From 10f62fe1e91becd5032347d2f121c84d6b546d5b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:04:57 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 01/37] conventions(en): EN filename slugs decided (book/en/-English-slug.md) --- TRANSLATION.md | 37 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-- 1 file changed, 35 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/TRANSLATION.md b/TRANSLATION.md index a60ac9d2b..7836610c1 100644 --- a/TRANSLATION.md +++ b/TRANSLATION.md @@ -68,8 +68,41 @@ Chinese original (`../01-不要早死.md`) — that link must not change. | 30 | 30-Ребёнок-в-школе | | 31 | 31-Дороги-после-восемнадцати | -EN filenames: decide together with the EN pilot's fate (same rename policy or mirror the -Chinese names) — do not mix schemes between languages silently. +EN filenames: English slugs under `book/en/`, same two-digit prefix (decided 2026-09-18): + +| Ch | Slug | +|---|---| +| 01 | 01-Do-Not-Die-Early | +| 02 | 02-Do-Not-Die-Slowly | +| 03 | 03-Do-Not-Waste-Energy | +| 04 | 04-Do-Not-Waste-Time | +| 05 | 05-Do-Not-Waste-Money | +| 06 | 06-The-Anti-List | +| 07 | 07-Living-With-No-Money | +| 08 | 08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside | +| 09 | 09-Legal-Red-Lines | +| 10 | 10-Is-Love-And-Marriage-Worth-It | +| 11 | 11-Red-Lines-For-Techies | +| 12 | 12-Starting-Your-Own-Business | +| 13 | 13-Emergencies | +| 14 | 14-Accounts-And-Security | +| 15 | 15-Renting-And-Buying-Housing | +| 16 | 16-Living-With-Chronic-Disease | +| 17 | 17-Elderly-At-Home | +| 18 | 18-Is-Having-Kids-Worth-It | +| 19 | 19-Employment-And-Work-Injury | +| 20 | 20-Newborn | +| 21 | 21-Travel-And-Abroad-Safety | +| 22 | 22-How-To-Relax | +| 23 | 23-Which-Skills-To-Learn | +| 24 | 24-Seeing-The-Doctor | +| 25 | 25-After-Someone-Dies | +| 26 | 26-Building-A-Website-Or-Platform | +| 27 | 27-Pregnancy-And-Birth | +| 28 | 28-Do-Not-Ruin-Health-For-Looks | +| 29 | 29-After-A-Major-Blow | +| 30 | 30-School-Age-Kids | +| 31 | 31-Paths-After-Eighteen | ## Russian README (README.ru.md) From 4316a0630d0412d6371eeb8a503d6966fbadc4a5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:05:46 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 02/37] =?UTF-8?q?tools(en):=20assemble=5Fen.py=20=E2=80=94?= =?UTF-8?q?=20EN=20field=20labels=20(Sources/Evidence=20grade)=20for=20pip?= =?UTF-8?q?eline?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- tools/assemble_en.py | 106 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 106 insertions(+) create mode 100644 tools/assemble_en.py diff --git a/tools/assemble_en.py b/tools/assemble_en.py new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f5b5dfa6b --- /dev/null +++ b/tools/assemble_en.py @@ -0,0 +1,106 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env python3 +"""Assemble a translated chapter from per-unit LLM output + byte-faithful blocks, +then run the full integrity check against the original. + +Usage: + python3 tools/assemble.py + # workdir contains units/NN.md overwritten by the translator (same filenames) +Exits non-zero and prints FAIL lines if anything is off. +""" +import json, os, re, sys + +root = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))) +n, work, out = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2], sys.argv[3] + +meta = json.load(open(os.path.join(root, "tools", "digest", n, "blocks.json"), + encoding="utf-8")) +fails = [] + +parts = [l.rstrip() for l in open(os.path.join(work, "units", "00.md"), + encoding="utf-8").read().splitlines()] +for i in range(1, meta["items"] + 1): + up = os.path.join(work, "units", f"{i:02d}.md") + if not os.path.exists(up): + fails.append(f"unit {i:02d} missing"); continue + txt = open(up, encoding="utf-8").read() + tag = meta["blocks"][str(i)]["tag"] + src = meta["blocks"][str(i)]["src"] + txt = txt.replace("§TAG§", tag) + # Russian label + byte-identical content after the label + src_ru = ["- Sources:" + l.split("：", 1)[1] if l.startswith("- 来源：") else l + for l in src] + # In the original, 来源 sits between 证据等级 and 备注 in most items; + # splice each source line in at the position of its §SRC§ marker only if + # the marker is the LAST content line; otherwise re-splice to match the + # original field order (sources right after the grade line, before notes). + lines = txt.splitlines() + out_lines, inserted = [], False + for j, l in enumerate(lines): + if l.strip() == "§SRC§": + # find where to insert: after the LAST '- Evidence grade' + # already emitted, before a following '- Примечания' if present + k = len(out_lines) + while k > 0 and not out_lines[k-1].startswith("- Evidence grade"): + k -= 1 + if k == 0: + out_lines.extend(src_ru) + else: + rest, note = out_lines[:k], out_lines[k:] + out_lines = rest + src_ru + note + inserted = True + else: + out_lines.append(l) + if not inserted: + fails.append(f"unit {i:02d}: §SRC§ marker not found") + txt = "\n".join(out_lines) + if "§" in txt: + fails.append(f"unit {i:02d}: leftover placeholder") + parts.extend(txt.rstrip().splitlines()) + # separator: blank line between items exactly where the original has one + blank = meta.get("blank_before_next", {}).get(str(i), True) + if i < meta["items"] and blank: + parts.append("") + +open(out, "w", encoding="utf-8").write( + ("\n".join(parts).rstrip() + "\n").replace("\n\n\n", "\n\n")) + +# ---- integrity checks against the original ------------------------------- +src = [f for f in os.listdir(os.path.join(root, "book")) + if re.match(rf"{n}-", f) and f.endswith(".md")][0] +sl = open(os.path.join(root, "book", src), encoding="utf-8").read().splitlines() +tl = open(out, encoding="utf-8").read().splitlines() + +si = [x for x in sl if x.startswith("### ")] +ti = [x for x in tl if x.startswith("### ")] +if len(si) != len(ti): + fails.append(f"items {len(si)} != {len(ti)}") + +ss = [x.split("：", 1)[1] for x in sl if x.startswith("- 来源：")] +ts = [x.split(":", 1)[1].strip() for x in tl if re.match(r"^- Sources:", x)] +if len(ss) != len(ts): + fails.append(f"sources {len(ss)} != {len(ts)}") +else: + for a, b in zip(ss, ts): + if a != b: + fails.append("source line mismatch: " + a[:60]) + +st = sum(1 for x in sl if "成本标签" in x) +tt = sum(1 for x in tl if "成本标签" in x) +if st != tt: + fails.append(f"tags {st} != {tt}") + +# hanzi allowed only: sources lines, tag lines, status-line link, and any line +# still in the ORIGINAL language (the test path: untranslated units). +# For a real translated chapter the translator-subagent contract says hanzi +# outside these zones = 0; assemble only enforces the mechanical zones. +def hanzi(s): return re.search(r"[\u4e00-\u9fff]", s) +zh_lines_out = 0 +for idx, l in enumerate(tl, 1): + if hanzi(l) and not (l.startswith("- Sources:") or "成本标签" in l + or "](../" in l or idx <= 4): + zh_lines_out += 1 + +if fails: + print("FAIL"); [print(" -", f) for f in fails]; sys.exit(1) +note = "" if zh_lines_out == 0 else f" (warning: {zh_lines_out} untranslated lines)" +print(f"OK ch.{n}: items={len(ti)} tags={tt} sources={len(ts)} byte-identical{note}") From 8126ee6ea7560fe0b1b87568eceff344c77bb088 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:20:15 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 03/37] conventions(en): fork README.md becomes English primary; README.zh.md = renamed Chinese README (tri-lingual switcher) --- README.zh.md | 218 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TRANSLATION.md | 6 ++ 2 files changed, 224 insertions(+) create mode 100644 README.zh.md diff --git a/README.zh.md b/README.zh.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..567ac986b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.zh.md @@ -0,0 +1,218 @@ +
+ +高性价比人生指南 —— 用最少的钱、时间和精力，换回最多的寿命、金钱和人身自由 + +# 高性价比人生指南 + +覆盖长寿与防病、意外与急救、省钱与理财、防骗与法律红线、失业兜底、创业风险、做平台与合规、恋爱婚育、出国与技能。
+498 条建议，每条写明花掉什么、换回什么、证据有多硬，来源只引期刊论文和官方文件。 + +[![在线检索](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E5%9C%A8%E7%BA%BF%E6%A3%80%E7%B4%A2-%E7%82%B9%E8%BF%99%E9%87%8C%E6%89%93%E5%BC%80-3451b2?style=flat-square)](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/) +[![条目](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E6%9D%A1%E7%9B%AE-498%20%E6%9D%A1-18794e?style=flat-square)](#目录) +[![证据分级](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E8%AF%81%E6%8D%AE%E5%88%86%E7%BA%A7-A%20323%20%C2%B7%20B%20126%20%C2%B7%20C%2049-915930?style=flat-square)](#证据分级) +[![原始文献](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E5%8E%9F%E5%A7%8B%E6%96%87%E7%8C%AE-891%20%E6%9D%A1%E9%93%BE%E6%8E%A5-565a5f?style=flat-square)](docs/核实记录/) +[![许可](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E8%AE%B8%E5%8F%AF-Unlicense-565a5f?style=flat-square)](LICENSE) + +**[打开在线检索页](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/)** · [目录](#目录) · [术语表](#读懂数字术语表) · [核实记录](docs/核实记录/) · [结婚划不划算（长文）](docs/结婚划不划算.md) · [家庭应急装备清单（长文）](docs/家庭应急装备清单.md) · [遇到陌生人出事该不该停（长文）](docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md) · [做平台要办哪些证（长文）](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md) + +**Languages:** [English](README.md) · [Русский](README.ru.md) + +
