Courage alone not enough in some situations

A passerby helps an old man who was hit by a car, in Beijing, Sept 9, 2014. [Photo/IC]

CITIZENS INTERVENING TO ASSIST OTHERS regardless of their own safety will no longer be encouraged in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, according to the city's revised regulations on rewarding and protecting the good Samaritans, which are expected to take effect from next year. A recent commentary on the local Changjiang Daily says that such revision is in line with the spirit of scientific legislation.

Wuhan's new "good Samaritan" law that promotes strategic, instead of bold, reactions to situations such as street crime, is an example of well-thought out legislation. Of course, both the governments and society should value those who assist victims of injury or crime and demonstrate their gallantry.

But many local good Samaritan laws refer to such acts as "residents standing up against misdeeds without considering their own safety", not defusing the crisis by strategy. This parochial interpretation might easily give rise to a series of problems.

On the one hand, if they believe that it only takes courage to do a good deed, those trying to help others may lose their lives without managing to help the victims. On the other, those who resort to reasonable strategies cannot only successfully aid those who need assistance, but also keep themselves safe from harm.

Yet, according to many local laws, such strategies do not count as "gallantly rising to the occasion", dealing a blow to many willing strategy-oriented Samaritans. Therefore, the relevant legislation should seek to protect their interests as well, and more importantly, promote the value of achieving the needed results at the lowest cost.

In other words, ordinary citizens need non-confrontational strategies as well as courageous acts to fight crime and correct the wrongdoings, because their safety matters too.