What kind of world do we live in?

blueoval · 18-10-2011, 12:49 PM

Mods, feel free to close this at your own discretion.

This news article has left me stunned at what us as human beings have been reduced to.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1226169339307

Quote:

THE fate of a toddler left comatose after being knocked down by a van in a market - with her mangled body run over by a second vehicle and ignored by 18 passers-by - has prompted an outpouring of soul-searching and self-revulsion across China.

Yueyue, two, was 100m from her family home in Foshan, south China, when she wandered into the path of a van on Thursday last week.

The child might have been saved if a seven-minute procession of cyclists and pedestrians had not looked the other way.

The callousness of the drivers and those who walked on has been taken by Chinese as evidence that the country is losing its soul.

One netizen commented on what he called an ethical decline that starts with corrupt officials and ends with a "zombie" population stripped of its humanity.

"Find those 18 passers-by, dissect their brains and see what medicine the Communist Party has been feeding us to make them like the walking dead," wrote one widely forwarded post on the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

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GRAPHIC WARNING: Toddler hit and run sparks global anger

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Even after Yueyue was carried off the street and put against some sacks, the unwillingness of people to become involved was all too obvious.

The 57-year-old rag collector who finally moved her ran from shop to shop to find the toddler's parents and was repeatedly told to mind her own business.

After doctors declared the child brain dead, her parents received a phone call from one of the drivers saying: "If you had hit her, you would run too."

A man who identified himself as the same driver told local media: "If she's dead, I may pay only about 20,000 yuan ($3200, but if she's injured it may cost me hundreds of thousands of yuan."

Both drivers have since been arrested.

As details of the tragedy emerged, surveillance camera footage provided harrowing images of cyclists, shoppers and even a mother and child ignoring the bleeding toddler as they walked by.

The video allowed Chinese to count and condemn the people who saw Yueyue but did nothing to help her.

China's largest microblogging site, Sina Weibo, rapidly became an arena for fury and accusation.

"This is not about 18 individuals reflecting on their hateful indifference, but a matter of shame for everyone. We are a kind people. When did we start hiding that?" said one.

"Humans beget humans, devils beget devils. China gave birth to this ********** society," wrote another.

Many bloggers highlighted what they saw as contrasting Chinese and foreign responses to an endangered life, citing an incident last week when an American tourist jumped into a lake in the southeastern city of Hangzhou to rescue a Chinese woman from drowning.

The focus has shifted from the callousness of the passers-by to practical pressures that kept them from trying to help.

Many remember a case in 2006 when a 65-year-old woman fell in the street and broke her hip.

Peng Yu, 26, rushed to help, took her to hospital and gave her 200 yuan for good measure.

She later sued him, winning an award of 45,000 yuan because the judge decided that Mr Peng's gift was evidence that he had caused her fall.

Since then the fear of litigation has increased.

In June, last year, a man helped an elderly woman only to be sued for 100,000 yuan.

By September the Ministry of Health advised the public not to rush to lend a hand to the elderly if they fall. The results of that advice are already evident.

Last month in central Wuhan, an 88-year-old man collapsed in the street and was left to die because no one dared to help.

The Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, subsequently conducted a poll that found that 80 per cent of people would not help an elderly person in the street for fear of extortion.

Many microbloggers yesterday wondered if they would have behaved differently.

Others, echoing similar comments after a high-speed railway collision in July, blamed the country's breakneck pursuit of profit for the death of "the good and the beautiful".

One, on a tack that resulted in censors deleting some microblogs on the Sina Weibo website, blamed a government that had "broken the moral standards of the Chinese nation down to a level where the people are screaming".

The Times

Geez Louise · 18-10-2011, 12:53 PM

I read this today and felt sick! People just walked passed!! What sort of world do we live in where this happens and no-one thinks twice about it.

R.I.P Little Angel.

Jim Goose · 18-10-2011, 12:59 PM

Video link was posted on the ABC website (doesnt show the actual impact).
People simply walked around her as if she was just a lump on the laneway.
A guy in a scooter even went round her.