+ +--- + +## 这本书想回答的问题 + +| 问题 | 去哪看 | +| --- | --- | +| 几乎不花钱，就能明显降低早死概率的事有哪些？ | [1. 不要早死](book/01-不要早死.md) | +| 抽烟、喝酒、久坐、熬夜到底折寿多少？ | [2. 不要慢慢死](book/02-不要慢慢死.md) | +| 每天精力不够用、总被打断，怎么改？ | [3. 不要浪费精力](book/03-不要浪费精力.md) | +| 时间都花哪去了，怎么少做无收益的事？ | [4. 不要浪费时间](book/04-不要浪费时间.md) | +| 攒下的钱该怎么放，才不被利息、费率和骗局吃掉？ | [5. 不要浪费钱](book/05-不要浪费钱.md) | +| 哪些保健品、体检套餐、智商税可以直接不买？ | [6. 反面清单](book/06-反面清单.md) | +| 失业了、被欠薪了、身上没钱了，能领什么、去哪求助？ | [7. 没钱的时候怎么活](book/07-没钱的时候怎么活.md) | +| 彩礼、婚前房产、恋爱期间的大额转账，法律上算谁的？ | [8. 法律与财产安全](book/08-别把自己搭进去.md) | +| 被人报案指控、被捏造事实举报，第一步做什么，事后能追究和赔偿吗？ | [8. 法律与财产安全](book/08-别把自己搭进去.md) | +| 哪些「兼职」和顺手的小事会让普通人变成刑事被告？ | [9. 普通人容易踩的法律红线](book/09-普通人容易踩的法律红线.md) | +| 追人该广撒网还是死磕一个，异地恋能不能成，领证要带什么？ | [10. 恋爱和结婚划不划算](book/10-恋爱和结婚划不划算.md) | +| 写哪些代码、接哪些单会被判刑？ | [11. 程序员和技术人容易踩的红线](book/11-程序员和技术人容易踩的红线.md) | +| 借钱开店、开公司之前最该先想清楚什么？ | [12. 创业与做生意](book/12-创业与做生意.md) | +| 有人倒地没了呼吸、大出血、火灾、迷路，先做什么？ | [13. 紧急情况：先做什么](book/13-紧急情况.md) | +| 账号被盗、手机丢了，第一步做什么？ | [14. 账号与信息安全](book/14-账号与信息安全.md) | +| 押金被扣、房东赶人、长租公寓暴雷怎么办？ | [15. 租房与买房](book/15-租房与买房.md) | +| 确诊慢性病之后，长期该怎么管、怎么少花钱？ | [16. 得了慢性病之后怎么活](book/16-得了慢性病之后怎么活.md) | +| 老人的监护、遗嘱和钱该怎么提前安排？ | [17. 家里有老人](book/17-家里有老人.md) | +| 生孩子能领什么、要占掉多少时间和钱？ | [18. 养孩子划不划算](book/18-养孩子划不划算.md) | +| 加班费、年休假该怎么算，被裁该拿多少补偿，上班受了伤怎么认定和拿钱？ | [19. 在职、离职和工伤](book/19-在职离职和工伤.md) | +| 孩子刚出生，最要紧的几件事是什么？ | [20. 刚出生的孩子怎么带](book/20-刚出生的孩子怎么带.md) | +| 哪些国家现在别去，出事了使领馆管到哪一步？ | [21. 出国、旅行与境外安全](book/21-出国旅行与境外安全.md) | +| 去 KTV、网吧、密室怎么不踩坑，压力大时做什么最有用？ | [22. 怎么放松：娱乐场所和减压](book/22-怎么放松.md) | +| 学电焊、学英语、考证，哪些真的回本？ | [23. 学什么技能划算](book/23-学什么技能划算.md) | +| 同一个病在社区看和在三级医院看，差多少钱？ | [24. 看病：怎么少花钱少走弯路](book/24-看病.md) | +| 伤得很重跑到医院，是去挂号排队还是找急诊分诊台？治完要不要做伤残鉴定、办残疾人证？ | [24. 看病：怎么少花钱少走弯路](book/24-看病.md) | +| 家里人走了，当时先做什么、哪些钱能取回来、哪些费用可以不交？ | [25. 人走了以后要办什么](book/25-人走了以后要办什么.md) | +| 做个网站或平台收钱，要办哪些证、服务器放哪？ | [26. 做一个网站或平台](book/26-做一个网站或平台.md) | +| 怀孕了、要生了，什么时候做什么，出院前要办哪些证？ | [27. 怀孕和生产](book/27-怀孕和生产.md) | +| 想减肥、想变好看，哪些做法会把身体搞坏？ | [28. 别为了外形把身体搞坏](book/28-别为了外形把身体搞坏.md) | +| 亲人走了、被裁了、拿到重病诊断，头几个月最要紧的是什么？ | [29. 遭遇重大打击之后](book/29-遭遇重大打击之后.md) | +| 孩子上学以后，哪些身体和心理的事不能等到考完再说？ | [30. 上学以后的孩子](book/30-上学以后的孩子.md) | +| 十八岁之后除了读书和打工还有哪几条路，各自的门槛是什么？ | [31. 十八岁之后有哪几条路](book/31-十八岁之后有哪几条路.md) | + +## 怎么读 + +- **想按条件筛**：打开[在线检索页](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/)，可以按关键词、章节、证据等级，以及「花不花钱、花多少时间、要不要毅力」三个成本维度组合筛选。数据直接读 book/ 下的正文，改正文即改检索页。 +- **想按顺序读**：每节内的条目按性价比从高到低排列，从每节前几条开始看就行。 +- **看不懂那串数字**：每条都有一行「说人话」，把「收益」栏里的风险比、置信区间翻成「同期死亡的概率低约两成」「拘留几日、罚多少钱」这类日常说法，只用原文已有的事实，不引入新数字。只看这一行就够做决定；「收益」栏保留全部原始数字和置信区间，供你自己核。 +- **只想看结论最硬的**：在检索页里勾选证据等级 A，只留下有具体数字、来自荟萃分析或大型试验的 323 条。 +- **只想看最值得做的**：勾选性价比「极高」，得到 85 条既不花钱、不花时间、不需要毅力，收益又落在最大一档的条目。再叠加一个「换回什么」，就是该口径下的优先清单。 +- **看到「不要」开头的节标题不用紧张**：节标题说的是这一节想防住的结果（不要早死、不要浪费时间），不是说底下每条都是禁令。条目标题才是要做的动作，一律动词开头，自己带着「做什么」或「别做什么」——同一节里两种都有，比如第 4 节既有「把『打算做』写成『几点、在哪、遇到什么就做什么』」，也有「不看电视和滚动新闻」。按条目标题读，不用往节标题的语气上套。 + +每条建议长这样： + +```markdown +### 5. 把家里的食盐换成低钠盐（钾盐） +- 成本：每袋贵几元 +- 说人话：两万人的随机试验里，把家里的盐换成低钠盐的人，五年内死亡的概率低约 12%，中风低约 14%。这是随机分组做出来的结果，比一般的观察数据更可信。 +- 收益：脑卒中降 14%，心血管事件降 13%，总死亡率降 12% +- 证据等级：A +- 来源：Neal B, et al. (2021). NEJM. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2105675 +- 备注：争议。肾功能不全、正在吃保钾利尿剂的人不要用。另有一项覆盖 181 个国家的生态学研究发现钠摄入越高的国家预期寿命反而越长、总死亡率反而越低（β=−131 例/克每日钠摄入，R²=0.60，P<0.001），作者据此反对把钠当作缩短寿命的元凶；但生态学研究比的是国家而不是人，富国吃盐多也活得久，无法排除经济水平这个混杂，证据等级低于上面那项随机对照试验。来源：Messerli FH, Hofstetter L, Syrogiannouli L, et al. (2021). Sodium intake, life expectancy, and all-cause mortality. European Heart Journal, 42(21), 2103-2112. +``` + +## 四种资源 + +本指南优化的不只是寿命，而是四种资源： + +- **寿命**：活得更久，少死于本来可以避免的事 +- **时间与精力**：活着的时间不被无收益的事占用，每天的注意力和体力少被无谓消耗 +- **金钱**：少花冤枉钱，把钱花在收益确定的地方 +- **人身自由**：不因为不知道一条红线，把自己送进拘留所或者看守所 + +每一条建议都回答两个问题：花掉什么（钱/时间/精力/毅力），换回什么（总死亡率变化 / 特定死因下降 / 时间与精力节省 / 金钱节省 / 保障与人身自由）。条目按性价比排序，不按类别排序：成本接近零、收益大的放最前面。 + +**收益算在谁头上，是分档的。** 按「这份好处将来回到你身上的期望」从高到低：① **你自己**；② **配偶和直系亲属**（父母、子女、祖父母外祖父母、孙子女外孙子女）；③ **朋友、同事和其他亲属**——互惠关系，帮出去的将来可能回来；④ **陌生人**——最低一档，但不是零：回报的概率小，而且你不了解对方性格，还有被讹、被反咬、被报复的一面。不同档不合并计算，写到第 ④ 档时好处和风险一起写。 + +急救那一节照这个读：中国 38,227 例院外心脏骤停里 79.2% 发生在家里，学按压首先是为了按在自家人身上；「看到有人溺水自己不下水」「撞见斗殴别上手拉架」这类规则本身就是自保规则，防的是你从旁观者变成第二个伤者。对陌生人要不要出手是你自己的权衡，条目会把免责条款、自保动作和风险面都写清楚，不替你把它算成非做不可的理由。 + +死亡率类数字、时间/精力类数字、金钱类数字和法律后果分开口径，不做跨口径换算。这四种资源对应检索页上的四个「换回什么」，互相之间不做比较。 + +## 证据分级 + +每条建议都标注证据等级： + +| 等级 | 含义 | +| --- | --- | +| A | 有可量化证据，来自荟萃分析、大型队列或 RCT，能给出具体数字（HR、RR、下降百分比） | +| B | 有研究支撑但难以量化，或证据来自小样本/单一研究 | +| C | 作者经验或普遍共识，没有直接文献 | + +全书 498 条中 A 级 323 条、B 级 126 条、C 级 49 条，另有 45 条标注了争议、39 处标注了 TODO 待核实。有争议的 A/B 级条目会标注「争议」并列出反方证据。所有来源只引原始文献（期刊论文附 DOI 或 PubMed 链接，或 WHO/CDC/国家统计局等官方机构报告），不引二手转述。不确定的数字标「待核实」。 + +## 性价比档 + +证据等级回答的是「这个数字可不可信」，不回答「值不值得做」。所以每条另外标一个收益量级和一个口径，检索页由它和三项成本合成一个性价比档： + +| 维度 | 取值 | 怎么定的 | +| --- | --- | --- | +| 口径 | 换寿命 / 换钱 / 换时间精力 / 换人身自由 | 按这条主要换回什么。**不同口径之间不做比较**，「总死亡率降 12%」和「每年省 500 元」不在一把尺子上 | +| 收益量级 | 大 / 中 / 小 | 尽量按阈值从条目自己的「收益」栏里机械套：换寿命看相对降幅（≥20% 为大，10–20% 为中，<10% 或只有替代终点为小）；换钱看金额（万元级为大，数百到数千为中，几十元为小）；换人身自由看后果（避免刑事责任为大，避免拘留或行政处罚为中，避免民事纠纷为小）；换时间精力看节省量（每天小时级为大，每周小时级为中，一次性为小） | +| 性价比 | 极高 / 高 / 一般 | 收益大且三项成本全为零 = 极高；收益大且成本较低，或收益中且成本为零 = 高；其余 = 一般 | + +全书 498 条中性价比极高 88 条（18%）、高 248 条（50%）、一般 162 条（33%）。中间一档偏厚是有意的：底层的收益量级只有三级判断，再往下切就是假装精度。 + +**这一档是作者判断，不是证据**，本质上是 C 级，和证据等级正交。可以是 A 级但性价比一般（带状疱疹疫苗有 97.2% 效力的三期 RCT，但两针三四千元、带状疱疹很少致命），也可以是 C 级但性价比极高（出境前把行程发给家人）。「一般」不等于不该做——全书的条目都是建议做的，只是这一档要你自己权衡那笔花销。 + +## 读懂数字（术语表） + +正文尽量说人话，但引用研究时绕不开几个统计名词。看不懂时查这张表；在线检索页里把鼠标放到（或点一下）带虚线的词上也会弹出解释。 + +
+展开 40 条术语（总死亡率、HR、RR、95% CI、荟萃分析、BMI、LPR、定金与订金……） + +| 术语 | 意思 | +| --- | --- | +| 总死亡率 | 一段时间内死于任何原因的人数比例，不分死因。本书用它衡量「活得久不久」。原文献叫全因死亡率，英文缩写 ACM | +| HR | 风险比。两组人在同样时间里出事（死亡、发病）的速度之比。HR 0.87 表示比对照组低 13%，HR 1.21 表示高 21% | +| RR | 相对风险。两组人出事的概率之比，读法同 HR | +| OR | 比值比。两组人出事「几率」之比，事件少见时接近 RR，事件常见时会夸大差异 | +| IRR | 发病率之比，读法同 RR | +| RaR | 发生次数之比（如跌倒次数），读法同 RR | +| 标准化死亡比 | SMR。一群人实际死亡人数，除以按同龄一般人群的死亡率算出的预期人数。5.86 表示死亡是同龄人的 5.86 倍 | +| 风险差 | 两组出事概率相减，直接给出「每一千人多出几例」。比值只说倍数，风险差说绝对多了多少人 | +| 95% CI | 95% 置信区间。真实值大概率落在的范围。比值类区间跨过 1、差值类区间跨过 0，就说明差异可能只是巧合，文中会写「无统计学意义」 | +| RCT | 随机对照试验。把人随机分成两组，一组做干预一组不做，比较结果。最能说明因果 | +| 荟萃分析 | 把多项研究的结果合并统计，得到一个总的估计。也叫 meta 分析 | +| 队列 | 队列研究。追踪一群人多年，看谁出事。能说明相关，不能完全说明因果 | +| 观察性 | 观察性研究。研究者只观察不干预，结果可能受混杂和反向因果影响，数字要打折看 | +| 混杂 | 第三个因素同时影响原因和结果，让相关看起来像因果。爱吃菜的人往往也更爱运动 | +| 反向因果 | 不是 A 导致 B，而是 B 导致 A。不是睡得多让人早死，而是病重的人睡得多 | +| d、g | 效应量。两组平均值差了多少个标准差。0.2 算小，0.5 中等，0.8 大 | +| r | 相关系数。两件事同向变化的程度，从 -1 到 1，0.1 弱、0.3 中、0.5 强 | +| MET | 运动强度单位。1 MET 是安静坐着，快走约 3 到 4 MET。MET·h 是强度乘小时数 | +| GRADE | 给证据质量打分的国际标准，分高、中、低、极低四档 | +| 意向筛查分析 | 按「邀请了谁」而不是「谁真去做了」来算效果，会低估筛查对真去做的人的作用 | +| 包年 | 吸烟量单位。每天包数乘以吸烟年数，30 包年就是每天一包抽 30 年 | +| BMI | 体重指数。体重（公斤）除以身高（米）的平方 | +| LDL | 低密度脂蛋白胆固醇，俗称坏胆固醇 | +| HBsAg | 乙肝表面抗原，阳性表示已感染乙肝病毒 | +| HPV | 人乳头瘤病毒，部分型别长期感染会导致宫颈癌 | +| LDCT | 低剂量胸部 CT，辐射量约为普通 CT 的五分之一到十分之一 | +| PM2.5 | 直径 2.5 微米以下的空气颗粒物 | +| NOVA | 一种按加工程度给食品分类的方法，「超加工食品」就是它的第四类 | +| LPR | 贷款市场报价利率。中国的基准贷款利率，每月 20 日公布，房贷和民间借贷上限都参照它 | +| 一裁终局 | 劳动仲裁裁决直接生效，用人单位不能再向法院起诉 | +| 粗结婚率、粗离婚率 | 每千人中当年登记结婚、离婚的对数。离婚对数除以结婚对数是另一个口径，叫离结比，两者不能混 | +| AED | 自动体外除颤器。公共场所常见的红色或黄色急救箱，开机后按语音提示操作，会自己判断要不要电击 | +| CPR | 心肺复苏。心脏骤停时用力按压胸口，让血继续流动 | +| 3C 认证 | 中国强制性产品认证。列入目录的产品没有这个标志不准出厂、销售 | +| ICP 备案 | 网站或 App 上线前在工信部系统登记的手续 | +| 等级保护 | 网络安全等级保护制度。按系统重要程度分级，落实相应的安全措施 | +| GPL | 一种开源许可证。用了它的代码做产品，分发时通常要一并开源 | +| 竞业限制 | 离职后一段时间内不去竞争对手处任职的约定，公司要按月付补偿，最长 2 年 | +| 认缴出资 | 注册公司时承诺投入的钱。承诺了就要在法定期限内实缴，不是写着好看 | +| 定金与订金 | 定金有罚则，收方违约要双倍返还，最多为合同额 20%；订金只是预付款，没有罚则 | + +
+ +## 目录 + +1. [不要早死](book/01-不要早死.md)：外因死亡、燃气与中毒、疫苗、筛查、心理危机、家庭应急装备、肉眼血尿等该去查的信号。口径：总死亡率 或特定死因。 +2. [不要慢慢死](book/02-不要慢慢死.md)：烟酒、运动、睡眠、饮食、久坐。口径：总死亡率 或特定死因。 +3. [不要浪费精力](book/03-不要浪费精力.md)：睡眠、打断、多任务、决策疲劳、人际负债。口径：精力/时间。 +4. [不要浪费时间](book/04-不要浪费时间.md)：无收益项目、沉没成本、拖延、会议、通勤。口径：时间。 +5. [不要浪费钱](book/05-不要浪费钱.md)：订阅、彩票、利息、保险、基金费率、个人养老金、车险、预付款、直播带货、医保个人账户、孩子被骗与充值退款。口径：金钱。 +6. [反面清单](book/06-反面清单.md)：看起来性价比高但其实不高的东西。 +7. [没钱的时候怎么活](book/07-没钱的时候怎么活.md)：救助、补贴、找活、住宿吃饭、医疗、欠薪维权、避坑。口径：金钱/保障。 +8. [别把自己搭进去：法律与财产安全](book/08-别把自己搭进去.md)：交通事故、被骗止付、AI 换脸拟声、被指控与被诬告后的救济、以举报相要挟的敲诈与自己索赔的边界、冲突与泄愤式极端暴力、伤人冲动与身边人的送诊权、被网暴之后走平台与禁令、彩礼、婚前财产、担保、反诈、诉讼时效、被执行与失信名单、养犬责任。口径：金钱/人身自由。 +9. [普通人容易踩的法律红线](book/09-普通人容易踩的法律红线.md)：谣言、侮辱英烈、境外内容只看不转、传播色情、兼职洗钱、伪造材料骗贷、高空抛物、仿真枪、无人机、偷拍、养不了孩子时的合法送养与拐卖遗弃的界线、赌博、野味。口径：人身自由/金钱。 +10. [恋爱和结婚划不划算](book/10-恋爱和结婚划不划算.md)：择偶策略、纠缠的红线、兴趣信号、关系质量、异地恋、登记流程、婚检、健康账、时间账、钱账、父母出资买房与夫妻共同债务、退出成本。长文见 [docs/结婚划不划算.md](docs/结婚划不划算.md)。 +11. [程序员和技术人容易踩的红线](book/11-程序员和技术人容易踩的红线.md)：外挂、爬虫、抢票脚本、删库、带走源码、接单开发、竞业、开源许可、备案。口径：人身自由/金钱。 +12. [创业与做生意：别把家底赔进去](book/12-创业与做生意.md)：本钱、担保、主体选择、注册登记、许可证、纳税申报、发票、涉税诈骗、合同、用人、量产、进货与用图的知识产权红线、退场。口径：金钱/法律责任。 +13. [紧急情况：先做什么](book/13-紧急情况.md)：心脏骤停、卒中与后循环卒中、眼中风、心梗、主动脉夹层、霹雳样头痛、慢性硬膜下血肿、肺栓塞、大出血、咬伤、烧烫伤、过敏性休克、癫痫、低血糖、触电、一氧化碳、误服与化学品灼伤、扎进身体的异物、骨折固定、骗局、隐私威胁、中暑、火灾、溺水、迷路、失温、蛇咬、地震、野兽、雷击、高原病、蜱虫、野外饮水；还有救不救得起：老人摔倒怎么扶、撞见斗殴怎么办、救人受伤之后的钱找谁。口径：存活率与金钱，末几条兼及人身自由。 +14. [账号与信息安全](book/14-账号与信息安全.md)：二次验证、密码、SIM 卡、手机丢失、银行卡盗刷、登录设备、App 权限、人脸识别、查阅与删除权。口径：金钱/个人信息。 +15. [租房与买房](book/15-租房与买房.md)：押金、暴力腾退、中介代收、资金监管、买卖不破租赁、产权核对、交易资金专户、隔断房。口径：金钱。 +16. [得了慢性病之后怎么活](book/16-得了慢性病之后怎么活.md)：服药依从、门诊慢特病跨省结算、复查记录、别停药试偏方、长期处方、家庭医生签约、并发症筛查。口径：总死亡率/金钱。 +17. [家里有老人](book/17-家里有老人.md)：意定监护、遗嘱形式、账户与话术、投资养老与以房养老骗局、长期护理保险。口径：金钱/人身自由。 +18. [养孩子划不划算](book/18-养孩子划不划算.md)：育儿补贴、产假与生育津贴、三期保护、时间账、钱账。口径：金钱/时间。 +19. [在职、离职和工伤](book/19-在职离职和工伤.md)：加班费、年休假、试用期；职业病危害告知与三次体检、粉尘噪声防护；N、代通知金、2N、别签主动辞职、留证；工伤认定时限、单位未参保、劳动能力鉴定、工亡待遇。口径：金钱。 +20. [刚出生的孩子怎么带](book/20-刚出生的孩子怎么带.md)：安全睡眠、乙肝首针、免疫规划疫苗、母乳与辅食、冲奶水温、蜂蜜、维生素 K、发热就医红线、不摇晃、尿布与大件采购。口径：婴儿死亡率/金钱。 +21. [出国、旅行与境外安全](book/21-出国旅行与境外安全.md)：安全提醒级别、12308、领事保护的边界、境外医疗保险、境外高薪招聘骗局、证件丢失、境外驾照、中介备案。口径：金钱/人身自由。 +22. [怎么放松：娱乐场所和减压](book/22-怎么放松.md)：安全出口、明码标价、涉毒红线、别人递的东西、网吧实名、剧本杀选址；运动、正念、呼吸、社交、绿地。口径：金钱/人身自由，以及精力/总死亡率。 +23. [学什么技能划算](book/23-学什么技能划算.md)：读书还是打工（童工年龄线、教育与死亡率、全国学历结构、免学费与助学金助学贷款、中职升学通道、怎么自己算这笔账）、教育回报率、山寨证书、培训补贴、抗自动化的维度、技能等级、紧缺职业怎么查。口径：金钱/时间，其中一条为死亡率。 +24. [看病：怎么少花钱少走弯路](book/24-看病.md)：分级诊疗与转诊、起付线连续计算、报销比例差、预留号源、异地就医必要性评估、病历留存与封存、急诊预检分诊的四级顺序、无力支付时的疾病应急救助、伤残鉴定的时机、残疾人证怎么办。口径：金钱/时间。 +25. [人走了以后要办什么](book/25-人走了以后要办什么.md)：报警与死亡证明、遗体接运与火化、死因异议与尸检、注销户口、殡葬基础项目清单、价格违法、中介备案、公积金余额与社保待遇、死者个人信息权利。