佛山两岁小女孩接连被撞18路人漠然走过
First, I must warn sensitive watchers that it's pretty disturbing. It's not bloody or anything like that, but its whats happening! I could only watch 1 minute because I got so angry and disturbed that I actually had to turn my computer of and go outside to cool down. If I would have been there, I would probably have beaten those drivers to death and gotten myself into a whole lot of trouble.

(cantonese version) http://www.puritube.com/v/Ys9DPhAMJr0

(mandarin version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75xjJo2zIzE&feature=player_embedded

This thing has stirred up people both in China and internationally. I don't want to blame the Chinese people, because I know that not everyone is like the people in this video, but its undeniable that a huge amount actually are. During my 8 years of living in China, I have seen things like this (not as severe) with my own eyes, and watched how people dont give a shit. At least, I did something about it in all those situations.


IMHO, all the people involved in this situation should be punished (that means everyone who just walked by too).

For those who drove the cars there's only one word - 枪毙

It's very sad to see this kind of thing. Many Chinese people blame a Nanjing judge:

The 2006 case of a man named Peng Yu who helped a woman to the hospital after she had fallen only to have the old woman accuse him of knocking her down. The Nanjing judge in that case ultimately ruled that common sense dictated that only the person who hit her would take her to the hospital, setting a precedent that continues only further discourages and reinforces many Chinese people's wariness to help others in similar situations.

taken from here:

http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/videos/2-year-old-chinese-girl-ran-over-by-van-ignored-by-18-bystanders.html

Personally though I blame the cultural revolution.

Yea this is quite unbelievable and there have been many other scenes like this that have been captured.

http://news.youku.com/costofhelp

Online in China almost everyone speaks disgrace of it but at the same time you have to be honest and conclude that the majority in Chinese society would do just the same. Some people have been saying they understand the people who chose not to help in these kind of situations because there have been many cases where people helped and end up being ordered to pay for the medical costs, or be accused as the cause of the accident.

But in the end these are excuses because surely someone out of these 18 people would have helped if they have the heart for it?

What bothers me also is the fact that they give no privacy whatsoever to victims or their family. On TV and internet they use dramatic music for these images and to me it feels like a show, a moment to gain.

If a 2yo girl loses her parents in a train accident and barely survives, should doctors allow the media to put her in the spotlight 24/7? I doubt that's good for her future. Perhaps good for the doctor's wallet. There's just very little respect for individual rights, if they have any, and weak people get abused from all sides.

At the same time I wish 枪毙 and the death penalty in general didn't exist because it can be abused too easily, it's prone to too many mistakes. Even if someone is 99,99% guilty, you need to draw the line somewhere to prevent the abuse and errors of death penalty, which means it should be totally abolished. There's no middle way. For e.g. the father of my gf has attented many executions as a police officer and although he didn't wanna criticize the policy, he even has a friend who got executed unjustly. The regime just uses it as a tool to create anger among the public and give the party an injection in popularity.

One more example, for decades the party didn't care about all the deadly accidents caused by drunk driving, but this year when a celebrity in Beijing killed someone by drunk driving and it became big news, they saw their chance and changed the law in an instant through this showcase. I don't think Chinese society will ever reach its potential with the regime in control of everything, the regime is just as much to blame for this low morality as the citizens, I guess that's another story.

A friend sent me this link. It makes me sick, and it makes me sad that it doesn't surprise me at all.

To be fair, I came across a man lying in the middle of the road at about 2 AM one night. He didn't seem to have any injuries, but he definitely wasn't alright. In the end, I didn't have the guts to do anything myself, just rode off on my bike after asking the guy if he was alright several times (no response). I ended up writing a short story about it, speculating what might have happened, but I still have no idea what had happened or whether or not I could have helped or if there was even any help necessary.

I guess the point is that we all think we would have done something if we were there, and in the case of this little girl, most of us would have, but sometimes you don't know what's going on and it's much easier to walk on by than to stop and help. Sad but true.

@Anti
Yeah, I heard about that case too. I don't know what or who to blame. The entire system is messed up, and maybe you are right about it starting during the culture revolution.

@Elwin
Money talks, and China is probably the most capitalistic place on earth right now (although the party try to make it seem like its the other way around).
IMHO, helping a little girl like this is like a natural instinct. Same thing as when u accidentally put you hand on a hot stove, and immediately pull it back. You dont think about it, you just do it. I mean, isn't denying help to someone that is dying the same as killing them? These 18 people who walked by are guilty in my book. Did you see when the mother with a child that probably was around the same age as the girl walked by? The child instinctively ran towards the girl, but the mother grabbed him and pulled him away. I mean, is it so hard for a mother to think "What if that was my child"

About the penalty for this crime, I think that there could be nothing else but death. When you drive a car, you are responsible for your actions. Not only did the first asshole fail to see the girl (or maybe he didn't...), but when he ran over her with the front tire, he didn't stop, but paused for a minute like if he realized what had happened, and then drove off. As a driver, you have to keep you freaking eyes on the road, and the second driver is just as responsible.
Even if it wasn't on purpose, you are still responsible for your actions.


@Fatdragon
I can understand that you didn't do anything in that situation, although I think you should have called the police. However it's not the same thing as seeing a child laying in a pool of blood, with bloody tiretracks on her sides.

