Save the baby!
["dealing with each case on its own merits" 酌情处理 zhuóqíng chǔlǐ]
The headline for this news item is "Cabby willingly accepts penalty in order to save a life" 的哥为救人甘愿受罚 Dīgē wèi jiùrén gānyuàn shòufá, and the story is a dramatic mix of the need to save an infant's life balanced against breaking the law ...
On a recent morning at rush hour, a cabby was hailed by two women who were trying desperately to get a two-month-old child to the emergency room, it seems they'd given the baby sweet ginger water to treat diarrhea, and either the baby was having a reaction to the medicine, or else was choking on the water, but in any event he had gone into shock, and his face had already turned blue, the situation was critical 原来，两个月大的婴儿拉肚子，家人刚刚给他喂药时， 孩子呛了姜糖水，导致休克，脸色发紫， 十分危险。Yuánlái，liǎng ge yuèdà de yīng'ér lā dùzi，jiārén gānggāng gěi tā wèi yào shí， háizi qiāng le jiāng tángshuǐ，dǎozhì xiūkè，liǎnsè fāzǐ， shífēn wēixiǎn.
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The driver alerted the police, then "stepped on it" and got the baby to the hospital within 15 minutes, mainly by running all the red lights ... The baby's life was saved ... Afterwards, the cabby was cited for running six red lights and fined 200 yuan (about $32.00) ... No doubt the cabby got off without much of a fine, though, because the reporter notes that the Traffic Bureau, having considered all the factors in the case, "dealt with this case on its own merits" (酌情处理 zhuóqíng chǔlǐ)...
The cabby said: "I am a father myself, the baby's life was the most important thing, and if I have to accept a fine in order to rescue someone, it's worth it!" : “我也是一名父亲，孩子的生命比啥都重要，为救人挨罚，值得！” “Wǒ yěshì yī míng fùqin，háizi de shēngmìng bǐ shá dōu zhòngyào，wèi jiùrén áifá，zhíde!”
Source: 《新晚报》20110924 第A06版：“的哥为救人甘愿受罚”
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["dealing with each case on its own merits" 酌情处理 zhuóqíng chǔlǐ]
The headline for this news item is "Cabby willingly accepts penalty in order to save a life" 的哥为救人甘愿受罚 Dīgē wèi jiùrén gānyuàn shòufá, and the story is a dramatic mix of the need to save an infant's life balanced against breaking the law ...
On a recent morning at rush hour, a cabby was hailed by two women who were trying desperately to get a two-month-old child to the emergency room, it seems they'd given the baby sweet ginger water to treat diarrhea, and either the baby was having a reaction to the medicine, or else was choking on the water, but in any event he had gone into shock, and his face had already turned blue, the situation was critical 原来，两个月大的婴儿拉肚子，家人刚刚给他喂药时， 孩子呛了姜糖水，导致休克，脸色发紫， 十分危险。Yuánlái，liǎng ge yuèdà de yīng'ér lā dùzi，jiārén gānggāng gěi tā wèi yào shí， háizi qiāng le jiāng tángshuǐ，dǎozhì xiūkè，liǎnsè fāzǐ， shífēn wēixiǎn.
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The driver alerted the police, then "stepped on it" and got the baby to the hospital within 15 minutes, mainly by running all the red lights ... The baby's life was saved ... Afterwards, the cabby was cited for running six red lights and fined 200 yuan (about $32.00) ... No doubt the cabby got off without much of a fine, though, because the reporter notes that the Traffic Bureau, having considered all the factors in the case, "dealt with this case on its own merits" (酌情处理 zhuóqíng chǔlǐ)...
The cabby said: "I am a father myself, the baby's life was the most important thing, and if I have to accept a fine in order to rescue someone, it's worth it!" : “我也是一名父亲，孩子的生命比啥都重要，为救人挨罚，值得！” “Wǒ yěshì yī míng fùqin，háizi de shēngmìng bǐ shá dōu zhòngyào，wèi jiùrén áifá，zhíde!”
Source: 《新晚报》20110924 第A06版：“的哥为救人甘愿受罚”
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The Four Essences (四种精神 sì zhǒng jīngshén)
It's possible that the above article about an ordinary cabby's readiness to save a life is meant to illustrate the city of Harbin's recent adoption of "the four essences" of an ideal community: loyalty, courage, self-sacrifice, and pragmatism 忠诚， 果敢， 牺牲， 务实 zhōngchéng, guǒgǎn, xīshēng, wùshí ... These "essences" are reported in the same edition as the cabby story, which does seem to highlight self-sacrifice, since the cabby risked his own life by running traffic lights, and he knew he was breaking the law and would have to pay fines, but he ignored the risks and consequences in order to get the baby to the hospital as quickly as possible ...
Note: The formulation "four essences" may be modeled on the ancient writer’s traditional "four essentials": brush, ink, paper and ink stone 湖笔、徽墨、宣纸、端砚 Húbǐ, Huīmò, Xuānzhǐ, Duānyàn, that is, a brush made in Huzhou, ink produced in Huizhou, paper from Xuancheng (Anhui), and an inkstone from Duanyan, in Duanxi (Guangdong) ... The decline in interest in the traditional arts, especially writing by hand and calligraphy, prompted a reader to complain in a different newspaper that the writer’s "four essentials” are disappearing and are being replaced by "four new treasures": cell phone, copier, fax and computer 文房四宝”逐渐减少，取而代之新四宝: 手机, 复印, 传真和电脑 wénfángsìbǎo zhújiàn jiǎnshǎo，qǔ'érdàizhī xīn sì bǎo, shǒujī, fùyìn, chuánzhēn hé diànnǎo ...
