China Needs the Gospel — Or at Least Scouting: Shanghai's Subway Stampede Shows Why
by Jeff Lindsay
A
Chinese friend shared an incident with me that was confirmed the next
day in a
news story in the Shanghai Daily.
A tall foreigner in Shanghai (not me!) caused a stampede on one of
Shanghai's many subway trains by doing something rather unexpected:
falling asleep.
Yes,
I know, it does sound rather scary. The story is quite humorous to
some of us foreigners, but there are some serious issues it raises.
Here are some excerpts:
Metro appeal after fainting foreigner panic
Subway
passengers have been urged to remain calm even if something happens
that alarms them — after the sight of a foreigner passing out
led to a stampede on a train.
Metro
operator Shanghai Shentong said yesterday that panicked reactions in
a confined space can create dangerous situations.
“Passengers
should keep calm,” said a Shanghai Shentong spokesman.
“In
the case of someone passing out, passengers should try to take care
of the person and call 120 for help.” …
On
August 9 about 9:30pm, a male foreigner on a Metro Line 2 train
seemed to lose consciousness and leaned against a woman sitting next
to him.
Startled,
she jumped up, alarming passengers in neighboring seats. Joined by
other panicked occupants, they fled into adjoining carriages.
The
carriage emptied within 10 seconds as the unconscious man slumped to
the floor.
Panic
spread to the other carriages, and there was a stampede to get off as
the train approached Jinke Road Station.
In
the rush to disembark, some people were pushed over.
No
injuries were reported, said the Metro operator.
At
the station, staff attended to the foreigner, who by this time had
regained consciousness, said Shanghai Shentong.
He
said he had felt unwell before losing consciousness and left the
station unaccompanied shortly afterward.
The
operator also advised passengers not to pull the emergency cord in
the event of small incidents.
“Pulling
the emergency brake will only delay the rescue. Passengers should
seek help from Metro staff after the train arrives at a station,”
said the spokesman.
The
story makes me chuckle, but it also makes me worry. What if the man
were having a medical emergency? Apparently no one stopped to help or
even call for medical aid. Now I have personally seen that the people
in China are friendly and generally very kind. For people they know,
they often do more to help and to love than we are used to in the
States.
But
for emergencies involving strangers, it can be a different story.
It's
not just a problem for foreigners. China has been deeply embarrassed
by some incidents in the past year or two where Chinese citizens in
need of help were ignored by passers-by. There is much talk among the
Chinese about how to lift awareness of citizens and get people to
respond more appropriately.
Some
people in the government are concerned and wondering how to further
strengthen Chinese society in such matters. I may have one possible
answer.
In
my opinion, unrealistic as it may sound right now, China needs the
influence of the Gospel more fully in its midst — or at least
Scouting (and perhaps versions of our Young Men, Young Women, and
Relief Society organizations). Just the secular components of those
programs would do wonders if widespread.
Non-religious
people can participate and grow from Scouting and related youth
activities, and Scouting and similar programs for young women can be
done without being some kind of proselyting tool. Youth need
experience in serving, leading, and handling the unexpected.
As
I look back on my years in the LDS Young Men program and in Scouting,
I realize now that the "Be Prepared" theme was really about
being prepared to act swiftly to help others when things go wrong.
Frequent
training in first aid, emergency preparedness, citizenship, service,
and priesthood leadership helped create an awareness that things can
go wrong and when they do, we can and should step up to help.
The
training and experiences of LDS women in service and leadership
likewise create people who are ready to jump in and take action. Of
course, being a mom (especially with more than one child) gives the
ultimate training in this area. That's a calling where first aid and
emergency preparedness can be practiced daily.
There
are many times when I missed opportunities and should have done more,
but I appreciate the efforts of so many leaders who tried to make it
more likely that I would be ready and willing to take those
opportunities and help when trouble comes.
There
are plenty of Chinese people who get service and leadership and will
step up and solve problems when they occur, but I fear they are
outnumbered by people deeply in need of something they aren't
currently experiencing. Of course, we have some of the same problems
and same needs in the States, too.
The
biggest barriers to my little proposal for China might not be
religious sensitivities about Scouting and similar programs, but two
other factors affecting young people:
the
ever-present burden of the High Exam that all young people must take
to determine their future, putting heavy pressure on many students
to study, study, study, and only study, and
the
national affliction of computer games, which in my opinion and the
opinion of some bosses I know, drains much of the vitality of the
nation, especially its men, once people get past the big exam and
move into college and beyond.
A
life of too much study and far too much gaming does not prepare one
to step up and solve emergencies on the spot in the very frightening
real world, which, unlike the surreal security of even
zombie-decimated virtual landscapes, is filled which much more
unexpected and frightening things, like tall foreigners falling
asleep on your train.
If
it hadn't been for Scouts, I might have been the first to scream and
head for the exits, had I been on that train, and if I'd been awake.
But
I also think that exposure to the positive benefits of service and
personal preparedness could make people less likely to fall for the
trap of nihilistic gaming and more able to add balance to their lives
that still enables them to perform well on tests.
Toning
down the test system, of course, is part of my long-term hopes for
China. Young people need more than study, in my opinion as an
unqualified outsider, but also as a parent, and as a former young
person.
Here's
my wish that service experiences and emergency preparedness will more
fully become part of China.
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.