Tears save sick mother from cremation alive

This is the kind of story that just leaves you utterly disturbed: A Chinese peasant woman who suffered a brain haemorrhage was left at the undertakers alive for cremation because her family could no longer afford hospital treatment, state media said Friday. She was only saved by the tears in her eyes. The case is the latest in a series of tragedies illustrating China's stretched health care system and the inability of rural workers to meet spiraling medical costs. You Guoying, a 47-year-old migrant worker from southwestern Sichuan province, was taken for cremation by her husband and children in Taizhou, eastern Zhejiang province, where she worked, the China Youth Daily said. Fortunately for You, the undertaker realized she was still alive when he saw her move and tears in her eyes, the newspaper said. "This is not only a tragedy for the family, but also for society," it quoted Xu Yinghe, a Taizhou official, as saying. You think? "The fundamental reason is the absence of a social welfare system." Isn't China communist? How could it not have a social welfare system? Can anybody explain that one to me? Ehh, anyway, there is no word on them getting arrested for attempted murder though. Weird, huh? But they do mention how the lack of healthcare apparently drove other people to do crazy things: A 42-year-old farmer too poor to afford treatment for lung cancer set off a home-made bomb aboard a bus in Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern province of Fujian, in August, killing himself and another passenger and wounding 30. Also in August, a security guard hailed a hero for fighting off a purse snatcher jumped to his death from a hospital window in south Guangxi province because he couldn't afford the bills. Great. I love this world.