| A month ago when I had a one-day fun with my dear mom and dad at the Window of the World in Shenzhen, I met something that really puzzled me. It happened when I was approaching the tickets window, I was stopped by a middle-aged man asking me whether I wanted tickets. He was in uniform which had my trust for the first sight, so I said yes. Then he said I could get some somewhere else. I followed his point to a nearby stall where some people were paying and selling, I guessed, it’s the tickets. I was puzzled, wondering why there were two tickets selling places at the gate and asked for explanation. The man said frankly that the tickets were exactly the same, but prices at the stall required 10 yuan less. My first reaction was it was rather immoral and illegal, the rather that in a public place. So did I express my thoughts. The man met my eyes with a sincere look and said, “To be frank, everybody is struggling hard for life. We just want it better. You have your own decision.” I looked around and found that the man didn’t stop any foreigners for this. I puzzled…for his sincere look, for the deal so public at the gate of a popular tourist site, for this ten yuan… A report on TV last week told a real story. IT happened in Shenzhen. A two-year child drowned in a pool with nearly 100?? people standing around, watching and maybe discussing, but no one did anything except that a grade five pupil jumped into the pool and pulled the child out of the cold water. The child’s mom hurried to the spot and kneeled down to the boy for what he did. However, God didn’t show his pity to the young mom and the little hero’s diving… The child died in the hospital… I puzzled…even more… Yes, we have moral boundaries, more should we have boundaries of human nature. |
The City and Its Moral Boundary