A newborn who was rescued from a sewage pipe cries in an incubator at a hospital in the Chinese city of Jinhua on May 28, 2013
The case of Baby 59, named after the incubator where he lies, ignited fierce passions across China. Video of firefighters freeing the 6.2-lb. (2.8 kg) newborn from a sewage pipe in the eastern province of Zhejiang generated a broad gamut of emotions. Was he flushed away by an evil mother, or was the state’s one-child policy to blame? Police initially treated the case as attempted murder, prompting fury from users of China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo service. “I can never accept or forgive the behavior of dumping the baby with his placenta and umbilical cord attached into the toilet pipe,” one commented. However, as details about the unfortunate infant’s mother emerged, her claims that this was in fact a terrible accident gained credence, and postings turned to outpourings of sympathy. “You’ve lived through the hardest moment in your life and your future will definitely be smooth,” wrote another user. Offers of adoption were also prevalent across social media.