BEIJING—Like other relatives of passengers of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Wang Zheng's frustration and anger over a lack of any certain information about the fate of his loved ones continues to grow two weeks after the plane went missing.

"Biggest of all is the emotional turmoil I've been going through. I can't eat, I can't sleep. I've been dreaming of my parents every day," said the 30-year-old IT engineer from Beijing, whose father and mother, Wang Linshi and Xiong Yunming, were both aboard the flight as part of a group of Chinese artists touring Malaysia.








"The family members are extremely indignant," read a statement issued by relatives following the meeting. "We believe we have been strung along, kept in the dark and lied to by the Malaysian government."

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein called on "all parties to be understanding during this extraordinary and difficult time," and said officials would "do everything in our power" to keep the relatives informed.

"I'm psychologically prepared for the worst and I know the chances of them coming back alive are extremely small," said Nan Jinyan, sister-in-law of missing passenger Yan Ling, a 29-year-old engineer who had worked for the last four years at a company that designs equipment for heart patients.


"If they can't offer something firm, they ought to just shut up," said Nan, who is representing the family as well as Yan's 23-year-old girlfriend.


"The last time he talked to us was about half a month before this happened. He travels quite frequently on business trips anyway, so we don't chat about his business trips on the phone," Nan said.


"When there is uncertainty for several days, people go from hope to despair, and back again, making it impossible to bring final healing," Yin said. 



But searches by plane and ship turned up no sign of any wreckage. The officials' presentation, meanwhile, was largely a reiteration of what the relatives already knew, without much new information.

On Saturday, China released a satellite image showing a large object floating in the search zone that was taken Tuesday.

"We're exhausted," Wang said. "Why did the plane fly so far away? Are the people still alive? Is this new piece of information reliable? This is how I feel."


"We feel they're hiding something from us," Wang said.

The distrust of the authorities is rooted in modern China's experience with the arbitrary use of power and scorning of public opinion by the single-party communist state, social commentators say.

"China is now at a time of escalating social problems and government actions have sharpened the distrust," said Shi Shusi, an independent commentator and journalist with the official Worker's Daily newspaper.

Repeated government cover-ups in the name of preserving stability have had a corrosive effect on public trust, Shu said. That's created a mindset that is hard to reverse, despite a relatively prompt and thorough response from the government, he said.

"Once the government lies, it's difficult to restore public belief," Shu said.


"I will stay here until they give me an answer," he said. "I am not leaving until I know for certain where my parents are. I am not leaving any time before that."


"I never imagined a disaster like this would befall our family, but life has to continue," she said.


Associated Press journalists Isolda Morillo and Gillian Wong contributed to this report.