The tiger tragedy in Badaling Wildlife Park has triggered heated discussions on rules. Ignoring the park's warnings, the young woman got out of her car in the middle of the tiger habitats, resulting in severe injuries and her mother's death. An article of yours suggested last week that Chinese sometimes take it for granted that they could get away with breaking rules, and as a result, they could not distinguish between immediate threats and the general instructions. I disagree.

In fact, Chinese are much more obedient to rules than before. It is true that certain people bend rules - spitting on the floor, running red lights and smoking in the public areas. However, the situation has greatly improved.

Being attacked by animals in the zoo is a very rare case that other countries may face as well. Katherine Chappell, a US special effects editor who worked on Game of Thrones, was mauled to death by a lion after she opened the car window during a drive in South Africa's Lion Park last year. There were also signs in the Lion Park telling tourists not to open the window or get out of the car. Therefore, "Chinese" should not be the first word that springs to mind when such tragedies happen in China.

After the video footage of the attack went viral online, the public opinion was quite harsh against the woman, accusing her of paying with her mother's life for breaking the rules.

After all, although it still remains unclear what motivated her to get out of the car, it is the poor woman who bent the rules and put her families' lives at risk in the face of territorial tigers. The public criticism against the woman proves that Chinese society has a lower tolerance of breaking rules than before.

The author suggested that Chinese are used to seeing people break rules, for instance, smoking at non-smoking zones. As a local, I find Chinese have become much better-behaved over the last two decades.

It is true that people always smoked in restaurants and other public areas in the past. However, with increasing number of designated smoking areas springing up in China, fewer people smoke in public now. In fact, morality is not a determining factor in people's behavior. The gradually improving public facilities can encourage more citizens to follow the rules. Therefore, it is not fair to blame "Chinese" for ignoring rules, since they may be better-behaved in better-run places.

Although the zoo had warned the woman about dangers of getting out of the car, it could not completely evade its responsibilities for the tragedy. The author criticized Chinese zoos for poor management, as they failed to realize their ultimate goal of preservation, education and returning animals to the wild. This is unfair. Badaling Wildlife Park's repeated tragedies does not mean all zoos in China are poorly run. Chinese zoos are playing a leading role in protecting not only pandas, but also the Yangtze alligator, Chinese sturgeon and many other species. The living environment of animals has greatly improved.

It is still too early to allocate blame before a full investigation result comes out. Instead of criticizing the severely-injured woman for breaking the rules, onlookers should show more sympathy to the poor family. After all, the woman has already paid a heavy price for getting out of the car. She needs more help than criticism for her loss.

Liu Lulu, a free-lancer based in Beijing