Unlike the USA, the pedesterian crossing lights at crosswalks here in Shanghai are at best, merely advisories and at worst, random red/green lights with no information value. Vehicular traffic turns into crosswalks regardless of the state of these lights, so relying on them solely is something foolish.
I suppose just having them is still better than other cities in China (even Beijing last I checked).
So, when crossing the streets during busy times of day, I've adopted the "When in Rome" mentality, ie, cross when the others are crossing. And... I try to make sure that there are several other people off to my side such that if a car comes in a certain direction, the first to be hit will be them and not me. In other words, I'm using them as "human shields".
Yeah, kinda morbid thinking of it that way I guess... but TIC, where it seems the Chinese themselves in their daily living seem to love enjoy life but not so much go to similar lengths to preserve it.
To put it another way, they view individual life as just "another thing", not a inviolable and sacrosanct notion to be guarded at all costs, like Westerners do in their mindset. The Schiavo case would be a good hypothetical illustration -- basically, I agree with esyu, they'd have pulled the plug a long time ago were she in China... no protracted debate here.
Welfare and prosperity -- yes, it's here to stay and the Chinese have embraced capitalism with a vengence, but this society is still behind the West on valuing life itself. Safety and health are slowly improving, but one gets the impression it is done as a byproduct of China's push "keep up with the Joneses" (eg, achieving face on the international stage) rather than being proactively motivated. If the question is money and expedience over safety, guess which will almost always win?
Like so much of China though, change seems to be hanging in the air, but how fast and definite will it be? Food for thought, and one of those questions that only time will answer, but which makes it all the more exciting for those with eyes on this place...
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