Do you talk to your new neighbor? Would you help an old man who has fallen down? Would you buy goods recommended by a stranger? People's Daily has claimed China is turning into a "stranger's society". How do you react when encountering one? China Daily mobile news readers share their views.

What's behind a "stranger's society" is the breaking of the bond of trust among individuals.

Fortunately, some current judicial reforms have reflected the efforts the government has made to rebuild the trust mechanism.

As an individual, I would start from love and trust for my family, friends and neighbors, enlarge the circle and become more involved in society, deepening the bonds between people.

LETIAN, Beijing

When it comes to helping a stranger, it depends on the situation. Though today's people are different, the notion that "a near neighbor is better than a distant relative" exists in Chinese peoples' minds. It is because society is sick that peoples' kind hearts have been swallowed, rather than a lost of a sense of justice that has made modern people turn a blind eye to a fallen senior.

XIAOYUZHOU, Shanghai

In a society where the bad has mixed with the good, people must analyze information of all kinds beforehand and examine potential risks if they want to offer help to those in need without being blackmailed.

CUTECAT, Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region

Being cheated by bad people cannot be a reason for refusing to help a stranger.

I would always come to help if a man in front of me who was badly in need of help.

I would only suffer some material loss if he was a liar, while I would save one life if not, which is more valuable than money itself. Besides, never let the liars steal your money and the soft spot deep in your heart.

JISI, Beijing

Not all beggars are professional and not all fallen seniors you help will blackmail you. Doing good and offering a hand of help to others, especially strangers in today's society, requires a certain wisdom. However, certain difficulties should never stop people from doing good deeds.

Otherwise, a society would then become a cold desert.

JUNZI, Nantong, Jiangsu province

Though we have no way to examine whether or not beggars or fallen seniors in the street are liars, we can ask our own conscience.

Indeed, reports have exposed many such cases, but there is no way we can refuse to help others merely because of this. Many have blamed the situation on lost morality, but it is the breakdown of people's mutual trust that has resulted in the indifference that the public has criticized.

A reader, Zhengzhou, Henan province

My parents have always warned me to "never talk to some random strangers" even though I am now an adult. The increasingly overwhelming overall social background has resulted in our doubt and fear. After reading reports about those who offer help but are then blackmailed, we should not complain, but instead retain the virtue of kindness. We should never refrain from helping others or be willing to live in a society of soft social violence out of fear.

A reader, Shaanxi province

(China Daily 09/26/2011 page9)