口径：金钱。 +26. [做一个网站或平台：资质、备案和服务器](book/26-做一个网站或平台.md)：支付结算红线、ICP 许可与备案、直播与视听资质、平台核验与涉税报送、内容治理、实名、未成年人、通知删除、数据出境、服务器选型。口径：人身自由/金钱。长文见 [docs/做平台要办哪些证.md](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md)。 +27. [怀孕和生产：从发现怀孕到出院办证](book/27-怀孕和生产.md)：叶酸、建册与免费产检、三病筛查与母婴阻断、孕期烟酒、阿司匹林与妊娠期糖尿病、立刻去医院的信号、破水处置、无痛分娩、剖宫产指征、生育保险、出生医学证明、新生儿筛查、参保与落户、产后 42 天复查。口径：死亡率与金钱。 +28. [别为了外形把身体搞坏](book/28-别为了外形把身体搞坏.md)：极端节食与进食障碍、医美机构与主诊医师两证、面部填充的失明部位、违法添加西布曲明的减肥产品、合成代谢类固醇、减肥药与性激素的处方和复查、体像评估。口径：死亡率（健康终点），医美两条兼及人身自由。 +29. [遭遇重大打击之后](book/29-遭遇重大打击之后.md)：丧亲头一个月的心血管窗口、重病诊断的第一周、失业、丧偶后的半年、因自杀丧亲、家长去世的孩子、哀伤卡住了去哪挂号、离婚、12356 与 12355、别在应激期做不可逆的决定。口径：总死亡率，末两条为金钱。 +30. [上学以后的孩子](book/30-上学以后的孩子.md)：按小时算的急症、别为了考试推迟治疗、被欺凌怎么办、每天户外 2 小时、学生体检报告单、青少年抑郁筛查、治愈近视的产品、睡眠与作业的硬规定、休学保留学籍、散瞳验光与复查、窝沟封闭。口径：死亡率与健康终点，另有金钱和时间各一到两条。 +31. [十八岁之后有哪几条路](book/31-十八岁之后有哪几条路.md)：八条路的法定门槛；当兵（兵役登记、义务兵两年、拒服兵役的联合惩戒、学费补偿与升学、安置与 30 日报到、退役金与工龄税收）；基层服务项目的定向考录；特岗教师期满入编；消防员与军队文职；自考、成人高考与开放大学；灵活就业的社保；骑手的职业伤害保障。口径：金钱/时间，拒服兵役那条兼及人身自由。 + +每节内条目按性价比从高到低排列。「不要早死」「不要浪费时间」这类节标题说的是这一节想防住的结果，条目本身要做还是别做，以条目标题为准。长文另见 [docs/家庭应急装备清单.md](docs/家庭应急装备清单.md)、[docs/做平台要办哪些证.md](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md)、[docs/结婚划不划算.md](docs/结婚划不划算.md) 和 [docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md](docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md)。每条来源的核实过程记录在 [docs/核实记录](docs/核实记录/)。 + +仓库根目录的 `index.html` 是在线检索页：按关键词、章节、证据等级和成本维度（花钱、花时间、要毅力）筛选条目，数据直接读本文件。在仓库设置里开启 GitHub Pages（Deploy from a branch，分支 main，目录 /）后即可访问。 + +## 正文 + +正文按节拆成 30 个文件放在 [book/](book/)，点上面目录里的节名进入。拆开是因为单文件已经超过 GitHub 渲染 Markdown 的 512 KB 上限，后面的节显示不出来；[在线检索页](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/)会把这些文件合起来读，用法不变。 diff --git a/TRANSLATION.md b/TRANSLATION.md index 7836610c1..9566b1738 100644 --- a/TRANSLATION.md +++ b/TRANSLATION.md @@ -68,6 +68,12 @@ Chinese original (`../01-不要早死.md`) — that link must not change. | 30 | 30-Ребёнок-в-школе | | 31 | 31-Дороги-после-восемнадцати | +README policy (decided 2026-09-18): in the dlgrv fork the primary README language is English. +- `README.md` — English (becomes the root README on `translation/en` and fork `main`) +- `README.zh.md` — Chinese (renamed copy of the original Chinese README, links back to EN + RU) +- `README.ru.md` — Russian (existing; gets a tri-lingual Languages line) +Apply when the EN README is ready; keep all three linked via a `Languages:` line. + EN filenames: English slugs under `book/en/`, same two-digit prefix (decided 2026-09-18): | Ch | Slug | From b24029dfef4ea6f3759cc86b37d057ceb277715c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:22:49 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 04/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch01:=20Do=20Not=20Die=20Early=20(29?= =?UTF-8?q?=20items)=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-id?= =?UTF-8?q?entical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/01-Do-Not-Die-Early.md | 267 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ tools/assemble_en.py | 2 +- 2 files changed, 268 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 book/en/01-Do-Not-Die-Early.md diff --git a/book/en/01-Do-Not-Die-Early.md b/book/en/01-Do-Not-Die-Early.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c89e8c0d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/01-Do-Not-Die-Early.md @@ -0,0 +1,267 @@ +> Unofficial translation of [book/01-不要早死.md](../01-不要早死.md). In case of any discrepancy the Chinese original prevails. + +[← Back to the table of contents](../README.md) + +# 1. Do Not Die Early + +This section collects only deaths from external causes, the handful of vaccines and screenings with the hardest evidence, and body signals that warrant a check-up once they appear. The figures in the Benefit column come from randomized trials, large cohorts, or official statistics; the Cost column is the author's rough estimate at market prices, meant for comparison only, not for citation. +### 1. Buckle up — front and rear seats + +- Cost: 0 yuan, 2 seconds each time you get in the car +- In plain terms: Fasten your seat belt in the front seat and the odds of being killed or seriously hurt in a crash drop by roughly half (60 percent in light trucks). Among vehicle occupants who died in crashes in the United States in 2022, half of those whose belt use could be determined were unbelted. +- Benefit: US NHTSA estimates seat belts cut the risk of fatal injury for front-seat car occupants by 45% and for front-seat occupants of light trucks by 60%; among passenger-vehicle occupants who died in the US in 2022, 50% of those with known belt use were unrestrained; WHO puts the reduction in death risk for vehicle occupants at up to 50%. WHO estimates 248,099 road traffic deaths in China in 2021 (17.4 per 100,000) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: NHTSA (2024). Occupant Protection in Passenger Vehicles: 2022 Data (DOT HS 813 573). ; WHO (2025). Road traffic injuries fact sheet. ; WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 (China, 2021). +- Notes: NHTSA's 45%/60% are official estimates based on US crash databases (citing Kahane 2015), not randomized trials. Riding unbelted in the back is just as deadly: in the same NHTSA report, 60% of second-row occupants killed in crashes were unbelted. WHO's China death count is a model estimate, several times higher than the figure registered by the traffic police; the two use different definitions, and only the WHO figure is used here. + +### 2. Wear a helmet on motorcycles and e-bikes — and fasten it + +- Cost: 100 to 300 yuan for one; 5 seconds to put on each time +- In plain terms: Wear a helmet and click the strap shut, and a motorcyclist's odds of dying in a crash fall by about 40% and of a head injury by about 70%. An unfastened helmet is as good as no helmet. +- Benefit: Cochrane meta-analysis: helmet use by motorcyclists cuts the risk of death by 42% (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.68) and head injury by 69% (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.38) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Liu BC 等 (2008). Helmets for preventing injury in motorcycle riders. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. +- Notes: The data come from motorcycles; e-bikes are an extrapolation, but the injury mechanism is the same. Fasten the strap — a helmet hanging on the handlebar does not count. + +### 3. Install smoke alarms; add a carbon monoxide alarm if you burn coal or heat with gas indoors in winter + +- Cost: 30 to 100 yuan per smoke alarm, 50 to 150 yuan per carbon monoxide alarm; change the batteries once a year after installation +- In plain terms: A working smoke alarm cuts the odds of dying in a house fire by about 60% — when fire breaks out, four in ten people are asleep, and your nose will not wake you. If you burn coal or use gas indoors in winter, add a carbon monoxide alarm: in 2018 alone, about 11,500 people in China died of carbon monoxide poisoning, and in the three winter months seven in ten of those deaths happened at home. +- Benefit: North Carolina case-control study of residential fires: a working smoke alarm lowers the risk of death (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.83). In fatal fires in occupied US homes from 2018 to 2020, 24% had no smoke alarm and in 41% someone was asleep when the fire started. China reported 11,523 deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2018; 72.59%, 67.42%, and 66.48% of the December, January, and February deaths occurred at home +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Marshall SW 等 (1998). Fatal residential fires: who dies and who survives? JAMA. ; USFA (2022). Fatal Fires in Residential Buildings (2018-2020), Topical Fire Report Series 22(2). ; You J 等 (2020). Number of Deaths due to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning by Month and by Place of Death — China, 2018. China CDC Weekly. +- Notes: The mortality evidence for smoke alarms rests on a single case-control study with no randomized trial, hence only a B. There is no mortality study of carbon monoxide alarms as such; the benefit is inferred from the fact that poisoning deaths cluster in winter and at home. + +### 4. Replace gas hoses and stoves when due, never modify the piping yourself, and turn away gas-company door-to-door sales outright + +- Cost: a compliant gas hose costs a few dozen yuan; stoves are replaced every few years — check the expiry date while you are at it +- In plain terms: A compliant hose costs a few dozen yuan, and replacing it on time is a user obligation written into the national gas-safety regulation. Modifying the piping or dismantling the gas meter yourself, on the other hand, is explicitly forbidden. The same regulation says the gas company may not make you buy its designated products or services, so a door-to-door salesperson claiming you "must" switch can be refused outright. +- Benefit: the regulation makes "promptly replacing gas appliances and connection hoses that the state has ordered phased out or that have passed their service life" a user obligation, and lists "unauthorized installation, alteration, or removal of indoor gas facilities and gas metering devices" as prohibited conduct; it also states that gas operators may not require users to buy their designated products or accept their services +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2010). 