Get Flash Player
Yet another negative story out of China has gone viral and made headlines, doing no good to China's image. Once again it concerns an elderly person allegedly making accusations against someone who claims to have gone to his aid.
According to news reports, Wu, a lowly rubbish collector, was on his motorcycle when he saw an old man lying in the road. Wu rushed to the man's his aid, got into a quarrel, and then with the help of a local resident, took him to the hospital and paid his medical bills. For his trouble, the old man's family turned on him and accused him of causing the old man's injuries. They demanded he pay compensation.
What proof was offered by the old man's family?
His eldest daughter said that if Wu "hadn't hit my father with his motorbike, why would he be so kind and take my dad to the hospital and pay for his medical expenses". Sadly judges have used the same logic to convict well-meaning good Samaritans in the past.
In the end Wu killed himself. His wife said he did so to prove his innocence.
While we may never know the real story, it's clear that this incident, only one in a long line of similar ones in which either a good Samaritan is ordered to pay compensation or in which a crowd of people gather around a person in distress, doing nothing more than perhaps gawking or snapping pictures to post on WeChat, is sullying China's image.
But what would you do? I know that because of such incidents, as much as I wanted to help, I would sadly refrain from doing so.
Yet what is sad about this situation and others like it, is how easily they could be avoided.
The answer to this moral dilemma can be found just down the road from where this tragedy occurred in the city of Shenzhen.
Because of many similar incidents, Shenzhen's leaders decided to study what other nations did in similar circumstances. Shenzhen's Good Person's Law took effect in August. It generally shields good Samaritans from being held liable when coming to the aid of others, as it puts the burden of proof on the person who was injured, and severely penalizes those who are found falsely claiming to have been injured by the good Samaritan.
Had this incident been subject to the same law, the old man would have had to prove that Wu caused the accident in order to claim compensation.
Perhaps the rest of the country should copy Shenzhen's example, as only when false accusers are penalized and punished will people be able to come to the aid of others without fear of being wrongly accused.
As we look forward to the Year of the Horse, let's hope that it will be the one in which a nationwide good Samaritan law is introduced. Only when judges throw the book at these con artists, who curb people's instinct to do good, will people be able to help others knowing that not only will they not be dragged into a nightmare of false accusations, but they will also be helping those in genuine need.
The author, Harvey Dzodin, is a senior adviser to Tsinghua University and former director and vice-president of ABC Television in New York.
澳洲的十几种打工经历
烤鸭必看:雅思阅读满分技巧大揭秘
阅读9分经验分享--给工作的考鸭
谈雅思阅读考试应该如何准备
浅谈提高雅思阅读能力
雅思阅读捷径-剑桥真题中同义替换词和考点
试论雅思阅读平行阅读法的局限性
雅思阅读基本技巧谈
雅思阅读背景资料:笔译口译
“罗森塔尔效应”在雅思阅读教学中的应用
雅思考试听力中的观点题
2008雅思阅读8分泛读计划(二)
Harvey的阅读回忆:Rhythms of Nature
雅思阅读中的相关信号词
雅思阅读考试通关制胜秘笈
乐宁名师白冰谈阅读--如何背阅读单词
10日阅读8分总分7分的一点感想
王晓春:08年A类阅读题型构成最新分析
剑四阅读分析(热带雨林)
剑桥雅思真题集5阅读部分分析2
王晓春:雅思阅读不可忽视图表题
Harvey的阅读回忆:眼镜蛇毒
详解雅思阅读八大题型的解题方法(下)
如何读懂雅思文章(一)
段落信息配对题解法初探
雅思阅读战报
雅思阅读适合自学的方法
雅思阅读判断题Not Given独家分析(上)
雅思阅读部分答案
5月雅思阅读题型走势分析
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |