Passer-By Pushes Potential Suicide Jumper From Bridge In China

BEIJING — Chen Fuchao, a man heavily in debt, had been contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours when a passer-by came up, shook his hand _ and pushed him off the ledge.

Chen fell 26 feet (8 meters) onto a partially inflated emergency air cushion laid out by authorities and survived, suffering spine and elbow injuries, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday.

The passer-by, 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng, had been fed up with what he called Chen's "selfish activity," Xinhua said. Traffic around the Haizhu bridge in the city of Guangzhou had been backed up for five hours and police had cordoned off the area.

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest," Lai was quoted as saying by Xinhua. "They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

Xinhua said Lai was "taken away by police" but did not elaborate.

A police officer who answered the telephone Saturday at a station close to the bridge confirmed the incident and said it was under investigation. He refused to give any other details and hung up.

According to Xinhua, Chen wanted to kill himself because he had accrued 2 million yuan ($290,000) in debt from a failed construction project.

On Thursday, he made his way to the Haizhu bridge, where 11 other people have tried to take their lives since April.

Lai volunteered to talk Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua said. Lai then broke through the cordon, climbed to where Chen sat, greeted him with a handshake, then pushed.

Photos in the Beijing Morning Post showed Lai, shoeless and in a T-shirt, saluting after Chen fell.

The paper said Lai was released on bail Friday but did not give any details. It said he had been on medication for "a mental illness" for decades and had been on his way to a hospital for his pills.

Chen was recovering in the hospital, Xinhua said.

Comments

[ThermoChemist]

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest" Lai was quoted as saying by Xinhua. "They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

Sounds like a Republican (in how they deal with problems). Is there a GOP in China..?

"I pushed him off because he was speaking against a sitting President; and is therefore unpatriotic. Such people's words/actions undermine our nation and its troops."

-or-

"I pushed him off because he was a Latte-sipping, dijon mustard-using, Liberal elitist; a Godless heathen with no family values (because he supports gay rights and is pro-choice). He was selfish by wanting to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to the environment and social issues. [oh, and he wanted to take our guns away..!]"

[Yves Papa]

Yes, there is a GOP in China. It is currently forming the government.

[Drterryrest]

such an astonishing resemblance who said there's no common group between the 2 countries.

[sheilaofmiami]

How truly communist of him, no one person is worth stopping progress for. The true desire of communism. All for the party, none for the one.

[noralou]

Marx and Engels have nothing to do with what the Chinese call communism.

Communism is not at fault here, it is basic inhumanity and it appears everywhere. A few years ago in Seattle a woman was on the rail of the Aurora Bridge and some of the folks who were having there drive interupted started yelling at her to jump. She did. Remarkably she didn't die but I doubt she will ever be without pain from breaking nearly every bone in her body.

I can't think of anywhere I need to go that is more important than another person's life.

[Jicarlo Henderson]

Thats a shame

[vandegrasse]

Sounds like something one of lovely Rethugs would do to a distraught person. Such compassion!

[twintwine]

66-year-old Lai Jiansheng broke through an area police had cordoned off, after he previously admitted he wanted to interfere with the police operation. Lai then risked his life, climbing up a bridge, to prove the value of the "public interest".

I suppose it's not a problem interfering with a police operation in China to prove a larger point to the public? The point which made it very succinctly to the papers.

[mazzetta]

class' solidarity

[merrill1]

Don't ever stand between a man and his meds.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

He should have just faked his death instead and fled to Taiwan

[GrainOSand]

Lai Jiansheng has a standard for the value of human life. His -- “Just get on with it then” approach is shockingly efficient as it is cold (perhaps he might call it compassionate indifference). The question being asked seems to be, if you walk to the edge is there no turning back? Mr. Jiansheng, answered emphatically in the negative. He said with his actions, “There shall be no turning back!”.

Also, does his actions not reflect the height of selfishness and self-centeredness? He (as a member of the greater public) was inconvenienced and saw that as justification for attempted murder. That’s so Bush Doctrine, so Cheney-esque, so...by any means Machiavellian...so trivial in its evaluation of life, so torturous in its logic. Mr. Jiangsheng agreed with Mr. Fuchao, 290k is worth dying over. “Life is debits and credits, not hearts and minds Life is short, get out of the way or be run over.” That’s the Jiansheng way it seems, that is the value of life. In a nation of over a billion one can see where individual life may come to mean nothing, may come to be negligible as it relates to the tick tock of the always ticking and tocking clock that rules lives, that sends out the melodic hypnotic beat of, “Make Money or die”, get paid or be waylaid as the band plays on and the buffalo roams. Mr. Fuchao was gumming up the works of aggregate progress due to individual failure. Intolerable!

[FZliveson]

plzchuteme: Cute name...what's it mean...suicide by request? Hmmm

You say: Suicidal people are in pain and despair and are thinking primarily of trying to make that pain stop and not whether their actions will make someone late for dinner.

I've been to Guangzhou the 44th largest city in the world with 5,162,000 (+/-) citizens...not some swill-water hamlet with little pajama-people with bamboo cone-hats. When you make your comment about "make someone late for dinner." you are talking about tens of thousands of people.

Also, I like what the article said; "On Thursday, he made his way to the Haizhu bridge, where 11 other people have tried to take their lives since April."

What does "tried to take their lives" really mean? Serious people do not "TRY" to do things...they do it.
I think this bridge must be a popular demonstration site and people fake suicide attempts to snarl things up. Sorry the dude got injured, but I suspect more was done for him by getting pushed than if he had ticked-off too many more people.

[Tony Rome]

We would have done the same thing!

[MintysMom]

Well, he'll never try that again.

[PatA]

I hope that Jainsheng is punished if he is mentally competent.

[ToddlerJ]

The plan was brilliant! Save the guys life while at the same time convincing him his plea needs a different outlet, AND providing the government with cover!

[sagebrush5]

I hope they would prosecute the "pusher" for attempted murder. They should.

[ImWithStupid]

I hope not. This guy was doing a public service. Traffic congestion cleared up immediately. Good work. Want compassion, go ask for a hug.