Unfair to accuse elderly of blackmail

SEVERAL DOMESTIC media outlets recently criticized an elderly Chinese tourist for "pretending" to be hit by the car of a Japanese restaurant and asking for 100,000 Japanese yen ($833) as compensation in late August. However, a few days ago it was proved the tourist had been hit by the car while taking pictures and was sent to hospital. Comments:

Some media outlets tend to be more interested in peddling bad news about Chinese tourists. Certain domestic media outlets even used words such as "blackmail" in order to sensationalize the news, and many Chinese willingly believed the fabricated story about their compatriot blackmailing foreigners. What is needed is to rebuild social trust so that we no longer presume each other to be evil.

Beijing News, Oct 6

The family of the elderly tourist did do something improper after the car hit. Instead of calling the police for help, they surrounded the driver who caused the accident and prevented her from leaving for some time. Their practice may not be uncommon in China, but in another society with more sophisticated rule of law it might be construed as wrong. We hope more Chinese tourists will obey the laws of the country they are visiting, even if they are the victims in an accident.

Xu Jingbo, via his microblog, Oct 7

There are so many reports about senior citizens in this country blackmailing drivers with false accusations. Now, whenever any accident happens involving senior Chinese residents people easily think they are trying to extort money. This is unfair.

Rednet.cn, Oct 7