城镇燃气管理条例（国务院令第 583 号）第二十七条：「燃气用户应当遵守安全用气规则，使用合格的燃气燃烧器具和气瓶，及时更换国家明令淘汰或者使用年限已届满的燃气燃烧器具、连接管等」；第二十八条禁止行为含「（一）擅自操作公用燃气阀门」「（二）将燃气管道作为负重支架或者接地引线」「（四）擅自安装、改装、拆除户内燃气设施和燃气计量装置」；第二十条燃气经营者不得「（六）要求燃气用户购买其指定的产品或者接受其提供的服务」；第二十九条用户可就收费、服务向燃气管理等部门投诉，「有关部门应当自收到投诉之日起15个工作日内予以处理」. +- Notes: Sellers who show up in the name of a "safety check" and then pitch self-closing valves and alarms are blocked by Article 20, item 6 of the regulation — you may refuse and complain. TODO (to verify: the standard steps after smelling gas — open windows, shut the valve, touch no electrical switches, and phone from outdoors — no official wording was available to check verbatim this time). Carbon monoxide poisoning is a separate matter; see Chapter 13. + +### 5. Do not pick, buy, or eat wild mushrooms — no folk identification method holds up + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the price is giving up a seasonal wild delicacy +- In plain terms: In 2025 alone there were 828 mushroom-poisoning outbreaks nationwide, 2165 people affected, and 13 deaths; that same year saw 34 mushroom species previously unrecorded as toxic identified for the first time. Silver-needle testing, "if the bugs ate it, it is safe," and "only the brightly colored ones are poisonous" all fail. +- Benefit: China CDC (中国疾控中心 — the national disease-control agency) investigated 828 mushroom poisoning incidents in 2025, involving 2165 people and 13 deaths, a case fatality rate of 0.6%; from 2019 to 2024 there were 276 to 676 incidents a year, with case fatality rates between 0.87% and 2.86%. In 2025 alone, 138 poisonous mushroom species were identified, 34 of them recorded as causing poisoning in China for the first time +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Mushroom Poisoning Outbreaks — China, 2025. China CDC Weekly (2026)：「In 2025, China CDC investigated 828 mushroom poisoning incidents across 27 provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs), affecting 2,165 individuals and causing 13 deaths - a case fatality rate of 0.6%, the lowest of the past six years. In total, 138 poisonous mushroom species were identified, including 34 newly recorded in poisoning incidents in China.」「From 2019 to 2024, the annual number of incidents ranged from 276 to 676, and the case fatality rate ranged from 0.87% to 2.86%.」；同刊 2024 年度报告 +- Notes: New species are recorded as poisonous every year, which undermines the premise that "the locals know what to avoid." Silver-needle testing, boiling with garlic, "if the bugs ate it, it is safe," and "only the brightly colored ones are poisonous" all fail. After eating a suspect mushroom, induce vomiting immediately and go to the hospital with the leftover mushrooms or photos — mushroom poisoning has several clinical syndromes, and identifying the species directly determines the treatment. + +### 6. Never wheel an e-bike into hallways or elevators, and never charge it at home + +- Cost: 0 yuan; park it at the communal charging point downstairs, a few dozen meters further to walk +- In plain terms: Taking an e-bike into a hallway, an elevator, or your home to charge it is explicitly banned by the national fire-safety rule for high-rise buildings: individuals who fail to correct it face fines of 500–1000 yuan, commercial operators 2000–10000 yuan. The fine is the lesser issue — a fire like this starts right across your only escape route. +- Benefit: a ministerial rule of the Ministry of Emergency Management states verbatim: "parking electric bicycles or charging them in the public lobbies, evacuation corridors, stairwells, or emergency exits of high-rise residential buildings is prohibited"; those who refuse to correct the violation are fined 500 to 1000 yuan (individuals and non-commercial entities) or 2000 to 10000 yuan (commercial operators) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 应急管理部 (2021). 高层民用建筑消防安全管理规定（应急管理部令第 5 号，第三十七条、第四十七条）. +- Notes: A lithium battery fire turns into a flashover within tens of seconds and produces toxic smoke; a bike left in the stairwell amounts to setting fire to your only way out. Do not buy modified batteries or no-name chargers, and do not charge overnight. TODO (to verify: official annual figures on the number of e-bike fires and deaths nationwide) + +### 7. Measure your blood pressure; if it is high, take medication until you are at target + +- Cost: an electronic blood pressure monitor costs 100 to 200 yuan, 1 minute per reading; most blood pressure drugs run from a few yuan to a few dozen yuan a month +- In plain terms: Every 10 mmHg your blood pressure comes down, the odds of a major cardiovascular event drop by a fifth, stroke by 27%, heart failure by 28%, and death by 13%. In China, 44.7% of people aged 35–75 have hypertension, and only 7.2% actually have it under control. +- Benefit: meta-analysis (123 trials, over 610,000 people): each 10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure gives major cardiovascular events RR 0.80 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.83), stroke RR 0.73, heart failure RR 0.72, all-cause mortality down 13% (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.91). A screening of 1.7 million people in China aged 35 to 75: 44.7% had hypertension, of whom 44.7% were aware of it, 30.1% were treated, and 7.2% were controlled +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Ettehad D 等 (2016). Blood pressure lowering for prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. ; Lu J 等 (2017). Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in China (China PEACE Million Persons Project). Lancet. +- Notes: The target value (130 vs 140) is still debated, but "knowing you have hypertension and bringing it down" is not. Fewer than 1 in 10 people with hypertension in China has it controlled; a single blood pressure reading is one of the most cost-effective actions in this book. + +### 8. Test fasting blood glucose once after 35 if you are overweight, and retest every three years even if normal + +- Cost: a fasting glucose test costs a dozen-odd yuan, HbA1c a few dozen yuan; one blood draw +- In plain terms: A few dozen yuan for one vial of blood can catch prediabetes while you still have no symptoms at all. The official US screening advice is to test people aged 35–70 who are overweight or obese, and to retest every three years if the result is normal. +- Benefit: current recommendation of the US Preventive Services Task Force: screen asymptomatic adults aged 35 to 70 who are overweight or obese (body mass index ≥25 and ≥30 respectively) for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, grade B recommendation; "screening every 3 years is a reasonable approach for adults with normal blood glucose" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: US Preventive Services Task Force (2021). Screening for Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. +- Notes: A prediabetes result does not mean medication; lifestyle intervention alone reverses it in a substantial share of people. Awareness of diabetes among Chinese adults has long been low, and many people find out only when complications appear. + +### 9. Do not speed and do not drink and drive + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a few extra minutes on the road, and drink less at dinner parties +- In plain terms: For every 1% rise in average speed, the odds of a crash killing someone go up by about 4%. Alcohol has no safe line where "a little is fine" — the risk starts climbing at very low blood concentrations. +- Benefit: WHO: each 1% increase in average speed raises the risk of a fatal crash by 4%; drink-driving risk begins to rise at very low blood alcohol concentrations +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: WHO (2025). Road traffic injuries fact sheet. +- Notes: The 1%/4% speed-mortality link comes from crash-model estimates, not randomized trials. On drink-driving WHO gives only a qualitative conclusion; the specific dose-effect was not verified against the primary literature for this section. + +### 10. Put children under 4 in a child safety seat, never hold them on your lap + +- Cost: 300 to 2000 yuan for one, usable for several years; 1 extra minute each trip +- In plain terms: An infant under one in a safety seat is about 70% less likely to be fatally injured in a crash; for ages 1–4 the drop is about half. Holding the child on your lap gives no such protection — in a hard braking event you cannot hold on. +- Benefit: US NHTSA estimates child safety seats cut the risk of fatal injury for infants under 1 year old in passenger cars by 71% and for toddlers aged 1 to 4 by 54%; WHO puts the reduction in infant deaths at 71% +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: NHTSA (2024). Occupant Protection in Passenger Vehicles: 2022 Data (DOT HS 813 573). ; WHO (2025). Road traffic injuries fact sheet. +- Notes: The figures are official US estimates based on crash data. A misinstalled seat is as good as none: fasten it per the manual, and rear-facing for children under 1. + +### 11. Fit window and balcony limiters if you have small children — a screen is not protection + +- Cost: a set of window limiters or child safety locks costs a few dozen yuan; ten minutes to install +- In plain terms: Limiters run a few dozen yuan a set. After New York City began installing window guards free of charge for high-risk households and walking them through the risks, reported child falls in one borough halved within three years, and the city later legislated that landlords must fit guards in homes with small