Illustration: Peter C. Espina /GT

Wang Yuqin, a desperate mother who cannot afford to pay for the treatment for her two sick daughters, cried and begged the media to report her story. "Why do media not report our stories? Because we did not steal anything?" she asked. A few days ago, Liu Yan, also near-broke due to medical bills and whose sick daughter is hospitalized in the same hospital as Wang's, stole a chicken leg for her daughter as a gift for Children's Day. However, this embarrassing act helped her win sympathy and support from the public. Within two hours of disclosure of the story, she got donations worth over 300,000 yuan ($45,510). Such unintentional "success" has raised hope from Wang. Indeed in recent years, there have been some unfortunate people who tried hard to make their stories attract the attention of the media and the public in the hope of charity. This, however, reflects the defects of the current medical and social welfare systems. The government and social welfare organizations have a job to do; why it is the sufferer who have to make their life seem even more desperate?