Blood On All of Our Hands

One of 18 passers by who ignored Yue Yue as she lay bleeding and unconscious in the street

 I was so appalled by the following incident i wrote the following oped, which I have submitted to Hong Kong's 'South China Morning Post'... Marcus

This week within and beyond China observers have been shocked at images of passers by strolling past the still body of a two year old girl, lying unconscious in a small street in Foshan, Guangdong.

Neither of the two drivers who ran over the little girl stopped to help. The first driver got out of the car, then convinced that he had not been seen, drove away. Later he called the parents, refusing to hand himself in, but offering cash. After being arrested he defended his actions, saying that he only did what everyone else in China would have done in the same circumstances. The horrifying possibility is that there may be some truth in what he said.

Rightfully, both the media and the blogosphere in China have expressed outrage at the incident. Just how did society reach such a point whereby the only person willing to help a dying child in the street was, perhaps prophetically, a garbage lady?

The story has also led news bulletins in western countries. Condemnation on the internet by casual observers has been strong. Some of that criticism has been directed in strong terms at China and its devaluation of human life and dignity. Yet while this is a crucial element of the story, such a response misses the essential point. The tragedy of little Yue Yue is not merely a Chinese problem. It is a story which reaches right into the heart of the global economic system. It begs us to ask the question of what kind of future we wish to live in.

 Yue Yue lies comatose in hospital. She is not expected to live

The recent passing of Steve Jobs was met with strong appreciation for the brilliantly creative life he lived. Yet the iPhones that made his company the second richest on the planet were developed with the aid of exploited labourers in China, via outsourcing to Foxconn. There have been numerous reports alleging appalling working conditions at Foxconn factories, leading to dozens of worker suicides. Nationalists in China have pointed the finger at Apple, suggesting that the situation is yet another example of western exploitation of China. Yet it is China’s two hundred million immigrant workers who have made the Chinese economic miracle possible. It is the very fact that these people have been denied basic workers’ rights that has allowed the Chinese middle class to enjoy the benefits of China’s meteoric rise.

In nineteenth century England, workers, including children, were treated as cheap sources of labour. The novels of Charles Dickens told of dirty and abused children, tormented workers and greedy, heartless bosses. A Tale of Two Cities features a scene where a horse and carriage carrying a nobleman runs over and kills a child on a city street. The rich man throws money at the grieving parent and drives off.

It is all too spookily familiar.

How did we reach a situation in today’s China where human compassion has all but evaporated? Many have pointed to the ‘Nanjing judge’ factor, referring to a case where a good Samaritan was victimised and exploited by the woman he assisted. That incident, however, was five years ago, and Yue Yue-like stories have been circulating around China’s internet for far longer than that. The Yue Yue tragedy was unique only in that a CCTV camera caught the incident, and it was permitted to be circulated in the media and blogosphere.

At the heart of the Yue Yue story lie deep questions, and they are ultimately spiritual and moral questions. It was a spiritual teacher who once pointed out to me that there is a price to pay for everything. China’s obsession with economic growth, and the fixation of its  citizens for social elevation have created a cut-throat neo-Darwinian, survival-of-the-fittest society which has almost completely neglected the inner dimensions of the human experience. Education, society and culture lack reflection.

Chinese government policy must be fingered as lying at the heart of the problem. At this time it has been pointed out that the Communist party has fully adopted only one third of Sun Yat Sen’s China vision. The CCP have fostered zealous nationalism. Their adoption of Sun’s ‘livelihood’ is partial at best, as the economic focus has been on the exploitation of the masses for the benefit of the rich. Finally, they have stoutly rejected Sun’s ‘democracy’. And it is arguably with democracy that civil society can best flourish.

Further, Chinese dissidents who have attempted to challenge the system have been imprisoned and tortured. Some Western countries which have tried to ‘interfere’ have been punished. Norway, for example, has had its salmon exports to China effectively halted in the wake of the awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xaobo.

It is my hope that the Yue Yue tragedy can be a catalyst for some much needed and painful introspection in China, and the world. These past days we have seen thousands on the streets of nations all across the world, decrying the abuses of crony capitalism.

It is not enough to have material security, food aplenty, several apartments and multiple mobile devices to fiddle with in one’s spare time. Even most of the poor in China have TVs, mobile phones and rice on the table. But has the psychological and spiritual development of China (and the world) kept pace with the speed of economic development? The evidence we can take from those who walked aloofly passed the still figure of Yue Yue in a small street in Foshan is an emphatic “no”. Not only has spiritual maturity not ensued in China, it appears to have almost evaporated. It is not good enough that the only person who had enough compassion to assist a critically injured two year old was a garbage lady. I know I am not the only person who is hoping, praying, that this incident is a turning point in China’s development. Even better, perhaps it can be a turning point in the development of the whole world. Enough is enough.