Voices: Yueyue Incident
心声：悦悦事件
Hit-and-run accident and death of toddler Yueyue stirs Chinese concern of societal apathy.
肇事逃逸的司机及受害的小悦悦引起了对冷漠社会的声讨。
Date Published: 10/28/2011
2-year-old Chinese toddler Yueyue was struck twice by trucks on a market street in Southern China and ignored by witnesses. Surveillance cameras captured the incident as the first truck ran over the child, stopping after the front wheels rolled over her body, and then drove over her with the back wheels. Another truck later drove over her as 18 bystanders ignored her as she lay injured in the street. A woman identified as a scrap collector pulled her aside and sought help. Yueyue died one week later from brain and organ failure at Guangzhou Military Hospital. The accident has sparked public outrage over the apathy of those who ignored the toddler, and whether it stems from Chinese culture or the country’s rapid modernization. Click here for translations 翻译
“Lack of materialism is not because of communism, lack of ethics is not because of communism, moral collapse is also not because of communism. The tragedy reflects the malpractice of how China has been developing all these years. To change this, Guangdong must earnestly implement the scientific concept of development, be people-oriented, and deeply reflect on the lack of the development concept.” --Wang Yang, Secretary of Guangdong Province as posted on blog.sina.com.cn
“The two drivers are guilty and so are the first 18 people who walked by. Why doesn’t the country establish a law to punish those who refuse to lift a finger to help people in mortal danger? …When morality holds no sway over cold-hearted Chinese people, what else can we do but turn to the law?” --Moyao, Youku User as quoted in the Wall Street Journal Oct. 18
“I've got a theory. Such kid deaths happen *very frequently* in China. It's just that they got no media attention before the Yueyue case.” --Kane Gao, Twitter User, Beijing
“I want to know how her parents and her brother are doing. I lost a child 10 years ago and I still feel the pain, and she died peacefully, I can't imagine watching her suffer and then losing her. The news just stopped reporting on her family and her rescuer, they are looking for similar cases and convictions of the drivers. But how is her family doing? Are there or have there been any services for YueYue? Has any thought been put toward building parks with fences so children have somewhere to play besides the streets? 2 more babies died in this same area this same way since YueYue, the only difference is less public attention and no videos. There is a problem here besides just the passers by. RIP YueYue.” --Anna Thacker, as posted on RIPYueyue Facebook page
“On the blogs and even the official news sources, there is discussion about Chinese people who begin to lose their way in this material society. Outside of China there is discussion about maybe that this is something distinct about Chinese culture. I have concerns with both of these perspectives. The first is that I have been going to China almost 20 years, and I always saw these things happen. So this goes against the idea that now people care more about money. In terms of Chinese culture, I think of course it is horrific, but there are countless things like this happening even in developed countries, so it is not something only happening in China. There are constitutional laws that can be changed. There are gaps in laws. There are problems with laws. It is a far more complex thing than just soul-searching, and my concern is that it is becoming more about the cost of development, or that it is a Chinese cultural thing, I think both of those arguments are problematic.” --Timothy Hildebrandt, International Relations Professor at University of Southern California.
“My first question is what Yueyue’s parents were doing at the time the accident happened and I cannot find any answers online. Her Parents, while they looked after this injured girl, were busy with getting interviewed and posting messages on Sina Weibo. Did any journalist consider about how a two-year old girl ran into the street? Yueyue’s guardians in fact took an unescapable responsibility to her death, they are the ones who should feel shame.” --Ningmo, writer for column, Females Commentate News, as posted on Lady NTES