children. A screen pops open with one push — it is not protection. +- Benefit: New York City's "Children Can't Fly" program, running since 1972, handed out window guards free in high-risk areas with in-home education; reported falls in the Bronx fell 50% from 1973 to 1975; the city then amended its health code to require landlords to install window guards in apartments where children aged 10 and under reside +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Spiegel CN, Lindaman FC (1977). Children can't fly: a program to prevent childhood morbidity and mortality from window falls. American Journal of Public Health：「Significant reduction in falls resulted, particularly in the Bronx, where reported falls declined 50 percent from 1973 to 1975」，1976 年纽约市卫生法典修订「to require that landlords provide window guards in apartments where children ten years old and younger reside」. ；(2021). Unintentional Window Falls in Children and Adolescents. Academic Pediatrics：2007 年 1 月至 2017 年 8 月全国电子伤害监测系统 38,840 例急诊就诊，「The majority of falls occurred in children under the age of 6 and were related to falls from a second story or below」. +- Notes: It is not only high floors that need guards: in that US dataset most falls were from a second story or lower. A screen only keeps mosquitoes out; one push and it comes off — do not treat it as a guard. Keep beds, sofas, and boxes — anything a child can climb — away from windows and balcony edges. + +### 12. Keep children in sight near water, and wear life jackets when boating or swimming in open water + +- Cost: a life jacket costs 50 to 200 yuan; plus the attention of supervising the child +- In plain terms: A person wearing a life jacket in the water is only about half as likely to drown as one without. Drowning is still the leading cause of death among children aged 1–14 in China, and the drowning death rate in rural areas is about twice that of cities. +- Benefit: a matched cohort from US Coast Guard data: among recreational boaters who ended up in the water, wearing a life jacket gave an adjusted RR of 0.51 for drowning death (95% CI 0.35 to 0.74). In China, the drowning death rate for under-20s fell from 6.60 per 100,000 in 2013 to 3.28 per 100,000 in 2021; rural rates are about 2 times urban, and drowning remains the leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 14; among injury deaths of ages 0 to 19 in 2021, drowning accounted for 31.1% and road traffic for 27.9% +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Cummings P 等 (2011). Association between wearing a personal floatation device and death by drowning among recreational boaters. Injury Prevention. ; Li Z 等 (2023). Unintentional Drowning Mortality Among Individuals Under Age 20 — China, 2013–2021. China CDC Weekly. ; Zhou J 等 (2024). Injury Mortality of Children and Adolescents Aged 0–19 Years — China, 2010–2021. China CDC Weekly. +- Notes: The A grade covers only the life jacket; "never out of sight" is consensus (C) — no randomized trial exists, and none will. Drowning deaths in China cluster in rural areas, in summer, and among males aged 15 to 19. + +### 13. Train balance and leg strength from 60, and adapt your bathroom and stairs at home + +- Cost: tai chi or balance training 2 to 3 times a week, 30 minutes each; non-slip mats, grab bars, and night lights for the bathroom run a few dozen to a few hundred yuan +- In plain terms: Train balance two or three times a week (tai chi and the like) and an older person's fall count drops by about 23%, the share of people who fall by 15%; a home retrofit with non-slip surfaces and grab bars brings a further drop of about 20%. Falls are the leading cause of injury death among people over 65 in China, and more than half of them happen in the person's own home. +- Benefit: Cochrane meta-analysis (108 trials, 23,407 people): exercise cuts the rate of falls in older people by 23% (RaR 0.77, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.83) and the number of people who fall by 15% (RR 0.85); home safety assessment and modification lowers the fall rate (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.97); tai chi gives RR 0.71 for fall risk. In China falls are the leading cause of injury death at 65 and older; in 2018 surveillance, 55.97% of falls among older people happened at home +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Sherrington C 等 (2019). Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. ; Gillespie LD 等 (2012). Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. ; Lu Z 等 (2021). Characteristics of Falls Among Older People — China, 2018. China CDC Weekly. +- Notes: The outcome is the number of falls, not deaths; the chain from a fall to a hip fracture to death is short in older people. Applies to community-dwelling adults over 60. + +### 14. Test for hepatitis B antibodies; get vaccinated if you have none + +- Cost: the test costs a few dozen yuan; the adult hepatitis B vaccine runs about 100 to 300 yuan for all 3 shots, completed within six months +- In plain terms: A one-time test costs a few dozen yuan. In the Qidong trial with 30 years of follow-up, people vaccinated against hepatitis B at birth were 84% less likely to develop primary liver cancer later and 72% less likely to carry the virus. Adults who test antibody-negative get three catch-up shots, finished within six months, one to two hundred yuan. +- Benefit: 30-year follow-up of the Qidong cluster-randomized trial: neonatal hepatitis B vaccination cut primary liver cancer by 84% (95% CI 23% to 97%) and HBsAg positivity by 72% (95% CI 68% to 75%). In China overall, HBsAg prevalence fell 52% from 1992 to 2014, and 97% among children under 5 +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Qu C 等 (2014). Efficacy of neonatal HBV vaccination on liver cancer and other liver diseases over 30-year follow-up of the Qidong hepatitis B intervention study. PLoS Medicine. ; Cui F 等 (2017). Prevention of Chronic Hepatitis B after 3 Decades of Escalating Vaccination Policy, China. Emerging Infectious Diseases. +- Notes: The relevant group is adults born before 1992 who were never vaccinated or whose antibodies have waned. The liver cancer reduction comes from neonatal vaccination; in the same trial, catch-up vaccination of adolescents showed only 21% efficacy against HBsAg, and the main benefit for adults is avoiding new infection — the 84% cannot be carried over directly. For people already infected (HBsAg-positive), vaccination is useless; see a hepatology department for follow-up. + +### 15. Get a puncture wound from a nail or splinter, or a wound dirtied with soil, treated the same day — and ask whether you need a tetanus shot + +- Cost: registration plus treatment runs a few dozen yuan; if a shot is needed, the vaccine or immunoglobulin costs a few dozen to a few hundred yuan +- In plain terms: Once tetanus takes hold, about 1 in 10 people dies. Deep wounds and wounds contaminated with soil carry the highest risk; getting it treated the same day costs well under a hundred yuan — do not wait until it swells up. +- Benefit: in the US, roughly 1 in 10 tetanus cases is fatal; deep, soil-contaminated wounds carry higher risk +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 美国疾病控制与预防中心. 破伤风：「Tetanus bacteria can get into someone's body through broken skin, usually through injuries.」「Tetanus can lead to death (1 in 10 cases in the United States are fatal).」「People who didn't complete the primary series or who aren't up to date with their 10-year tetanus booster shots are also at increased risk.」「Vaccination also helps prevent tetanus in people with wounds, depending on their tetanus vaccination history.」；国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2024). 关于印发非新生儿破伤风诊疗规范（2024 年版）的通知（国卫办医急函〔2024〕381 号）. +- Notes: Not every wound needs a shot; the doctor decides based on the nature of the wound plus your vaccination history, so neither self-judge nor refuse to ask. "I had my childhood shots, so I am covered for life" is wrong — boosters run on a 10-year cycle. TODO (to verify: the wound classification and immunization schedule tables in China's 2024 clinical protocol for non-neonatal tetanus — the appendix is a PDF and could not be read on this machine). + +### 16. Get the HPV vaccine — the earlier the better + +- Cost: the domestically made bivalent vaccine runs about 300-odd yuan a shot, the imported 9-valent about 1300 yuan a shot, 2 to 3 shots; half a day for the appointment +- In plain terms: In Swedish data on 1.67 million women, those vaccinated against HPV before 17 were only about one-eighth as likely to later develop invasive cervical cancer as the unvaccinated; those vaccinated between 17 and 30 had roughly half the risk. The earlier the shot, the more it is worth. +- Benefit: cohort of 1.67 million Swedish women: vaccinated women had lower incidence of invasive cervical cancer than unvaccinated — vaccinated before 17, IRR 0.12 (95% CI 0.00 to 0.34); vaccinated between 17 and 30, IRR 0.47 (95% CI 0.27 to 0.75) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Lei J 等 (2020). HPV Vaccination and the Risk of Invasive Cervical Cancer. New England Journal of Medicine. +- Notes: The benefit is greatest at ages 9 to 14; between 17 and 30 there is still a reduction of more than half; after 30 it tapers. Screening is still needed after vaccination (see the next item). + +### 17. Start breast cancer screening at 40, with a mammogram every two years + +- Cost: a mammogram runs two to