People are discussing whether a law should be introduced to punish those who see people dying and refuse to lend a hand, after toddler Yue Yue was run over twice and ignored by passers-by. There are other countries in the world adopting similar laws. What's your opinion? China Daily mobile news readers share their views.

It has come to a critical point and a relevant law should be introduced to punish indifferent people, though there might be other solutions. The purpose of the law is to protect human rights and maintain social justice. Every citizen enjoys this protection and must bear his/her responsibility. Where morality fails to work, then the law should function.

WEIXIANSHENG, Shenzhen, Guangdong province

I am against the proposal to set up a law to punish those who see others in need but turn their back on them. As is known to all, morality differs from the law. When helping others, a moral obligation, needs a law to guarantee it, virtue will be doomed to extinction and people will have to rethink humanity.

A Reader, Xi'an, Shaanxi province

The reason why people have stopped helping those in need of assistance is that it may cause them unnecessary trouble, because immoral people take advantage of people's sympathy to make money. Therefore, we should start from the origin of this bad social custom and establish and improve relevant laws and regulations to intensify efforts to punish such swindlers and protect the rights of the kind-hearted.

YUCHEN, Suqian, Jiangsu province

In my opinion, further discussion is still needed as whether or not to include legal punishments for those who witness people dying and refuse to offer help. This is because it will be hard to enforce a law due to the difficulty in identifying "suspects" and the problem of lodging complaints.

A reader, Shanghai

I think it is necessary to adopt such a law to avoid similar tragedies happening again, and to awake people's consciences.

XUAN, Beijing

As far as I am concerned, to set up law to punish those who see people dying and refuse to lend a hand should be the last option. At present, the morality of most citizens has not been reduced to such a level that a law is needed. We need to review and reflect about this bad social practice from other perspectives, such as how to enhance moral education and condemn negative examples. Punishment should be a means not a purpose.

XIAOMENG, Shangqiu, Henan province

China will encounter problems of various kinds during its social transition, but not all of them have to be solved by laws. Otherwise, there will be a law for everything. It is absolutely not a good idea for a society such as China, which puts great emphasis on the protection of people's civil rights.

WANGZHICHANG, Yangzhou, Jiangsu province

(China Daily 10/24/2011 page9)