Yesterday (August 1) was a big day for this country as its first Good Samaritan law was passed in Shenzhen. Even though the law only applies in that particular city, one must look for signs from around the nation as to whether altruistic behaviour is becoming more common and whether it still needs to be enforced.

Shanghaiist reported yesterday the heartwarming story of a little girl in Guangzhou who came to the rescue of a street cleaner who had fainted due to the heat:

A female street cleaner fainted on Huancun road on Wednesday due to the sweltering heat. Many passersby ignored the unconscious woman until a small girl, walking by with her mother, insisting on stopping and shielding the woman from the sun with their umbrella until help could arrive.

A man surnamed Fok told reporters that once he heard the little girl shout “Mum, quick, help her!”, he was shamed into doing so himself. He and several of his colleagues carried the woman into some shade while another passerby telephoned for an ambulance.

And a story from Nanfang Daily about a bus driver who came to the rescue of a nearby car crash victim showed that it’s not only those who are too young to be versed in the ways of the world who dare to be Good Samaritans.

The paper reported yesterday that the driver, Mr. He, stopped the bus on Kaifa Road in Huangpu District after seeing a motorcyclists trapped under a car after a collision. He explained to the passengers what was going on, parked the vehicle and helped rescue the motorcyclist.

But as always, there was at least one particularly disturbing story.

Guangzhou Daily reported on its microblog that a man in his 70s collapsed on Walking Street in Chongqing. One young person tried to go up to help, but he was talked out of it by members of his family, according to an eyewitness account.

The elderly man was dead by the time paramedics were called to the scene.