Then there is the woman who did find her and asked for help and everyone still kept on walking past her!

blueoval · 18-10-2011, 01:09 PM

What gets me is the lady who came to the girls aid was told to mind her own business.

The examples of people helping others only to be sued has obviously sparked this need to be ignorant to another persons cause.

Makes me sick, and it's only getting worse.

EFFalcon · 18-10-2011, 01:14 PM

over population = more selfishness..

yes.. it will only get worse.

**Polyal** · 18-10-2011, 01:22 PM

Um I dont think it is just that, basic human instinct is pretty common across the global but the idea of death, life and the value of it differs hugely.

I am not excusing what has happened, but not everywhere is like here, no where is perfect and Im sure some of the things that happen in our own country is beyond belief sometimes.

V8XTasy · 18-10-2011, 01:40 PM

I couldn't watch the video, the story was sickening enough. I just hope that attitude to life and death doesn't spread.

kaniSS · 18-10-2011, 01:42 PM

I have a 2.5 year old and this video just made me sick to the core. Just seeing the car go over her chest literally broke my heart.

I wish I could have 5 mins with the driver in a room without any windows..

**Polyal** · 18-10-2011, 01:46 PM

I didnt look at the link because it would turn my stomach too, didnt know there was a video and I dont think I want to watch it.

I have kids too and some things you just cannot understand how or why they happen.

kaniSS · 18-10-2011, 01:48 PM

Trust me guys if you have kids DON'T watch the video. I can't wait to get home and give my little one a hug..This video just ruined my day.

trippytaka · 18-10-2011, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Um I dont think it is just that, basic human instinct is pretty common across the global but the idea of death, life and the value of it differs hugely.

I am not excusing what has happened, but not everywhere is like here, no where is perfect and Im sure some of the things that happen in our own country is beyond belief sometimes.

Yep you'll get no argument here. Head overseas to any overpopulated part of the world and you will see that people seem to have switched off. Life seems cheaper.

Geez Louise · 18-10-2011, 01:52 PM

It is a sad planet we live on when people care more about it costing (monetry wise) to help someone out then just lending a hand to another in need!

This was a little girl that couldn't help herself. What makes me sad is where is people's compassion? Their sense of helping one another....World has gone mad!!!

fmc351 · 18-10-2011, 02:21 PM

Id say it has more to do with the legal position and less with population as a direct cause, although surely both have blame. When youre dirt poor yet working your guts out, and hardly managing day to day with little chances on the horizon for a better life, its got to be pretty scary to think of your own family making ends meet without you as you cant pay the costs awarded against you simply for helping someone in need, and end up in a Chinese prison.

One of the things people might want to keep in mind when our courts let someone off, yet we often think they must be guilty based on news stories of the events. In China, obviously the legal system goes on its gut, not facts. Be careful what you wish for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

Video link was posted on the ABC website (doesnt show the actual impact).

Be thankful, Ive seen it, and wish I could unsee it.

Gobes32 · 18-10-2011, 02:22 PM

Absolutely disgusting, appaling behaviour. I hope these people feel insufferable guilt for what they have been a part of, but they probably won't.

GTJOHN · 18-10-2011, 02:51 PM

There is no excuse for this behaviour...there must be no shred of decency or soul in a person to walk past a toddler and not offer assistance. No matter what the concesquences might be, can you live with yourself having walked of and thinking you had a chance to save a innocent child ?
DISGUSTING !!!

jrfttf · 18-10-2011, 02:52 PM

Cleary shows what human life is worth in some countrys

TheSneakiness · 18-10-2011, 03:02 PM

I saw a vid posted on the NineMSN website and I won't watch it. I might snap and who knows what'll happen.

Unfortunately this is a direct result of poor people hurting themselves and people trying to help and getting sued for doing so.

XF Falcon · 19-10-2011, 02:58 AM

That is absolutely ******* disgusting :( How can someone with half a conscience walk past that poor child. Its definitely no excuse for not stopping to help her, but times must be very tough over there for people to behave in that manor :(

Mickxr8 · 19-10-2011, 05:22 AM

When I was in thailand a few years ago, came across a fatal motorbike accident on a busy street and the amount of people that just walked over the body or in the blood just gobsmacked me..