Interestingly enough, although a passerby might morally be required to aid someone in peril, there is no legal obligation to do so in the U.S. Look up "Duty to rescue". If you are old enough, think of Kitty Genovese.

Very interesting thread, not watched the clip sorry, don't think I want to!

I am no law expert - but it is interesting to hear of the different 'legal obiligation' and 'moral obligation' arguments and requirements in different countries and even different states! In Australia we have a 'Duty of Care' - meaning we have a legal requirement to go to all lengths to prevent things from happening, we also have a 'Legal responsibility to report child abuse'. I suppose that means we don't have to go and physically help, but we have to let the police know...whether this story of the little girl is described as 'reporting a crime' or 'reporting child abuse' -technically what is running over a child even if by accident? And maybe the people went away to report what had happened?

I would hope that anybody would rush to help, be with a hurt child at such a time, to offer physical help, touch, caring, emotional support, someone to die with!

But it is also easy to criticise the 'bystander effect' happening here, and try to work out the cultural constructions that make us like the way we are in particular time and space.

But I suppose we in the West are the biggest 'bystander effect' happening in the world, when we sit back and allow so much suffering in the world, and we even contribute to that suffering. It is not an emergency situation thrust in our face like seeing a little girl get run over, but we know there are people being abused, starving, killed etc but many of us do not do anything about it.

Peter Singer always explains philosophical issues such as our 'moral obligation to help' very well, his latest book 'The life that can be saved' helps us to see how we are 'bystanders' to these things, and how we can help!

Not meant to be a preachy post - just a very interesting topic with many emotions attached...interesting enough to use as a Chinese study procrastination...

Now back to studying Chinese...

Donna

@DaXia - Funny thing, I'm still not quite sure how to call the police here, or else I probably would have. I'm used to the good old system of one number, all emergencies with 911. I suppose I should put in the five minutes one day to familiarize myself with emergency services numbers in China, but I have yet to do so.

Of course, whenever I look back at that moment, I tell myself that I should have done something different, something more proactive, but I didn't. The thing that sealed it was when a farmer rode by on his bike, stopped to look for a minute, then rode off. I told myself, "If he doesn't think it's anything to worry about, I guess I can hold the same opinion," and, "If a native speaker can't do anything about it, what can I do?" The bottom line is that in the end the situation was ambiguous enough and I was uncertain enough to just walk away, and I suspect that a lot of others would have done the same in my position.

But once again, I agree that a broken and bleeding two year old girl on the road is a lot different from an adult with no visible injuries on the road. I sometimes ask myself what I could have done in the situation I was in, but if I knowingly walked by that girl, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

The news reporting now that she passed.

This is only news because it was caught on camera. This kind of thing happens everyday in China. I've seen people in Inner Mongolia stand around still bodies in the middle of the street chatting and laughing with no ambulance in sight. @DaXia Having a Business and Economics degree I don't agree with your analysis that China is probably the most capitalistic place on earth and it's sad you'd try to allude to that being a factor. Are you suggesting society would be better if Mao was still at the helm? Having moved from China to Taiwan I can personally say that the societies are radically different and that China lacks being 'Chinese' in many ways Taiwan still is.

In fact, I saw a lady hit a biker yesterday and within seconds 5 people ran to help even across traffic. The biker(at fault) who probably had a mental condition tried to quickly walk off with a limp and the motorbike driver chased him down to say, "Oh my, your injured, you shouldn't walk on it. Let's see if we need to call an ambulance" Another time in Taiwan, I once saw a homeless man do something illegal and idiotic on his bike which caused himself to crash. Quickly people stopped and others went directly to the police station for help.

I have to agree with @Antimacassar that it is the Cultural Revolution that has destroyed Chinese society to be like this and not capitalism. Otherwise why are Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore which all have strong Chinese roots and are more capitalistic than China far more morally rooted?

More breaking news in China, someone has QUICKLY offered help to a 老人 who fell off his bike:
http://v.youku.com/v_playlist/f12279621o1p0.html

@dfoxworthy I second your post, I read some time ago that many Chinese mainland tourists who are coming to Taiwan are having a 'cultural shock'.

>>>I can personally say that the societies are radically different and that China lacks being 'Chinese' in many ways Taiwan still is.<<<

Interesting point, can you elaborate on this? Didn't know this as I've been to China not Taiwan.

百聞不如一見

I have not seen any cruelty like this on the street when I've been to China. But I was not surprised by what happened (and I think a lot more like that is going on without cameras in the spot).

What I really feel in Chinese culture is that everyone is only caring for himself, not for the community (what is funny, because people in the West might think it's vice-versa).

Mostly I noticed this in traffic. Everyone is only caring for their own safety. Cars pacing at incredible speed, honking, taking turns like crazy. - well the chance that you know the guy you hit are very slim in a country like this.

This has definitely caused some change here in Taiwan. Now when scooter accidents occur people are starting to stop. Compared to one month ago where no one would stop. I wonder how long this will last!

@FatDragon

Police is 110
Fire is 119

Also, in some cities in China, in theory, if you do not speak fluent Chinese and you call the police or go to the police station someone who speaks English will be found to help out.

I say this is "in theory" because I've been a volunteer translator for the Haikou Police for 5 years now and I've only been called by the police once.

-M