three hundred yuan per session; many regions have free screening programs; half a day every two years +- In plain terms: A mammogram every two years from 40 to 74 is what the official US screening advice explicitly recommends. For women over 75, and for adding ultrasound and MRI for dense breasts, the official verdict is that the evidence is not yet sufficient — you can skip these when a checkup package tries to charge extra for them. +- Benefit: current recommendation of the US Preventive Services Task Force: "biennial screening mammography is recommended for women aged 40 to 74 years," grade B recommendation; for women 75 and older, and for supplemental ultrasound and MRI in dense breasts, the verdict is "insufficient evidence" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: US Preventive Services Task Force (2024). Breast Cancer: Screening. +- Notes: Starting ages differ across countries; some Chinese guidelines and local programs begin at 45. Women with a first-degree relative who had breast cancer or a BRCA mutation are high-risk and need a plan worked out with a doctor individually — this item does not apply to them. + +### 18. Screen women 30 and older for cervical cancer, with HPV testing first + +- Cost: an HPV test costs 100 to 300 yuan; if negative, once every 5 years; the sample takes a few minutes +- In plain terms: In the rural India trial, women who had a single HPV test in their lifetime were about half as likely to die of cervical cancer and about 50% less likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cervical cancer. One test costs one to two hundred yuan, and a negative result holds for 5 years. +- Benefit: cluster-randomized trial in rural India (women aged 30 to 59): a single round of HPV test screening gave HR 0.52 for cervical cancer death (95% CI 0.33 to 0.83) and HR 0.47 for advanced cervical cancer (95% CI 0.32 to 0.69) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Sankaranarayanan R 等 (2009). HPV screening for cervical cancer in rural India. New England Journal of Medicine. +- Notes: This is one of the few screening randomized trials to use death as the outcome, and it screened only one round. Women vaccinated against HPV still need screening — the vaccine does not cover all types. + +### 19. Start colorectal cancer screening at 45 to 50, with a stool immunochemical test or colonoscopy + +- Cost: a stool test costs a few dozen yuan, every 1 to 2 years; a colonoscopy runs a few hundred to over a thousand yuan, once every 10 years if negative, plus a day of bowel preparation +- In plain terms: A stool occult blood test every one or two years, a few dozen yuan a time, cuts the odds of dying of colorectal cancer by about 16%; those who complete every round see a 25% drop. One colonoscopy and your odds of getting colorectal cancer within ten years fall from 1.20% to 0.98%. +- Benefit: Cochrane meta-analysis: stool occult blood screening gives RR 0.84 for colorectal cancer death (95% CI 0.78 to 0.90), and RR 0.75 for those attending at least one round. NordICC randomized trial: being invited to colonoscopy lowered 10-year colorectal cancer incidence from 1.20% to 0.98% (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.93) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Hewitson P 等 (2007). Screening for colorectal cancer using the faecal occult blood test, Hemoccult. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. ; Bretthauer M 等 (2022). Effect of Colonoscopy Screening on Risks of Colorectal Cancer and Related Death. New England Journal of Medicine. +- Notes: Contested. In NordICC's intention-to-screen analysis, colorectal cancer death was 0.28% vs 0.31% (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.16), not statistically significant, and the benefit of colonoscopy for mortality has been overstated; the mortality evidence for stool testing is actually the firmer one. Starting ages across national guidelines fall between 45 and 50; earlier with a family history. + +### 20. Get a flu shot every year if you have cardiovascular disease or are elderly + +- Cost: 50 to 150 yuan a shot, once every autumn +- In plain terms: In the trial of flu shots after a heart attack, the share of deaths within a year fell from 4.9% to 2.9%. People with cardiovascular disease and older adults should top up every autumn, 50–150 yuan. +- Benefit: randomized double-blind trial after myocardial infarction (2571 people): 12 months after flu vaccination, all-cause mortality 2.9% vs 4.9% on placebo (HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.89), cardiovascular death HR 0.59. Meta-analysis: flu vaccine for major cardiovascular events 3.6% vs 5.4% (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.83), cardiovascular death RR 0.74 (95% CI 0.42 to 1.30, not statistically significant) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Fröbert O 等 (2021). Influenza Vaccination After Myocardial Infarction: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Trial. Circulation. ; Behrouzi B 等 (2022). Association of Influenza Vaccination With Cardiovascular Risk: A Meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open. +- Notes: Contested. The A grade covers only people with cardiovascular disease. For healthy older adults, the Cochrane review (Demicheli V et al. 2018, Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly, ) can offer only low-certainty evidence — one season of influenza falling from 6% to 2.4% — and the evidence on mortality is very low certainty. + +### 21. Get the shingles vaccine after 50 + +- Cost: the recombinant shingles vaccine runs about 3000 to 4000 yuan for the two shots, out of pocket +- In plain terms: In the phase 3 trial this vaccine blocked 97% of shingles cases, similar across age groups. The downside: two shots at three to four thousand yuan, all out of pocket — and shingles itself is rarely fatal. What you are mainly paying for is not going through that stretch of nerve pain. +- Benefit: phase 3 randomized controlled trial in 18 countries with 15,400 participants, mean follow-up 3.2 years: 6 cases of shingles in the vaccine arm vs 210 on placebo (0.3 vs 9.1 per 1,000 person-years); "overall vaccine efficacy against herpes zoster was 97.2% (95% CI 93.7–99.0, P<0.001)", with efficacy between 96.6% and 97.9% across age groups +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Lal H, Cunningham AL, Godeaux O, et al. (2015). Efficacy of an adjuvanted herpes zoster subunit vaccine in older adults. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(22), 2087-2096. +- Notes: This item ranks lower on cost-effectiveness because it is expensive. Shingles itself is rarely fatal; the real trouble is post-herpetic neuralgia, which can hurt for months to years. Local pain and fever after the shot are not rare (grade 3 symptoms 17.0% vs 3.2%). + +### 22. Get the pneumococcal vaccine at 65 and older + +- Cost: a few hundred yuan; free for older adults in some regions +- In plain terms: In the trial of 84,500 older adults, the 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine blocked about 46% of pneumonias of vaccine-covered types and 75% of the most dangerous invasive infections — but showed no effect on pneumonia "from all causes," so do not expect it to rule out every pneumonia. +- Benefit: randomized controlled trial of 84,500 adults over 65 in the Netherlands: the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine had 45.6% efficacy against vaccine-type pneumonia (95.2% CI 21.8–62.5) and 75.0% against invasive pneumococcal disease (95% CI 41.4–90.8); no effect on all-cause pneumonia +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Bonten MJ, Huijts SM, Bolkenbaas M, et al. (2015). Polysaccharide conjugate vaccine against pneumococcal pneumonia in adults. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(12), 1114-1125. +- Notes: It protects only against the types the vaccine covers; the shot does not make pneumonia impossible. The vaccine commonly given to older adults in China is the 23-valent polysaccharide one, not the same product as the 13-valent conjugate used in this trial, so the efficacy figures cannot be applied directly. + +### 23. Test for Helicobacter pylori; eradicate it if positive + +- Cost: the C13/C14 breath test costs 100 to 200 yuan; quadruple eradication therapy runs 200 to 500 yuan for 2 weeks of drugs +- In plain terms: In the trial from Linqu, Shandong, with 22 years of follow-up, people whose H. pylori was eradicated were about half as likely to later get stomach cancer and about 40% less likely to die of it. One test costs one to two hundred yuan; eradication is two weeks of pills. +- Benefit: 22-year follow-up of the randomized intervention trial in Linqu, Shandong: H. pylori eradication therapy gave OR 0.48 for gastric cancer incidence (95% CI 0.32 to 0.71) and HR 0.62 for gastric cancer death (95% CI 0.39 to 0.99) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Li WQ 等 (2019). Effects of Helicobacter pylori treatment and vitamin and garlic supplementation on gastric cancer incidence and mortality: follow-up of a randomized intervention trial. BMJ. +- Notes: The trial population lived in a high-incidence area for stomach cancer; the absolute benefit in low-incidence areas would be much smaller. Reinfection after eradication is possible — get the whole family tested and treated together. + +### 24. Get a low-dose chest CT every year if you are a heavy smoker + +- Cost: 200 to 400 yuan per scan, 10 