F6 Aimz · 19-10-2011, 05:54 AM

Horrible. Where are the girls parents? Why is she wandering on her own?

gtxb67 · 19-10-2011, 06:04 AM

the uncensored version is sickening - although it looked real, I was unsure because the 2 truck drivers and the people didn't seem to care. it is a sad world

TEKILA · 19-10-2011, 04:23 PM

This makes me so angry watching this. And to think this is coming from a country that dominates the world industries. What are they going to next, bring these sorts of practices to Australia? Are migrants moving to Australia going to bring the same values?

Ford_The_Win · 19-10-2011, 04:30 PM

This is nothing new. Haven't you heard of the Genovese case in New York in the '60s? Young woman bashed, sexually assaulted and eventually murdered in the courtyard of her apartment complex by (one) man...screaming out for help... nobody went to her aid, they watched from the windows. 38 people witnessed the murder... One person called police after she was stabbed.

That sort of thing takes place in Asia all the time, that is just their culture. They tend to be the same with animals as well.

Chopped · 19-10-2011, 05:06 PM

I know we can all have a whinge about Australia sometimes ....but gee I'm glad I live here.
(RIP little darling)

Yellow_Festiva · 19-10-2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chopped

I know we can all have a whinge about Australia sometimes ....but gee I'm glad I live here.
(RIP little darling)

And this is exactly why I get very defensive when people who live here sook and whinge about petty things.

Re China.... Ohhhh if people only knew the stuff that goes on there every day they will be shocked.

I have been to around 40 countries (give or take), including 31 days in China. China was a nightmare, and the worst place I have been to by a large margin.

I'm a placid person... can count on 1 hand the amount of fights I have been in my whole life, yet in 30 days I found cause to get into a confrontation 3 times.

Never have I experienced such rudeness. The people there that I encountered did not care for morals, ethics, fairness or compassion. Every day I had a WTF moment where I questioned where humanity may be leading.

Why did I experience this? I dared to do it alone. Of course, I know many, many people who really had a great time there. They were on tours where they were protected from the 'Real China'.

Forget about what you see on those travel shows.... It is mostly BS for the camera. I encountered corrupt / useless Police, organised crime gangs at the main airport (doing their thing right under the eyes of airport staff and airport police), tourist information offices that were staffed by workers who could not speak ONE WORD of English, tour companies who sold tickets to anything as long as they get the sale (who cares what the customer requested), verbal abuse, street gangs preying on tourists etc etc etc

I know my comments may seem full on or over the top. Spend a little time on google and youtube and you will soon learn of the real China.

If you are an animal lover you are best to NOT look into what they do there. They do treat animals worse.... My wife's father worked for a Chinese business man that included trips to China. What he told me goes on in some 'restaurants' is beyond comprehension... you really don't want to know.

No country is perfect, this I know first hand. But boy does China get full marks for trying their best to be near the bottom of the barrel.

Ok, time to lower the blood pressure. That's enough.

irish2 · 19-10-2011, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trippytaka

Yep you'll get no argument here. Head overseas to any overpopulated part of the world and you will see that people seem to have switched off. Life seems cheaper.

It is an unfortunate fact of life, that a commodity of high concentration has little value. In some parts of the world, it is life itself, that is in high concentration.

Bud Bud · 19-10-2011, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

And this is exactly why I get very defensive when people who live here sook and whinge about petty things.

Re China.... Ohhhh if people only knew the stuff that goes on there every day they will be shocked.

I have been to around 40 countries (give or take), including 31 days in China. China was a nightmare, and the worst place I have been to by a large margin.

I'm a placid person... can count on 1 hand the amount of fights I have been in my whole life, yet in 30 days I found cause to get into a confrontation 3 times.

Never have I experienced such rudeness. The people there that I encountered did not care for morals, ethics, fairness or compassion. Every day I had a WTF moment where I questioned where humanity may be leading.

