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Attempted Suicide, or Attempted Murder?
posted Monday, 25 May 2009
There are two things that ACB finds hard to believe about this story. Firstly, that somebody Chinese would actually do something like this, and secondly that the Western media are treating such a serious incident as if it were some kind of comic stunt. Both of which are, frankly, sickening.
Care of the BBC.
ACB doesn't know what the world is coming to when things such as this happen. ACB has heard many stories of people in foreign countries taunting would be suicides - Telling them to "hurry up and jump" - and when you ask a Chinese a some will indeed say how they feel that suicides such as Chen are selfish and inconsiderate because they are disrupting the lives of others, and that they should kill themselves quickly and out of the way so as not to burden others with their troubles. But for somebody to actually scale a bridge just to push a suicide off of it out of shear annoyance is extremely shocking, and for the pusher to be a Chinese is even worse.
We must ask ourselves how did it come to this? Why are people such as Lai becoming so intolerant and so aggressive? Is this a home grown problem brought on by the the punishing pace of life and the growing disconnections between people in modern day China, is it an imported problem caused by unhealthy ideas from overseas, or is it something else all together?
Any which way, it is not a good sign.
ACB is also rather concerned at the way that this story is being presented in the Western media. Although the BBC story above is quite neutral, other news outlets are treating this incident as if it were a joke. One man was driven to near death by despair, and another man came along and to all intensive purposes committed what could very well have been an act of murder had Chen fallen just a little bit to one side. Yet the Western Media treats it as if it were some kind of slapstick comedy routine on one of the inane network comedy shows that foreigners seem to like so much.
China bridge jumper 'gets a push'
A man threatening to commit suicide by jumping from a Chinese bridge was approached by a passer-by who shoved him over the edge, local media say.
Lai Jiansheng, 66, said he was fed up with the desperate man's "selfish activity" which caused huge traffic jams in Guangzhou, southern China.
Chen Fuchao fell 26ft (8m) on to an air cushion and is recovering in hospital, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Xinhua said Mr Lai was "taken away by police", but gave no further details.
The drama unfolded when Mr Chen climbed on to Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou on Thursday and threatened to jump.
He told police he wanted to kill himself because he was 2m yuan ($293,000 or £184,000) in debt following a failed construction project, the China Daily reported.
Traffic around the bridge was stopped for five hours while officers tried to coax Mr Chen to safety.
Retired soldier Mr Lai at first volunteered to try to talk Mr Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua said.
Mr Lai is said to have then broken through the police cordon, climbed to where Mr Chen sat, greeted him with a handshake - and then pushed him off the edge.
Pictures in the China Daily show him saluting to the crowd after Mr Chen fell on to the partially filled emergency air cushion.
"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish," the newspaper quoted Mr Lai as saying.
"Their action violates a lot of public interests. They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."
Mr Chen is said to have suffered spine and elbow injuries and is recovering in a Guangzhou hospital.
The bridge has gained a macabre reputation, attracting at least 12 would-be suicide jumpers since the start of April, according to the China Daily report.
None of the 12 has jumped, although each has held up traffic for several hours, it said.
A man threatening to commit suicide by jumping from a Chinese bridge was approached by a passer-by who shoved him over the edge, local media say.
Lai Jiansheng, 66, said he was fed up with the desperate man's "selfish activity" which caused huge traffic jams in Guangzhou, southern China.
Chen Fuchao fell 26ft (8m) on to an air cushion and is recovering in hospital, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Xinhua said Mr Lai was "taken away by police", but gave no further details.
The drama unfolded when Mr Chen climbed on to Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou on Thursday and threatened to jump.
He told police he wanted to kill himself because he was 2m yuan ($293,000 or £184,000) in debt following a failed construction project, the China Daily reported.
Traffic around the bridge was stopped for five hours while officers tried to coax Mr Chen to safety.
Retired soldier Mr Lai at first volunteered to try to talk Mr Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua said.
Mr Lai is said to have then broken through the police cordon, climbed to where Mr Chen sat, greeted him with a handshake - and then pushed him off the edge.
Pictures in the China Daily show him saluting to the crowd after Mr Chen fell on to the partially filled emergency air cushion.
"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish," the newspaper quoted Mr Lai as saying.
"Their action violates a lot of public interests. They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."
Mr Chen is said to have suffered spine and elbow injuries and is recovering in a Guangzhou hospital.
The bridge has gained a macabre reputation, attracting at least 12 would-be suicide jumpers since the start of April, according to the China Daily report.
None of the 12 has jumped, although each has held up traffic for several hours, it said.
ACB doesn't know what the world is coming to when things such as this happen. ACB has heard many stories of people in foreign countries taunting would be suicides - Telling them to "hurry up and jump" - and when you ask a Chinese a some will indeed say how they feel that suicides such as Chen are selfish and inconsiderate because they are disrupting the lives of others, and that they should kill themselves quickly and out of the way so as not to burden others with their troubles. But for somebody to actually scale a bridge just to push a suicide off of it out of shear annoyance is extremely shocking, and for the pusher to be a Chinese is even worse.
We must ask ourselves how did it come to this? Why are people such as Lai becoming so intolerant and so aggressive? Is this a home grown problem brought on by the the punishing pace of life and the growing disconnections between people in modern day China, is it an imported problem caused by unhealthy ideas from overseas, or is it something else all together?
Any which way, it is not a good sign.
ACB is also rather concerned at the way that this story is being presented in the Western media. Although the BBC story above is quite neutral, other news outlets are treating this incident as if it were a joke. One man was driven to near death by despair, and another man came along and to all intensive purposes committed what could very well have been an act of murder had Chen fallen just a little bit to one side. Yet the Western Media treats it as if it were some kind of slapstick comedy routine on one of the inane network comedy shows that foreigners seem to like so much.
View Comments/Add a Comment (5)
1. Bill Rich left...
Tuesday, 26 May 2009 2:58 am
He's been "suicided". That means nothing illegal has happened, and whoever
suicided him will not be charged with anything.
2. The Angry Chinese Blogger left...
Thursday, 4 June 2009 6:03 am :: http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com
There's no such word in China as suicided. Under Chinese law the minimum
charge should be assault, and the maximum attempted murder.
3. The Angry Chinese Blogger left...
Thursday, 4 June 2009 6:03 am :: http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com
There's no such word in China as suicided. Under Chinese law the minimum
charge should be assault, and the maximum attempted murder.
4. The Angry Chinese Blogger left...
Thursday, 4 June 2009 6:03 am :: http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com
There's no such word in China as suicided. Under Chinese law the minimum
charge should be assault, and the maximum attempted murder.
5. The Angry Chinese Blogger left...
Thursday, 4 June 2009 6:04 am :: http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com
There's no such word in China as suicided. Under Chinese law the minimum
charge should be assault, and the maximum attempted murder.