get more ride requests

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This letter asking for positive ride-hailing reviews from a driver’s daughter went viral in China. Photo: SCMP composite

Published: 9:00am, 21 Apr 2022

An emotional letter “begging” for good reviews from passengers written by a nine-year-old Chinese girl for her father, a ride-hailing driver, touched the hearts of tens of thousands beyond the inside of the car.

The letter revealed that the family is under immense financial pressure because the girl, Hanhan, has organic encephalopathy, affecting the brain’s function.

In the letter, Hanhan said she fell into a coma following a series of seizures one day in September 2021. She was later diagnosed with the disease, and her dad, Chen Zaixing, a single parent, quit his job as a bus driver to care for her.

He spent weeks travelling with Hanhan between Yichang, where they live, and Wuhan, a major metropolitan area, trying to find the best doctors. Both cities are in central China’s Hubei province.

The young girl was diagnosed with a brain disorder that has created expensive medical expenses. Photo: Weibo

Hanhan eventually recovered, but, according to Chen, the total medical bills amounted to around 300,000 yuan (US$46,800), nearly all of which was borrowed from friends and relatives. Hanhan also needs to take long-term medications to manage her condition.

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