Why did I experience this? I dared to do it alone. Of course, I know many, many people who really had a great time there. They were on tours where they were protected from the 'Real China'.

Forget about what you see on those travel shows.... It is mostly BS for the camera. I encountered corrupt / useless Police, organised crime gangs at the main airport (doing their thing right under the eyes of airport staff and airport police), tourist information offices that were staffed by workers who could not speak ONE WORD of English, tour companies who sold tickets to anything as long as they get the sale (who cares what the customer requested), verbal abuse, street gangs preying on tourists etc etc etc

I know my comments may seem full on or over the top. Spend a little time on google and youtube and you will soon learn of the real China.

If you are an animal lover you are best to NOT look into what they do there. They do treat animals worse.... My wife's father worked for a Chinese business man that included trips to China. What he told me goes on in some 'restaurants' is beyond comprehension... you really don't want to know.

No country is perfect, this I know first hand. But boy does China get full marks for trying their best to be near the bottom of the barrel.

Ok, time to lower the blood pressure. That's enough.

Great post, and spot on, especially this

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Why did I experience this? I dared to do it alone. I encountered corrupt / useless Police, organised crime gangs at the main airport (doing their thing right under the eyes of airport staff and airport police),

I hope you don't mind me being selective but I too encountered pretty well the same as you described including trying to be scammed in Beijing airport, until I asked to speak to airport authorities which seemed to be enough to spook them.

I don't think most people in Australia would be anywhere near prepared for the culture shock of China if they traveled alone outside from the razza matazz of Shanghai, I know I wasn't.

RIP little one.

Bud Bud

conordec · 19-10-2011, 10:45 PM

Well said yellow.

I've lived in Hong Kong since 2001, with stints out in bangkok, malaysia, south africa and 6 months in China.

I've seen things that i wish I'd never seen. I'm a chef aswell, so you can only begin to imagine some of the sights i've seen.

Bear claws, real ones, in the freezer, that took the cake and it was bye bye to that company. I have morals and that pushed me over. The shark finning business is similar, and while I do serve it here, I'm always pushing for it to be taken off menus, and also join freeze mobs in disguise.

Have seen similar in Thailand aswell with an accident happening right in front of me, when i went to thier aid, was pulled back by locals for my own protection apparently. Luckily for the young kid on the motorbike it was a quick ending.

Australia IS a lucky country, don't believe me? Come here and I'll take you for a day trip over the border and into china..... you'll soon change your mind.

GTJOHN · 21-10-2011, 01:46 PM

I can understanmd that people have the mentality that they are protecting themselves from litigation and other legal possibilities... BUT..i dont think i could live with myself if i walked past a innocent baby bleeding and dying in the streets .... take all i have and leav me penniless if it means a child has a chance to grow and become something... living with the fact that yiou sat back and watched would be a bigger burden to me than being broke and living on the streets... I try and instil values of respect to my children, if i walked past a toddler in need and did nothing, im a hyporite and ....grrr just astound me that people can do this no matter what... and the fact a mother holding her own childs hand also walked past is even harder to comprehend... RIP poor little child who had no chance of growing or feeling things we take for granted ...

Yellow_Festiva · 21-10-2011, 04:50 PM

Just an update, seems she was critically injured at first....

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/836...n-hit-run-dies

Quote:

Chinese toddler ignored in hit-run dies
13:10 AEST Fri Oct 21 2011

A toddler who was twice run over by vans and then ignored by passers-by on a busy market street in southern China has died a week after the accident and after days of bitter soul-searching in the country.

A nurse in the intensive care unit of the Guangzhou Military District General Hospital confirmed that the two-year-old girl, Wang Yue, died early on Friday. She declined to reveal the cause of death, saying it would be announced later.

The plight of the child, nicknamed Yueyue, came to symbolise what many Chinese see as a decay in public morals after decades of headlong pursuit of economic growth, after graphic video of the accident emerged.

Her death touched off another round of hand-wringing. Many comments posted to social media sites said "we are all passers-by".

And after going viral as it did, I bet the Chinese government did all in its power to keep that child alive to stem some of the embarrassment.