The e-mail from a friend Zhourong yesterday terrified me. It is about the hospital I used to work in, my friends, the people I knew for a long time, it is about my friend Xiaorui. For money, the "kick back" money, some of them are in jail now. I am not sure if this is the good or bad thing. I surely feel sorry for the people I knew.
I understand that the financial situation in China is not that great, people everywhere in China are trying to get more money for their families, no matter it is legal or illegal. If one could find a way to make more money, one would not give it up. That is the true situation in China. That is the thought of many people in China. The main reason is they don’t pay people enough.
As human beings, we do need money. It helps us to live better, to help our children to get better education, to help us to take better care of our parents. But people who love money get it the correct way as the old Chinese saying said so. The question is 'what is the correct way"?
As a socialism country, China started to make every job equally paid since 1949. The simple physical labors and the complicated knowledge labors get equally paid because the amount of time they works regardless of their education leveland their contribution for the society. The idea is fine, but once higher education is not free anymore, it has to be changed. People pay more money to get higher education; they sure want to get better paid once they start to work. In recent 20 years, people do get more paid by their knowledge, but probably not enough or at least people think it is not enough for their education and contribution. That is how the money like "kick back" money developed.
This kind of “kick back money” becomes a rich soil of Fu Bai(deprave). Only one who has the power can get this kind of money. So some people get rich and others are still the same as before. Look on this way; the "kick back money" need to be aborted. But does the person who gets it really need to be destroyed?
Again, things exist have its reasons. It is not the people’s fault; it is the society, the cultural atmospheres. It is time for the society to carefully exam the system.
One of my friends who work in a private hospital now once told me that in the past, he got the same amount of money as he gets now, but he felt unease. Now he is getting the same amount paid but feels very peaceful and happy! The private hospital pays him well but the public one he used to work. So the real solution for end up all the "kick back money" is to pay people well enough so that people would not take the risks to get it. It would be not worth for people to get it.
Unfortionally, people are getting in jail for the "kick back money" now.
As an experienced cardiologist, Xiao Rui was doing great in the medical field. She is the one opened the cath lab in the city's hospital, started the invasive cardiology there. She became a chief cardiologist and the medical director of the cardiac unit. She is the one trying very hard to get the job done and make sure her knowledge to be on top of the field. Yes, it is true that she is very Shi Gu (She is rather a smooth character), very Shi Li (snobbish) sometimes, but she is very smart as well. There is a Chinese proverb saying that the smart people get in trouble with their smartness. That is why she finally gets in to trouble.
When she was just a young girl in medical school, she was not acting like other young girls. She was so mature than others. That was why even few of boys in the program fall in love with her but no one got any chance to express their feelings to her. They all knew that they would be refused. She is not the one who takes her future to any uncertainties. But she was very smart that she studied hard in school and worked hard in clinical experiences in hospital. When she was doing the clinical rotations, there was a teacher of the medical school asked her to meet his son who was an army officer, she refused. Her father was an army officer when she grown up, she knew how difficult being an army officer's wife. Her mother was the one who had to take care all of them. And the army officer later on becoming my other classmate's husband.
After graduation, me, Xiao Rui and my other friend were arranged to work in the city's hospital, the best arrangement of all ours classmates. People were surprised that she got in the hospital, but that is her, quite but wisely dealing with every difficulties.
Practicing internal medicine, she was a good physician. Later on, she was sent to study cardiology. Her path in the medical field was smooth; one part was because her hard work, and the other part was her wisdom of being in a society like China. She finally got married with a guy who is one year younger than her whose father was a mayor of the city. That made her life even better. Having a life like her should be happy and peaceful if the “kick back” money was not attracted to her.
She is a knowledgeable hard worker, responsible cardiologist; she should not be the one in prison. There are lots of people who Shou Hui (take bribes) muck more than her, but for some reason they are still enjoying life outside of the jail. That is the sad part of the event. I feel sorry for her and others like her. But I am not saying what she got is not her self’s responsibilities, she is responsible for what she has done. Staying in jail for a while will give her a chance to think through what life really mean. It is good for her I think. But others who were doing worse should be in prison too.
A friend told me to help her to get a better lawyer. It is possible that a good lawyer could make her sentences lighter. But there is nothing I can do in America. I am sure my friends in China may think about it too, plus her social influence in town, I am sure people would help her. But she needs to think through her troublesome and live a simpler life in the future.
We cannot let any injustice go just because there were much more badly crimes even our loved ones were in trouble. I am thinking this way in English. I wish someday I could think this way in Chinese too.
