周黎明 (Raymond Zhou's bilingual blog) 用中文写娱评，用英文写时评

"You should immediately call the cops," I was told.

"What if a car is speeding towards her and there is no time for a cop to jump to her rescue?" I persisted.

My friend looked at me as if I were from another planet.

Several years later, a friend of mine joined me in Berkeley. I relayed to him the same advice, but he wouldn't listen. One day, he told me he saw a middle-aged lady pushing two bikes across a street, something I thought one could see only in China. Out of kindness, he offered to push one for her. Wanting to practice his beginner's English, he walked the whole way with her.

After they parted, she found her wallet was gone and accused him of stealing it. "Why would I leave her my address and phone number if I had stolen something from her?" he cried.

I trusted my friend. He was fresh off the boat and hadn't learned the way of the world yet. The lady could have lost her wallet on her own or had it stolen by somebody else. Anyway, my friend vowed never to do something like that again.

In China, the good Samaritan is personified by Lei Feng, the young soldier whose deeds are hammered into the minds of every new generation. Stripped of political glorification, he is just a symbol of decency, altruism and compassion, which is the real value of this role model.

Things got complicated when our society opened up. Protection of one's individual rights is no longer brushed aside. Sacrificing oneself while rescuing someone else, especially for the underaged, is not encouraged any more. But where is the line between lawful protection of self-interests and random acts of selflessness?

There has been a spate of reports of bystanders who did nothing to save someone in distress, such as a kid drowning. On the other hand, there are also incidents of people who went out of their way to help others, and in the process hurt themselves and incurred huge medical bills.

Is the first group too cold-hearted? Is the second one too foolish? What is the right thing to do? There are things one should definitely leave to the cops, such as fighting gangsters. But calling a cop to help a swooning lady just sounds a bit too methodical and pretentious.

Fortunately, governments are taking a stand. Guangzhou has announced that it will raise the award significantly for good Samaritans. For example, a person who loses his life while helping others will have 300,000 yuan go to his family, instead of the original 50,000.

A new question arises: Detractors are saying people do good deeds for the money.

读者反馈：

twilite 2007-10-28 10:11
  Sad indeed to read this when a good deed has been summoned and demonised.

Retribution to the real guilty party. He/She reaps what he/she sows. If the old woman has been unkind, she will certainly meet her retribution. Mind you, she is old and she will suffer much for her unkindness.

I hope this case will not breed callousness in a society!

Society needs kind and gracious people to make living worthwhile during days of stress and strain.
 
 JWF 2007-10-23 10:16
  As a foreigner in China, I simultaneously cringe and helplessly submit to the fact that if something happens to me while out travelling, no help will come. I hope I never need a doctor or ambulance because no one will readily help me. They will all just stand around gawking,debating what happened, and then move on to their daily things and being thankful that 'it wasn't me'. After all, I'm just another foreigner and don't belong here anyway, right? By the time the police finally do show up, I'll likely be past that critical care point and probably die or something.
This doesn't just happen to foreigners but also Chinese. I've seen this myself concerning traffic accidents here. In psychology, it's a phenomena called 'diffusion of responsibilty'. The idea being that the larger the crowd, the less likely anyone will take the first step to help. It's assumed that 'someone else will handle it'. Sad but true. With this in mind, if you ever send someone to get help, send another person with them. This helps ensure that the person you sent won't change their mind and disappear.
As a far as trying to be a good person and help others, remember the old cheeky Western saying- "No good deed goes unpunished."
 
 Huaqiao 2007-10-22 15:46
  Well, you know what Laozi said: "When decency waned, morality waxed, and when morality waned, people started to devise laws.
The rule of law is nothing new. The Qin state became great through Law and Order, and the Mongol Empire was notorious for its Iron Justice. But they didn't last long.
Charity best be anonymous. No one knows who the Good Samaritan was. Don't turn Good Deeds into MPRs (Moral Property Rights), exclusive to your country, system, or religion. Or you will be Violated.
 
 cindy 2007-10-22 15:38
  Obviously,this is not a new topic,especially in March ( the month when everyone commemorates and learns from him ) of every year.However I've found as time goes on,Leifeng is falling into oblivion gradually,let alone his decency, altruism and compassion.Sadly,our society has become more and more cold-blooded,selfish and callous.Why? Personally,I think ,on one hand, people take their own material profit into consideration too much in whatever they do.That more or less means they will brush aside what can't bring them money or alike.on the other hand, there indeed exist some good Samaritans as Raymond tells us,but they are not returned well other than wronged.If so,who dare give his hand?
 
 William 2007-10-22 00:35
  Good deeds are common in my country (USA). They may be common in your country as well. I don't know. The bad deed or the un-just outcome is always sensational and noteworthy. I try not to be polluted by the constant unpleasant messages.
 
 Wang Yi 2007-10-21 13:04
  Act like you live in the kind of world that rewards kindness, and you will find that you are living in that world.

Who is the "better" person? The "clever" one who helps no-one because of fear of "trouble"? Or the "stupid" person who helps whoever is in need?

One is a hero. The other is merely a coward.

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
 
 wewillwin 2007-10-21 09:50
  did all those who were helped must be bad . what if the good samaritan are evil indeed .
so , the fact is import ang you should master more material before you want comment.