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Chinese elder's 'bus seat death' polarizes opinion
Online Edition
THE death of an elderly man on a bus in central China's Henan Province following an argument over a seat with a young man has set the Internet alight.
The elderly man, aged at about 70, collapsed on a No. 919 bus in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, on Tuesday afternoon and emergency medical staff confirmed his death less than an hour later.
The man reportedly got into a quarrel with a 20-year-old university student who refused to give up his seat. The dispute went so far as to see the younger man slapped in his face four times.
The man become so worked up that he collapsed and died on the bus.
Family of the deceased has confirmed that he suffered from a heart complaint.
The student is being investigated at a local police station, and the elderly man's death has triggered widespread controversy.
In survey by news portal NetEase, 90 percent of respondents said it is a virtue rather than an obligation to give up one's seat and so the student should not be held responsible for the man's death.
Hu Liuxi, a lawyer from the Qianye practice in Henan, said whether or not the young man should take responsibility or how much responsibility he should take depends on the cause of the elderly man's death.
Netizens are divided.
"Taking advantage of his seniority, he slapped the face of the young man, but he later died from a heart attack and he deserved it," wrote a microblogger under the name of "Jinmeiguidong" on Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.
Some, however, felt both sides have to share the blame as the young man should have given up his seat while the older man should not have got into any altercation, let alone assaulted anyone.
"We should always voluntarily give up our seats to the elderly, young kids, patients, the disabled and pregnant woman on public transport," wrote another Sina Weibo user named "Doudoumiao".
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