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Getting off hook just part of getting ahead
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ACCORDING to a report last week on www.thepaper.cn, a nine-year-old girl was killed while playing near her home in Lu’an, Anhui Province, by hunters who allegedly mistook her for a hare.
On August 14, three men, armed with air-guns, went hunting in a pickup. The victim was playing with her elder sister in a sweet potato field in front of her home at that time, and was shot fatally in the head.
When the hunters conducted a look-see, they realized their mistake and quickly fled, the report said. They gave themselves up the next day after learning about police efforts to seize them.
In another incident, Shanghai Television Station recently reported that in June last year, a local woman surnamed Wang was taking a walk near her neighborhood after supper, and was suddenly jumped by a Siberian husky. She fell down, suffering fractures to her hands and lumbar vertebra, injuries that required surgery.
In spite of video camera footage that confirmed the whole incident, the dog’s owner, who was at the scene at that time, refused to take responsibility, pleading instead that Wang’s sudden appearance surprised the dog and elicited the attack. The woman had to sue the owner for 230,000 yuan (US$34,524) in medical expenses.
These are important news items, because the victims were innocent bystanders. And in both cases, the parties at fault showed a blatant disregard for human life and safety. If publicized correctly, such cases could lead to constructive reflections on the state of our society and ultimately positive changes.
Unfortunately, some of our reporters, columnists and netizens have been busy dissecting and moralizing about the cuckoldry of Wang Baoqiang, an acting star who recently, in an open statement, condemned his wife for being engaged in adultery with Wang’s agent.
Sex, money and celebrities; these make for sensational stories. Who cares about the tragic fate of a poor girl in Anhui, or an elderly woman in Shanghai?
During a recent trip to the northwest, while undergoing a security check before going on a bullet train in Liuyuan Station in Gansu, a friend in our travel group had to surrender his small fruit knife, in spite of his protestations. Yet if such an object is considered dangerous, how can some people be allowed to possess deadly guns and roam local towns and villages in search of game?
We do not know how the three men mentioned above obtained their guns, but for years online vendors have provided a convenient way to obtain illegal drugs, poisons and weapons. How can online businesses so easily bypass security regulations?
But more outrageous in both these instances was the apathy to the life of fellow human beings. Such apathy no longer excites an uproar, probably because we have been accustomed to seeing such apathy on a systemic level.
Some organizations we used to associate with humanity and compassion are no stranger to this apathy.
For instance, on August 14, 32-year-old Liu Lingli died of heart attack as a complication of cancer. Liu started to work as a teacher at a humanities institute of Lanzhou Jiaotong University in 2012, but after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014 she was dismissed by the school.
After running up a debt of over 100,000 yuan in medical costs, she had to get by setting up a stand selling clothes. In tears, her mother once supplicated a school cadre so that the school could continue to pay for her daughter’s medical insurance.
The cadre reportedly replied: “Do not try your tears on me — I happen to have seen quite a few tears in my time.”
Espousal of utilitarianism
Do we still believe schools to be the place where the benefit of education could bring out the best of human nature — compassion, charity, and love?
But how can we continue to entertain such expectations after seeing the ravages of market forces for so many years?
In theory, governments at all levels should exemplify the principle of first and foremost serving the people. In practice, human dignity, or even human life, can sometimes easily be sacrificed in fueling growth.
For many successful officials, this lesson sunk in long ago. On August 19, it was reported that Huang Bin, a senior leader in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, is now being investigated for serious violations of disciplines. Prior to his downfall, he was known for saying that nothing should be spared when it came to winning or pursuing projects, so as to transform the city’s appearance in three years’ time.
Now Huang is the bad guy, but there is no need to underestimate the number of Chinese cadres that share Huang’s aspirations, and dream of effecting fundamental changes in their cities.
There have been various correct rationalizations for this change, but the most powerful incentives are often left unsaid: There is huge money to be made from urban development projects, and such projects count towards merits for promotion.
Thus, in spite of talks of human-centered development, and discussions of the long-term consequence of unbridled growth, deep underneath there is the unshakeable belief by many in the role of market forces, and the enshrinement of these forces suffice to overwhelm whatever more humane considerations that might arise.
In the age of competition, success is often measured by the speed with which responsibility can be escaped.
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