Source: 《新晚报》20110924 第A03版：“弘扬四种精神提升城市软实力”
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It's possible that the above article about an ordinary cabby's readiness to save a life is meant to illustrate the city of Harbin's recent adoption of "the four essences" of an ideal community: loyalty, courage, self-sacrifice, and pragmatism 忠诚， 果敢， 牺牲， 务实 zhōngchéng, guǒgǎn, xīshēng, wùshí ... These "essences" are reported in the same edition as the cabby story, which does seem to highlight self-sacrifice, since the cabby risked his own life by running traffic lights, and he knew he was breaking the law and would have to pay fines, but he ignored the risks and consequences in order to get the baby to the hospital as quickly as possible ...
Note: The formulation "four essences" may be modeled on the ancient writer’s traditional "four essentials": brush, ink, paper and ink stone 湖笔、徽墨、宣纸、端砚 Húbǐ, Huīmò, Xuānzhǐ, Duānyàn, that is, a brush made in Huzhou, ink produced in Huizhou, paper from Xuancheng (Anhui), and an inkstone from Duanyan, in Duanxi (Guangdong) ... The decline in interest in the traditional arts, especially writing by hand and calligraphy, prompted a reader to complain in a different newspaper that the writer’s "four essentials” are disappearing and are being replaced by "four new treasures": cell phone, copier, fax and computer 文房四宝”逐渐减少，取而代之新四宝: 手机, 复印, 传真和电脑 wénfángsìbǎo zhújiàn jiǎnshǎo，qǔ'érdàizhī xīn sì bǎo, shǒujī, fùyìn, chuánzhēn hé diànnǎo ...
Source: 《新晚报》20110924 第A03版：“弘扬四种精神提升城市软实力”
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"Can't have that to go!" (不让打包 Bù ràng dǎbāo)
Also reported in the same edition of the New Evening Post《新晚报》is a news item that appears to go directly against the spirit of the above-mentioned "four essences": A customer in a local Harbin restaurant, having ordered the boiled fish in spicy oil soup, decided to take home what he could not finish eating ... But the waiter refused, saying he couldn't even sell the leftovers to the customer, because they are given to the staff as meals “你就是花钱也不能卖你，剩的油汤给我们服务员做伙食饭呢……”“Nǐ jiùshì huāqián yě bùnéng mài nǐ，shèng de yóu tāng gěi wǒmen fúwùyuán zuò huǒshi fàn ne ” ... Astounded, the customer argued that he'd paid for the meal, so it was his ... But the waiter still refused, so the customer notified his family and the newspaper, and the reporter contacted the Food Safety Bureau ... Then he and his family (armed with a video camera), the reporter and the authorities descended on the restaurant, where the manager confirmed that the customer had not been allowed to take home the leftovers for that particular dish ... The manager admitted that "preventing Mr. Sun [the customer] from taking the leftovers away was wrong" and he attributed the error to "inadequate training of the staff“ 承认服务员禁止孙先生将水煮鱼剩汤打包的做法不对，是酒店对服务员培训不到位。Chéngrèn fúwùyuán jìnzhǐ Sūn xiānsheng jiāng shuǐ zhǔ yú shèng tāng dǎbāo de zuòfǎ bùduì，shì jiǔdiàn duì fúwùyuán péixùn bù dàowèi...
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On inspection, though, it was discovered that the restaurant is able to recycle the leftover oil for about 16 cents a pound ...
Source: 《新晚报》20110924 第A08版：“‘沸腾鱼乡’忒霸道吃饭剩汤不让打包“
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Also reported in the same edition of the New Evening Post《新晚报》is a news item that appears to go directly against the spirit of the above-mentioned "four essences": A customer in a local Harbin restaurant, having ordered the boiled fish in spicy oil soup, decided to take home what he could not finish eating ... But the waiter refused, saying he couldn't even sell the leftovers to the customer, because they are given to the staff as meals “你就是花钱也不能卖你，剩的油汤给我们服务员做伙食饭呢……”“Nǐ jiùshì huāqián yě bùnéng mài nǐ，shèng de yóu tāng gěi wǒmen fúwùyuán zuò huǒshi fàn ne ” ... Astounded, the customer argued that he'd paid for the meal, so it was his ... But the waiter still refused, so the customer notified his family and the newspaper, and the reporter contacted the Food Safety Bureau ... Then he and his family (armed with a video camera), the reporter and the authorities descended on the restaurant, where the manager confirmed that the customer had not been allowed to take home the leftovers for that particular dish ... The manager admitted that "preventing Mr. Sun [the customer] from taking the leftovers away was wrong" and he attributed the error to "inadequate training of the staff“ 承认服务员禁止孙先生将水煮鱼剩汤打包的做法不对，是酒店对服务员培训不到位。Chéngrèn fúwùyuán jìnzhǐ Sūn xiānsheng jiāng shuǐ zhǔ yú shèng tāng dǎbāo de zuòfǎ bùduì，shì jiǔdiàn duì fúwùyuán péixùn bù dàowèi...
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On inspection, though, it was discovered that the restaurant is able to recycle the leftover oil for about 16 cents a pound ...
Source: 《新晚报》20110924 第A08版：“‘沸腾鱼乡’忒霸道吃饭剩汤不让打包“
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