“It is quite rare to see anything like this happen in Western countries, even in the old days. we always advertise our so-called socialism morality, which is very different from the capitalism morality, is this what it is? I remember once I was taking a friend to the airport, and the car broke down at the toll station. None of the passing cars stopped to ask if we needed any help, besides a car from the embassy with an American flag stopped, and gave us a ride to the airport. It was very moving.”--Writer at South News Politics Review, as posted on Weibo
“RIP Yue Yue ,may the first driver who is the biggest piece of scum and a murderer get very bad things to happen to him as he knew what he was doing while you were innocent and helpless.” --Lee Gray, as posted on the Yueyue Facebook page
“We should not only blame the government for this accident. Our nation indeed has too many problems. Bad morality has always been the case, we cannot only blame the government. However, I cannot help but ask, it has been 60 years since the founding of the Republic of China, should not the government bear the responsibility for the decline of society?” --Xue Haipei, President of Chinese-American committee as posted on Weibo
“2-year-old girl Little Yueyue was rolled over by two cars in Foshan, 18 pedestrians [ignored the accident]. This has sparked heated debate in Japan. It is hard to imagine such things would happen in Japan. Although the Chinese have money, they are the poorest in terms of morality among all the countries. Only the lowest class of people in China have morals.” --Liao Shen, Evening News as posted on Weibo
“What's the exchange rate for "common cents", like 1,000,000:1? Stop letting your kids play in the street!” --Chris, Twitter User, China
“Society is filled with distrust in China today. Especially in the political sphere, people distrust government officials and the effectiveness of policies and laws. In the legal field, public distrust the judiciary. Finally, this distrust extends to the members of society, and expands between each other. As a result, a number of ethical behavior based on moral, became impossible for those people with distrust-- Little Yueyue was probably ignored just by such distrust.” --Zhe Si 0203, Fujian, as posted on Weibo
“The majority of Chinese parents educate their children to merely take care of themselves and to get away from any troubles. If a law can be made to punish persons who show apathy, it may help reshape social norms and reform current education.” --Zhu Jiongping, lawyer, Nanjing, as quotes in the Wall Street Journal China on Oct. 24
“Can we not revitalize social norms and values by rebuilding the social environment? Are regulations the best way of solving social problems? The answer is NO. It will become a constitutional issue if we are forced to make laws.” --Yu Jing, law researcher, Guangzhou, as posted on people.com.cn
南报时政评论
小悦悦这样类似事件，可以说在西方国家罕见，在所谓的万恶的旧社会也罕见。我们总是标榜所谓不同于资本主义的社会主义道德观，难道就是这样的吗。记得一次送人去首都机场，在收费站前汽车突然出问题，国内没一辆车停下来问是否要帮助，十分着急时一辆挂美国旗的使馆车停下来把我们带到机场，当时真的很感动.
汪洋, 广东省省委书记“物质贫乏不是社会主义，精神空虚也不是社会主义，道德堕落更不是社会主义。悲剧的发生反映了长期以来我们在发展方式上存在的弊端。改变这种状况，广东必须认真贯彻落实科学发展观，坚持以人为本，深刻反思发展理念上的不足”。
凝眸，“女人写时评” 作家, 网易女人
我的第一反应是：“她的父母干什么去了？”搜遍网络也没有答案，我们不知道事件发生的当时，她的父母在做什么，一个2岁的孩子如何独自跑上车水马龙的街道，在下着雨的傍晚。小悦悦的父母除了看护她，还在忙于接受媒体采访、开微博，不知道是先前的记者没有想到问这个问题，还是因为巨大的同情放弃了这个问题。无论如何，小悦悦的监护人有着不可推卸的责任，他们是这个事件中最应该愧疚和痛悔的人。
薛海培, 美国华人全国委员会会长
小悦悦事件，我们不应仅仅是怪政府。我们这个民族确实是问题太多，道德太差，历来如此，不能都怪政府。可是又一想，不禁想问，中华人民共和国已建国六十多年了，难道政府对这江河日下的社会就不负有重大责任嘛？
辽沈晚报
“佛山2岁女童小悦悦被2辆车碾压，18名路人漠视不管，在日本也引发热议。日本舆论认为，“这样的事情在日本无法想像”、“中国人虽有钱，却是全世界精神最贫穷的国家”、“中国只有最底层的人尚未善良泯灭”.
哲思0203, 福建
今日中国整个社会弥漫着互不信任的社会心理。特别是在政治领域，公众对官员和政策效力不信任；在法律领域，公众对司法不信任。最后这些不信任扩展为社会成员之间的相互不信任。这样一来，一些基于信任的道德行为，在有些人那里就成了不太可能的事——小悦悦很可能就是这样被漠视的。
朱永平, 律师，南京
中国多数父母都教育孩子“事不关己、高高挂起”，尽量别惹麻烦。制定惩罚性的法律会引导道德，直到家长们学会怎样用另外的方式教育孩子
于静, 政治法律研究所研究员, 广州
我们当真不能通过整个社会环境的优化来实现道德的自我救赎吗？立法就一定能够解决问题吗？任何社会问题都依赖“严刑峻法”是解决问题的最佳途径吗？答案同样是否定的。如果依赖立法来解决问题，就是将道德问题法律化，必然就要扩大、增加公民的义务，必须于法有据，这是个严肃的宪法问题。
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- Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State, at a press conference during Pres. Trump's visit to Beijing, Nov. 9, 2017
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