WHEN A FLOOD hit Daxian village in Xingtai, North China's Hebei province, on July 20, a villager Gao Fengshou saved his mother first, then returned to save his wife and children, only to find they were gone. Luckily all turned up safe eventually, but his wife refused to talk to him and stayed in another relief station. In the fierce debate online, people were divided over criticizing Gao or criticizing his wife. China Youth Daily comments:

It must be difficult for Gao to choose between saving his mother and his wife first. No matter who he chose to save first, that could leave the other in more severe danger.

Though Gao's whole family survived the fatal flood, those debating the incident have turned it into a moral trial. Some blamed Gao for being too cruel to his wife, while some blamed his wife for not understanding his situation. It seems that the family survived the flood but could not escape criticism.