There may be a number of reasons why Chinese citizens do not stop to help elderly strangers in need, but the possibility of extortion and expensive litigation are now no longer among them.
The e-commerce giant Alibaba is now offering a “Support the Elderly” insurance plan on its Alipay platform, which is designed to protect against an all too common’ scam conducted by senior citizens, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The con revolves around elderly Chinese who pretend to fall, only to later blame the incident on any altruistic bystander who helps them back to their feet.
The coverage costs about 62 cents per year, and provides up to $4,100 in legal fees for any enrollee who is taken to court after providing assistance to an elderly stranger. Although the policy only launched a week ago, more than 60,000 Chinese citizens have already purchased it.
Discussion of the policy has exploded on Chinese social media, with some critics arguing that it draws too much attention to an overblown issue. In a study featured in the government-run periodical People’s Daily, however, a professor found that 84 out of 149 Good Samaritan cases resulted in the volunteer being framed for monetary compensation.
In addition, many Chinese remain apprehensive after a string of high-profile cases where “victims” have demanded as much as $20,000 from their supposed attackers, one of which led to the helper committing suicide. A popular joke in China now relays that it’s easy to determine someone’s wealth based on whether or not that person is willing to assist the elderly in public, according to CTV News.
But instead of focusing on the negatives, representatives hope to remind the public about the role that insurance has in fostering community development and selflessness.
"We've noticed that this type of insurance also has a certain social significance and that it can promote the social benefits of insurance," Miranda Shek, an Alibaba affiliate, told the LA Times. "Therefore, after we discussed this with the relevant insurance company, we designed this type of insurance with the hope of aiding the spread of virtue and positive energy in society."