minutes; plus the follow-up testing and anxiety that come with false positives +- In plain terms: For heavy smokers who meet the criteria, a yearly low-dose CT cuts the odds of dying of lung cancer by 20% compared with a chest X-ray alone, and overall deaths by 6.7%. The price is the follow-up scans and a stretch of worry that false positives bring. +- Benefit: US NLST randomized trial (53,454 people, aged 55 to 74, smoking history of 30 pack-years or more, quit for no more than 15 years): low-dose CT vs chest X-ray gave a 20.0% relative reduction in lung cancer death (95% CI 6.8 to 26.7) and a 6.7% relative reduction in all-cause mortality (95% CI 1.2 to 13.6) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: National Lung Screening Trial Research Team (2011). Reduced Lung-Cancer Mortality with Low-Dose Computed Tomographic Screening. New England Journal of Medicine. +- Notes: Applies only to high-risk smokers. In the same trial, 24.2% of low-dose CT screens were positive, and 96.4% of those were false positives; for non-smokers this scan is paying money for anxiety. + +### 25. Call 12356 when depressed or suicidal, and keep no sleeping pills or pesticides at home + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one phone call, or lock up the medicines and keep pesticides out of the house +- In plain terms: Removing lethal means from arm's reach is one of the interventions that actually works in this space: after painkillers were brought under control, related suicides fell 43%; after barriers went up at jumping hot spots, 86%. So keep no sleeping pills or pesticides at home. When things feel unbearable, call 12356 first — it works nationwide and runs at least 18 hours a day. +- Benefit: 10-year systematic review: evidence for restricting means of suicide keeps strengthening — control of analgesic drugs cut related suicides by 43%, and barriers at jumping hot spots cut them by 86% (79% to 91%); school-based awareness programs gave OR 0.45 for suicide attempts (95% CI 0.24 to 0.85); drug and psychological treatment of depression is a key part of prevention. From May 1, 2025, dialing 12356 anywhere in China connects to a psychological assistance hotline, operating no fewer than 18 hours a day +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Zalsman G 等 (2016). Suicide prevention strategies revisited: 10-year systematic review. Lancet Psychiatry. ; 国家卫生健康委 (2024). 关于应用"12356"全国统一心理援助热线电话号码的通知（国卫医政函〔2024〕259 号）. +- Notes: The evidence on means restriction is mostly ecological studies (before-and-after policy comparisons), and the hotline itself has no mortality evidence, hence a B. Suicidal impulses often last only minutes to hours; putting lethal tools one step further away is itself an intervention. + +### 26. Keep a fire extinguisher, fire blanket, escape respirators, and a first-aid kit, and check them once a year + +- Cost: fire extinguisher, fire blanket, one respirator per person plus a first-aid kit — a few hundred yuan the set; buy once, then ten minutes a year to check +- In plain terms: Fire extinguisher, fire blanket, escape masks, first-aid kit — these are items from the Ministry of Emergency Management's 11-item home emergency list, a few hundred yuan for the set bought once. In studies where families received home safety visits, injury rates ran about a quarter lower. +- Benefit: the Ministry of Emergency Management's National Basic Home Emergency Supplies Checklist has 11 items; the "fire extinguisher and fire blanket" are for "fighting an incipient fire," and "the fire blanket can be wrapped around the body to escape"; the "respirator" refers to a "fire-fighting filter-type self-rescue respirator, used to escape a fire"; "topical medicines" are "styptic powder, adhesive bandages, gauze bandages and the like, for treating wounds". Cochrane review of 98 studies with 2,605,044 people: home safety interventions gave IRR 0.89 for injury rates (95% CI 0.78 to 1.01), and interventions delivered in person IRR 0.75 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.91) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 应急管理部 (2020). 全国基础版家庭应急物资储备建议清单. ; Kendrick D 等 (2012). Home safety education and provision of safety equipment for injury prevention. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. ; 武胜县市场监督管理局 (2025). 手提式灭火器、防火门（窗）、点型感温（烟）火灾探测器消费提示. +- Notes: Contested. In the same Cochrane review, interventions that did not supply equipment gave IRR 0.78 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.92), and the equipment-supplying arm did not do better; the injury reduction comes mainly from in-home education and modification, so the benefit of the gear itself is recorded as "medium" rather than "large". Buy a fire extinguisher with the CCC mark, and on stored-pressure models the gauge needle must sit in the green zone. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are covered in item 3 of this section, tourniquet use in item 11 of Chapter 13; for how to choose, place, and replace each item, see the [home emergency supplies checklist (docs/家庭应急装备清单.md, in Chinese)](../docs/家庭应急装备清单.md) + +### 27. Get visible blood in the urine checked once — even painless, even gone by the next day + +- Cost: a urinalysis runs a few dozen yuan plus a urinary tract ultrasound one to two hundred yuan; a cystoscopy, if the doctor deems it necessary, is around a thousand yuan +- In plain terms: For people over 60, one visible episode of blood in the urine ends in a bladder cancer diagnosis about 2.8% of the time; at ages 40–59 it is about 1.2% — not high, but high enough to warrant a check. Blood in the urine often stops on its own, and stopping does not mean all is well. +- Benefit: case-control study of electronic primary-care records in the UK, 4915 bladder cancer cases vs 21718 controls: positive predictive value of visible haematuria for bladder cancer was 2.8% (95% CI 2.5 to 3.1) at ages over 60 and 1.2% (0.6 to 2.3) at ages 40 to 59; blood visible only under the microscope matters too, odds ratio 20 (95% CI 12 to 33), with a positive predictive value of 1.6% (1.2 to 2.1) at ages over 60 +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Price SJ, Shephard EA, Stapley SA, Barraclough K, Hamilton WT (2014). Non-visible versus visible haematuria and bladder cancer risk: a study of electronic records in primary care. British Journal of General Practice, 64(626), e584-e589. +- Notes: The benefit is recorded as "small" because there is only a detection rate, no effect size on "how many deaths earlier detection prevents". "Painless" is the key point: blood in the urine from stones and infection usually comes with gripping flank or abdominal pain, or frequent, urgent, painful urination, while tumor-related bleeding often has no sensation at all and tends to stop for a few days and return — which is where many people let it go. Taking anticoagulants is not a reason to skip the check. Blood in the urine after intense exercise or near a woman's period can be retested once before deciding. + +### 28. Use condoms for the whole act, every time, and never share needles + +- Cost: one to two yuan apiece; the hard part is not money but using one every time, starting from the very beginning +- In plain terms: With a condom on for the whole act, every time, the odds of passing HIV between men and women drop by about 70% or more; "usually wearing one" is barely better than not wearing one at all. Syphilis and gonorrhea get blocked by the same layer. +- Benefit: systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 studies with 10676 HIV-serodiscordant heterosexual couples: consistent condom users had HIV transmission risk RR 0.29 versus never-users (95% CI 0.20 to 0.43), and RR 0.23 versus irregular users (95% CI 0.13 to 0.40). The authors' conclusion: although condoms are not perfect, "consistent use can reduce HIV transmission by over 70%". The same layer of protection also covers syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and other sexually transmitted infections +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Giannou FK, Tsiara CG, Nikolopoulos GK, et al. (2016). Condom effectiveness in reducing heterosexual HIV transmission: a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on HIV serodiscordant couples. Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, 16(4), 489-499. +- Notes: The gap between "irregular use" and "no use" is small; the entire effect of this item lives in the words "every time, the whole act". Sharing needles (injecting drugs, tattoos, piercings included) is another independent and highly efficient transmission route with nothing to do with sex. People at high risk also have pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): a meta-analysis of 18 studies showed that in trials with adherence above 70%, oral PrEP versus placebo gave a risk ratio of 0.30 for HIV infection (95% CI 0.21 to 0.45), while low-adherence trials showed no protective effect (Fonner VA et al., 2016, AIDS, ); PrEP is prescription-only — ask at an infectious disease clinic or the CDC, do not buy it online. What to do after a possible exposure: see Chapter 13. + +### 29. Get tested once after any high-risk exposure — free and anonymous at the CDC + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one trip to the CDC or a designated medical facility, one vial of blood +- In plain terms: An HIV test at the CDC costs nothing and can be done without giving your name. Testing positive is not a death sentence: people who keep taking their medication and hold the virus below detection do not pass it on to sexual partners — in a study following over seven hundred couples through more than seventy thousand condomless acts, the number of transmissions between partners was zero. +- Benefit: Article 23 of the national HIV/AIDS prevention and control regulation: medical institutions designated by the health authorities of local governments at or above the county level "shall provide free counselling and preliminary screening tests to anyone who voluntarily seeks HIV counselling and testing". The point of testing early is not reassurance: current antiretroviral therapy can hold the virus below detection, and in WHO's wording "people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy with an undetectable viral load do not transmit HIV to their sexual partners" — the PARTNER study followed 782 serodiscordant same-sex couples over 1593 couple-years and 76088 condomless acts in total; phylogenetic analysis showed that none of the 15 new infections came from the partner, i.e. zero transmission between partners +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2006). 