A 2-year-old girl was left bleeding on a road after a hit-and-run accident. More than a dozen people walked past the victim, who was hit by two cars, without stopping to help her. She was finally rescued by an old refuse collector. The incident reflects how cold people have become to other's suffering, says an article in Guangzhou Daily. Excerpts:

The tragic incident took place on Oct 13 and its news spread over the Internet like wild fire, prompting netizens to condemn the indifferent attitude of passers-by and blame the first driver who hit the girl for the accident.

It is beyond doubt that such online voices have guarded the moral bottom line of society.

But we require introspection and view such incidents by putting ourselves in other's shoes: What would I do if I happened to walk past an accident victim? Would I save the injured girl like the refuse collector? Or would I stop my car (or taxi) immediately and drive the girl to a hospital?

We have to know that every person who passes by an accident victim without offering any help is in need of helping themselves.

The "Peng Yu case", in which the man who helped the injured was sued for injuring the victim, has indeed set a negative social example which prevents many people from helping others.

The onlooker mentality has existed for long, and perhaps it is unfair to blame the "Peng Yu case" on poor human nature alone.

But how can we leave a dying or injured person without offering help. So along with introspection, we also need self-criticism.

(China Daily 10/19/2011 page9)