Public sentiment should be based on legal principles.

     Two incidents warrant reflection and discussion.

    First, after school, a kindergarten teacher was taking students home. One student's grandmother wasn't home. The teacher took the student home and then returned to the bus to take other students home. Tragically, the student fell into the water and drowned while searching for his grandmother.

    Second, a wife gave birth to a boy in the hospital. The husband was overjoyed and went to a store to buy wedding candy; the grandmother was also happy and went to a neighboring ward to share the good news with other patients and caregivers; the wife, exhausted after childbirth, fell asleep. The newborn, sleeping next to his mother, was smothered to death by a blanket.

    After this tragedy, both families, their relatives, and some concerned citizens went to the kindergarten and hospital to cause trouble. This prompted the county and town governments and relevant departments to intervene promptly, holding the school and hospital leaders and personnel accountable, ensuring compensation, ordering them to cease operations for rectification, and organizing a thorough investigation within their jurisdictions.

    Human life is of paramount importance, and children deserve even greater attention. Putting ourselves in their shoes, the grief of the two families and the sympathy of relatives and the public are understandable. The timely intervention of government departments to investigate the cause and take appropriate action, serving as a warning to others and future generations, is also crucial. However, afterwards, parents and the general public who learned of this incident and similar events should calmly and objectively assess the division of responsibility and deeply reflect on and analyze their actions of gathering in crowds to block doors, smash windows, damage property, and even assault people when emotions were running high. Regarding the two incidents mentioned above, in my opinion, while the school, hospital, teachers, and doctors all bear responsibility, the parents' responsibility is arguably greater. Teachers should hand children over to parents, but school dismissal times are fixed, and parents know them. Ideally, parents should wait at the agreed-upon location at that time, not leave their children unattended to do other things. If parents are delayed and cannot return immediately, should the teacher who dropped them off wait? What about the children who are still on the bus, eager to get home? Hospitals and nurses certainly have a duty to instruct caregivers on precautions against overheating, but you are all adults, and your grandmother is an experienced woman; surely you understand the importance of having someone supervise a newborn in case of emergencies?

    Even today, there remains a tendency in society where, when a dispute arises between an individual and a group, public opinion overwhelmingly sides with that individual. Without questioning the reasons, assigning responsibility, or even right or wrong, the entire group is categorically deemed unreasonable. This often leads to disregard for the law and resulting in mob violence, irrational acts, and even illegal activities. Of course, the reasons for this tendency are numerous, deep, and complex, but one thing must be grasped: whether it's an individual or a group, an official or a citizen, when a conflict arises, the first step is to find the cause, clarify responsibility, and then handle it according to the law. Before the law is applied, reason and justice must be upheld. Unreasonable and disruptive behavior will inevitably have a negative impact, causing social chaos.

    We have had times when we disregarded public sentiment and people's livelihoods, and times when we ignored the law and justice. Practice has proven that, regardless of the "time," such actions can only lead to social chaos and suffering for the people. Only by organically combining attention to public sentiment and people's livelihood with adherence to legal principles, where public sentiment respects legal principles and legal principles address people's livelihood, can society develop in a healthy and orderly manner, and can the people-centered approach under the rule of law be truly reflected.