The case of a heartless student

A college student in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, sued his impoverished parents recently demanding that they pay his tuition and living expenses, exposing the failure of education in today's society, says an article in Beijing Youth Daily. Excerpts:

The student's action has drawn widespread criticism, especially because his father is sick and his family is too poor to pay him 1,000 yuan ($163) a month for his living expenses. People say he should have helped his parents financially instead of dragging them to court for money.

The incident shows that education has not had the desired effect on today's students. Since the college student is already 18 years old, his parents are not obliged to pay his tuition and living expenses. On the contrary, adult children have the obligation to support their parents.

It's not uncommon to see spoiled children trying to take advantage of their parents. Many parents blindly dote on their children and provide them everything they want - even those beyond their means. As a result, these children grow up into indifferent and ungrateful adults despite receiving university education. In other words, they become like the Lianyungang student, devoid of a healthy personality and independent spirit.

After the court mediated between the student and his parents, he withdrew his suit. In fact, the court staff donated some money for the parents to enable them to pay their son's tuition. The student, however, still faces many challenges. And if he remains ungrateful to and dependent on his parents, he cannot develop into a healthy human being.

Criminal preference for sons

A man in Heilongjiang province stuck four needles into his 56-day-old daughter's body in the mistaken belief that that would ensure his next child is a son. Apart from condemning the man for his superstitious beliefs, law enforcers should impose the strictest possible punishment on him to deter other people from following his ugly example, says an article in Beijing Times. Excerpts:

The Heilongjiang incident is not the only one of its kind. A similar incident has been reported from Huai'an, Jiangsu province.

The baby girl's family in Heilongjiang was indifferent to the tragedy, and even tried to prevent the hospital from reporting the case to police. It's sad and shocking to see that families still have a blind "preference for boys". And it's shameful to know that such a prejudiced tradition is still practiced in today's society.

In Huai'an's rural areas, many families still "prefer sons to daughters". A family without a son in Huai'an faces "social pressure" and a mother still feels "ashamed" of giving birth to a girl. In fact, daughters are randomly discriminated against in many areas. Some families continue to detest and ill-treat girls because of their belief in feudal ideas, which often leads to tragedy.

Such outrageous attitude toward girls is demeaning to humanity and deserves the severest possible punishment. Cases like the ones in Heilongjiang and Jiangsu show that gender discrimination is still a serious problem in some areas of the country.

Society as a whole, especially with the active help of law enforcement agencies, has to fight against such superstitious beliefs to avoid a repeat of the Heilongjiang incident.

(China Daily 09/04/2013 page9)