China is capable of quite a bit of subtlety. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a revision of China’s Good Samaritan laws soon. It may even be that these revisions have been in the works for a while, if you catch my drift. It’s not unusual for a sensationalist news story to immediately precede a new law.
Internally, Chinese people know they don’t have a secure society or a dependable justice system. It’s not some big secret to them. In fact, I’d argue that it’s something so outside of their experience that most Chinese people don’t really expect that. Anyway, the government has nothing to lose by acknowledging (internally- I’m sure this was never meant for export) what everyone knows.
The party has, in various ways, cultivated a climate of fear and insecurity. They then present themselves as the historical and logical answer to this fear and insecurity. Chinese people already default to “someone should make a law about that!” They usually don’t blame major problems on the government, but rather see major problems as an argument that the government needs even more power and control.
China is on a horrible moral decline? That’s because the government needs to make more ability to control things in order to protect society. Chinese people are cruel and heartless? Gah, if this is the shit that happens in an authoritarian country, imagine the chaos we’d have if it were a democracy.
I really don’t care about any jibberish about equivalency (you Americans are bad too), I don’t give a damn about how much it hurts some apologist’s feelings. This thing that happened is beyond fucked up. The one son of a bitch ran her over twice and is blaming her for not walking properly (?). And a second son of a bitch ran her over too. And it took some bag lady to do something, because the “good” people wouldn’t.
To hell with them ALL and anyone who defends them. Fucking trash.
Not in my experience in China. There were no reporters involved at that time when the kid first went to the ER. If this isn’t a put on, then the police checked the perfectly framed security camera and the vid went viral and went to TV and finally got media attention. It’s not a case of the kid arrived at a local hospital ER, who took one look and said get the ambulance and send her to the best military hospital in the area *and *had the *authorization *to get her in a military hospital. This along with the lack of a crowd of gawkers are two GIANT flags that this is a put on.
There are several scenarios on how this could be spun by the government. Remember, self-criticism, especially to make a point, is a cornerstone of modern Chinese government and/or party. Even Sven laid out one.
so it has come to the point, or perhaps has been for a long while, that the veracity of media evidence good enough for news company like the BBC can no longer be verified except by opinion?
I have been living and working in China for several years.
Before I first went to China I had to have surgery inside my throat while I was still in America.
When I first arrived in China I had to go to the local hospital for a physical and blood tests, as do all foreigners in China on a work visa.
While I was at the hospital I sought out the head of the ENT department, introduced myself, and since he spoke English I explained the surgery that I has recently had and told him I would return to see him for a follow up visit.
A few nights later a blood vessel in my throat hemorrhaged and was bleeding into my lungs and I was coughing up a large quantity of blood. A foreign co-worker rushed me to the same hospital and I was quickly surrounded by 8 doctors including the head of the ENT department.
The doctors stood in a group about 15 feet away from me and refused to go near me.
I was sitting on the examination table crying and begging them to help me.
The foreign co-worker was also begging them to help me.
My Chinese boss stood with the doctors and said nothing.
Eventually I passed out from a lack of blood.
While I was passed out one of the nurses was sent to take a blood sample from me.
My blood was tested for AIDS, and of course I do not have AIDS.
The same hospital had tested me just a few days prior for AIDS as a requirement for my work visa.
Only when the blood test came back negative would the doctors approach me and take me into the operating room to go inside my throat to cauterize and stop the bleeding.
So, I am still in China, but I have no problem believing that accident victims can and will be ignored or watched, and not helped, due to fear and ignorance.
It is my understanding that Chinese people consider AIDS to be a “Western problem”, despite the fact that millions of Chinese people have contracted AIDS due to a previous practice in some hospitals of reusing needles.
I enjoy living in China most of the time, but the fear of another medical emergency does haunt me.
-the fact that chinese doctors are useless, dangerous, or hapless, does not have anything to do with a media contrived case that either is bizarre, or indicates the CCP throws babies under trucks.
-The chinese ability to do nothing ranges from non-sequitor to outright psycopathy. “My father is Li Gang!”
No, that’s incorrect. One big vector was the practice of going to the countryside to buy/collect blood from peasants. These blood collection practices infected millions in the central countryside.
Another big infection point came via the drug trade from Burma. Famous South African golfer Gary Player runs a charity focusing on Yunnan province and “AIDS orphans.”
These are the two big infection points. Both are well known within China.
BTW, I did the annual AIDS screening for 12 years.
**shijinn **- I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but this story is hard to swallow at face value for reasons outlined previously. It could be sloppy reporting and translation. That said, I don’t think the BBC actually went to China to verify the story, nor did they do an analysis on the veracity of the video.
"Following a ban on imported blood products in the 1980s, thousands of blood and plasma donation sites were established across China. Most operated illegally and collected blood from rural, impoverished areas where there would be less interference from authorities. The sites offered around 50 Yuan ($7) for plasma and 200 Yuan ($29) for blood.
“We all sold our blood to make money. We sold blood to pay the local taxes, to support our kids through school, and to make a living."
The collected blood was pooled together and the plasma removed. The remaining red blood cells were then injected back into the donors to speed recovery time. This unsafe collection method, and the reuse of needles and syringes, facilitates the transmission of HIV through blood. It is thought that hundreds of thousands of people, including both the paid donors and those who received blood transfusions, were infected with HIV in this way."
Cite for showing any original reporting on the story by the BBC, whether inside or outside of China? At least, what I have seen in the international media is a replay of parts of the video, some kind of summary based on the very sketchy details that were first released, and then maybe blogosphere coverage. There was also one follow up article with a photo of the mother prostrating in front of the cleaning lady and in the hospital room.
So, please provide cites for the original reporting that the BBC did in this case? That fact that the BBC regurgitated news does not verify the original reporting.
Cite that the BBC didn’t do their journalistic duty to verify the facts before reporting, first. 99% of all news stories broadcast use footage obtained from other sources. You seem to be the one going through contortions to prove this was all a hoax, and I trust the BBC and the Washington Post more than your opinion.
