《参考消息》2006年4月18日第4版：中国死亡赔偿城乡有别惹争议
《纽约时报》4月14日文章：中国3名死亡者揭示生命不同价
3 deaths in china reveal disparity in price of lives
published: april 14, 2006
he qingzhi's teenage daughter, yuan, and her two friends lived on the same street near the yangtze river, attended the same middle school and were crushed to death in the same traffic accident late last year. however, yuan's life was worth less than the others'.
mr. he, 38, who has lived in this town in central china for 15 years, was told that his neighbors were entitled to roughly three times more compensation from the accident because they were registered urban residents while he was only a migrant worker.
"i was shocked," said mr. he, "the girls are about the same age. they all went to the same school. why is our life so cheap?" outraged, mr. he and his lawyer are considering a lawsuit, saying that the decision was discriminatory.
（1）mr. he's family had been a migrant success story before his daughter's death.
划线部分《参考消息》译文（1）：
mr. he grew up in a farming village in the hills surrounding the yangtze. by 2000, mr. he had opened his own meat stand at a nearby market, and his daughter had enrolled in a local school. he still has the temporary residency cards that he updated annually. he said he had paid local taxes since opening his stand, and （2）his family also has a small red booklet in recognition of their compliance with the one-child policy.
划线部分《参考消息》译文（2）：[replyview]他家还有一本承认他们符合独生子女政策的小红本。
last year, on the morning of dec. 15, yuan, 14, went by the meat stand early in the morning to get money for school materials. ten minutes after she left, someone told mr. he that yuan had been in an accident. at the scene, he discovered that a truck overloaded with bricks had smashed into the small motorized pedicab carrying yuan and her two friends to school. the truck had toppled and crushed the three girls beneath several tons of bricks.
"i was so grief-stricken that i could hardly stand," mr. he said.
within hours, the families of the three dead girls were taken to a local hotel to meet with an ad hoc compensation board: an official from the local street committee; one from the police station; a local education official and two officials from the middle school; the owner of the truck; and three representatives from the transportation company that had hired the truck to transport the bricks.
（3）mr. he said the meeting soon seemed like house arrest. he and his wife were kept at the hotel for two days as they argued about the value of their daughter's life. a representative for the transportation company, which was liable for payment, said chinese law dictated that mr. he and his wife were entitled to only 50,000 yuan. but he said the company would give them 70,000 yuan, as an expression of sympathy and to help pay for the funeral. the other families received about 200,000 yuan.
划线部分《参考消息》译文（3）：[replyview] 何青志说，会见很快就有点像软禁。
"they said, 'you are a rural resident, and （4）you either take the 70,000 or leave it,' " mr. he recalled. "they said that if i thought it was too little, i could sell the broken truck."
划线部分《参考消息》译文（4）：[replyview] 要就是7万元，不要就拉倒。
finally, he signed the compensation agreement. he received an extra 20,000 yuan from the transportation company and the truck owner, but the payout was still less than half of what was given to the other families.
zhou wei, the family's lawyer, said （5）the compensation disparity illustrated the pervasive discrimination created by china's household registration, or hukou, system, which often still ties individuals and their access to government services to the place where they are registered. the central government has steadily loosened hukou restrictions, but migrant workers still receive far fewer government services.
划线部分《参考消息》译文（5）：[replyview]赔偿的差异说明了中国户籍登记制度引起的歧视。
"it is hard for people to realize that such discrimination and unfairness exists in society against farmers," mr. zhou said.
the loss of yuan has been devastating for mr. he and his wife. mr. he said his fight was as much about his child's dignity as about the compensation money. his wife suffered a breakdown and has tried to commit suicide. because of health problems, she can no longer have children, and the couple are worried about their future. （6）without social security benefits, the couple have no nest egg and now no child to care for them in their old age.
划线部分《参考消息》译文（6）：[replyview]没有社会保障福利，这对夫妇没有储备金，现在又没有孩子能在他们年老的时候照顾他们。
"she wanted to settle in the city and buy a big house for us when she was older," mr. he said of his daughter. "she wanted to be a doctor, a teacher or a flight attendant."
《参考消息》全文：
[replyview]何青志的女儿何源和她的两个朋友住在长江边的同一条街上，在同一所中学上学，去年年末在同一次交通事故中丧生。但是，何源的命没有其他两人的命值钱。
何青志已经在这座中国中部城市居住了15年，他被告知，他的邻居有权获得大约3倍交通事故赔偿，因为他们是城市居民，而他只是一名移民工人。
何青志说：“我感到震惊，3个女孩年纪相仿。她们都上同一所学校。为什么我们的命这么贱？”愤怒的何青志和他的律师正在考虑起诉，说这一决定是歧视性的。
在女儿死亡之前，何青志一家一直是成功的移民。
何青志在长江边的一个小山村长大，2000年，何先生来到城市开了自己的肉铺，他的女儿上了附近的学校。他仍然持临时居住证，每年要更新。他说，自肉铺开张以来，他一直支付本地税，他家还有一本承认他们符合独生子女政策的小红本。
去年12月15日上午，14岁的何源一清早来到肉铺，取了一点购买学习用品的钱。在她离开10分钟后，有人告诉何青志，何源出事了。在事故现场，他发现一辆满载砖头的卡车压扁了运载何源和她两个朋友上学的三轮摩托车。卡车压在上面，3个女孩被压在几吨重的砖块下面。
何青志说：“我悲痛欲绝，几乎站不住了。”
几小时后，3名遇难女孩的家人被带到当地一家饭店会见特别赔偿委员会。该委员会成员包括一个街道委员会官员、一名派出所警官、一名当地教育部门的官员和两名中学老师、卡车车主以及雇用这辆卡车运输砖块的运输公司的3名代表。
何青志说，会见很快就有点像软禁。他和妻子在饭店里被扣了两天，讨论女儿的赔偿问题。负责赔钱的那家运输公司的一名代表说，根据规定，何先生和他的妻子只能获赔5万元。但是，他说，公司将赔给他们7万元，以表示同情和帮助支付丧葬费用。另外两个家庭可以各获得20万元赔偿。
何青志回忆说：“他们说，‘你是农村居民，要就是7万元，不要就拉倒。’他们说，如果我嫌少，我可以出售那辆撞坏的卡车。”
最后，他在赔偿协议上签了字。运输公司和卡车司机又额外给了他2万元。
但是，赔偿金额仍然不到另外两个家庭的一半。
何家的律师周伟(音)说，赔偿的差异说明了中国户籍登记制度引起的歧视。中国户籍登记制度仍然把个人和他们获得的政府服务跟他们的户籍登记地联系在一起。中央政府逐步放松户口登记，但是，移民工人仍然获得少得多的政府服务。
周律师说：“人们很难意识到社会对农民的这种歧视和不公正。”
何源的去世对何氏夫妇来说是灾难性的。何先生说，他抗争的目的不只是为了赔偿金，而且也是为了孩子的尊严。他的妻子精神崩溃，曾经企图自杀。由于健康问题，她再也不能生育了，夫妇俩为自己的未来担忧。没有社会保障福利，这对夫妇没有储备金，现在又没有孩子能在他们年老的时候照顾他们。
何青志在谈到女儿时说：“她希望在城里定居，长大后为我们买一套大房子。她想当医生、老师或空姐。”