Begging the question of trust on the street

What would you do if you meet an old man or woman in rags, or a young man or woman claiming to have suffered a family misfortune begging for money in a street? Would you extend a helping hand or ignore the request for assistance and walk away?

This is probably a choice that most people have had to make, a choice made more difficult because one has to decide if the person begging is genuinely in need of help.

The other day, a teenager was seen begging on a busy commercial street in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, with his mother. According to media reports, he claimed that his home had burned down, his mother was suffering from senile dementia and his intellectually challenged father had gone missing. His seeming misfortune soon won him the sympathy and money of many passers-by.

But something unexpected happened later. When the teenager was preparing to leave with his "bumper harvest", his mother, who was in a state of inertia until a moment ago, immediately swung into action, agile in movement and deft with her hands. When asked by a passer-by why he put up the "show", the teenager said: "Did you give me money? ... If all act like you, all things would get muddled".

Obviously, the teenager had made up the "tragic" story to fool people and get money from them.

This is not the first time that benefactors have fallen victim to deceit. Making up tragic stories to get alms from sympathetic people or making begging a career is becoming common across the country, and almost everyone who gives alms to beggars is likely to have encountered such a situation.

There are no official figures on the number of beggars in the country, but beggars can probably be seen in all cities, from the big streets to the small alleys. They have become a regular presence at railway and subway stations, overpasses, underpasses, entrances to shopping malls and busy streets. There have been reports on some "aggressive begging" cases, in which a person is not allowed to walk away without handing some money to a beggar. But some of them of course genuinely need help.

Helping others is a traditional Chinese virtue. Chinese people also believe that "when a region is hit by a disaster, help will come from all sides" and they also advocate, "making a fortune with both hands". They still sympathize with and extend help to those in need. And you cannot deprive others of the right to beg, even if you think you would not stoop to it yourself.

In a diversified and tolerant society, we have to accept the existence of begging, but at the same we should condemn it if it is aggressive or deceptive. People who make up stories or use disguises to fool people into paying them money deserve the strongest condemnation.

According to media reports, begging is not a kind of means for survival for some people. Instead, it has become the most convenient and easiest way for them to become "better off". Some media reports have revealed how some people who have made a career out of begging can earn more than 10,000 yuan ($1,617) a month, carry real estate certificates and even permits for entry into Hong Kong and Macao.

Career begging not only signifies the failure of conscience, but also deception on the part of the person practicing it. And the more rampant it becomes, the more seriously it will damage the social fabric and belief. Above all, it could prevent people from helping those in genuine need. It is time to identify the frauds and teach them a proper lesson so that the really needy can continue to get help from society.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily. wuyixue@chinadaily.com.cn