艾滋病防治条例（第三、二十三、三十八条）. （北京市卫生健康委员会转载）；Rodger AJ, Cambiano V, Bruun T, et al. (2019). Risk of HIV transmission through condomless sex in serodifferent gay couples with the HIV-positive partner taking suppressive antiretroviral therapy (PARTNER): final results of a multicentre, prospective, observational study. The Lancet, 393(10189), 2428-2438. +- Notes: The window period decides when a test actually counts. Per the Guangdong Provincial CDC: nucleic acid testing detects infection at about 1 week, fourth-generation combined antigen-antibody testing at about 2 weeks, third-generation antibody testing at about 3 weeks; the advice is to test no earlier than 2 weeks after exposure, retest 2 to 4 weeks apart, and after 3 months past the last high-risk act, more than 99.99% of infections can be excluded (). A positive self-test kit is not a diagnosis; you must confirm at the CDC or a proper institution. Article 3 of the regulation states that no organization or individual may discriminate against people living with HIV or their families, whose rights to marriage, employment, medical care, and schooling are protected by law; Article 38 also obliges people living with HIV to "promptly inform their sexual partners of their infection or illness". Pregnancy triple-screening and mother-to-child transmission blocking: see Chapter 27. diff --git a/tools/assemble_en.py b/tools/assemble_en.py index f5b5dfa6b..2464b452e 100644 --- a/tools/assemble_en.py +++ b/tools/assemble_en.py @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ src = meta["blocks"][str(i)]["src"] txt = txt.replace("§TAG§", tag) # Russian label + byte-identical content after the label - src_ru = ["- Sources:" + l.split("：", 1)[1] if l.startswith("- 来源：") else l + src_ru = ["- Sources: " + l.split("：", 1)[1] if l.startswith("- 来源：") else l for l in src] # In the original, 来源 sits between 证据等级 and 备注 in most items; # splice each source line in at the position of its §SRC§ marker only if From f36f1c39d22f3148f514940d97df8a2d36c05e1e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:49:00 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 05/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch13:=20Emergencies=20(42=20items)?= =?UTF-8?q?=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/13-Emergencies.md | 384 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 384 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/13-Emergencies.md diff --git a/book/en/13-Emergencies.md b/book/en/13-Emergencies.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..cfd5d660c --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/13-Emergencies.md @@ -0,0 +1,384 @@ +[← Back to master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 13. Emergencies: What to Do First + +This section answers only one thing: in a sudden emergency, what to do first, what to do next, and what not to do. For first-aid and wilderness items the yardstick is specific causes of death and survival rates; for threats and scams the yardstick is money and personal freedom, and the two kinds of numbers are never converted into each other. Items are ranked from high to low by "how common it is × the life-or-death difference between doing it right and doing it wrong." Under the book-wide beneficiary yardstick, the through-line of the first-aid items is yourself, your spouse, and your immediate family — 79.2% of cardiac arrests happen at home, so the people you are most likely to save are your own household; friends and colleagues come next; for strangers the benefit is not zero, but it ranks lowest and also carries the risk of being extorted through false accusation or getting entangled in a legal case, so those items put self-protection steps and liability disclaimers up front. + +> Translator's note: In mainland China, 120 = ambulance, 119 = fire, 110 = police, 122 = traffic accidents. In the US call 911; in the UK 999. All numbers in the items below are Chinese. +### 1. If someone collapses and is not breathing, start forceful chest compressions at once, have a bystander call 120 and fetch an AED + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a Red Cross or hospital CPR course takes half a day to a day, and one training lasts for years; you can do it even without training: stack both hands over the midpoint of the line between the nipples, push down hard about 2 times per second, do not stop +- In plain terms: The person you are most likely to press is your own family — of 38,227 cases, 79.2% of cardiac arrests happened at home. When someone does compressions, the share of patients surviving to hospital discharge rises from 3.9% to 16.1%, a more-than-fourfold difference. If someone has collapsed, won't respond, and isn't breathing, just start pressing: midpoint between the nipples, both hands stacked, press hard, 2 times a second, without stopping. Have a second person call 120 and grab the AED while your hands keep going. +- Benefit: A meta-analysis of 79 studies covering 142,740 people: overall survival to hospital discharge after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is 7.6%; with bystander CPR, survival rises from 3.9% to 16.1%, yet 53% of arrests are witnessed and only 32% get bystander compressions. China's BASIC-OHCA registry recorded 38,227 emergency-treated cases, of which 30,282 (79.2%) were cardiac arrests at home, with a bystander compression rate of 20.3% and survival to discharge of 1.2%. Start compressions first, then have a second person call and fetch the AED; once the machine is on, follow its voice prompts +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Sasson C 等 (2010). Predictors of survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. ; Zheng J 等 (2023). Incidence, process of care, and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in China: a prospective study of the BASIC-OHCA registry. The Lancet Public Health. ; 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一百八十四条）. +- Notes: Do not first pinch the philtrum, do not first look for family members, do not first film a video; do not hold back out of fear of breaking ribs. Under Article 184 of China's Civil Code, a person who voluntarily provides emergency assistance and causes harm to the person being assisted bears no civil liability. + +### 2. When an elderly person or anyone has fallen, first crouch down, call out to them, and call 120; do not rush to lift them up; for a stranger, walking away is legal, and if you stop, do not start moving the person + +- Cost: 0 yuan; crouching down to ask a question and making a call takes a few minutes; for a stranger, also factor in that calling 120 leaves your number and may get you a call-back or one round of questioning; if a family member really does target you, litigation runs from several months upward, and attorney fees are not covered by "the losing party pays" +- In plain terms: The through-line of this item is your own elderly parents and the people around you. First check breathing; if there is none, go straight to the chest compressions in item 1. Even with breathing, do not pick the person up: falls are the number-one cause of injury death in people over 65, and the person may have fallen because of a stroke or fainting that came first. Crouch down, call out, and ask whether they remember how they fell — if they cannot recall, it may be syncope or a cerebrovascular event; then ask about severe headache, a drooping mouth, slurred speech, or weakness in the limbs — with any of those, lifting is even more wrong, because forcing them up can worsen brain hemorrhage or brain ischemia; with back or lower-back pain, incontinence of urine or stool, or anything that looks like a fracture, never move the person without professional knowledge. In all of these cases, call 120 where you are. If they try to get up themselves, support them as they rise slowly into a sitting position, watch for a while to confirm they are fine, and only then leave. Fear of being extorted is two separate questions: if you injure them in the course of helping, China's Civil Code states explicitly that the rescuer bears no civil liability — in a Supreme People's Court model case, a rescuer performing CPR cracked the recipient's ribs, was sued for over 9,000 yuan, and the court ruled no compensation was owed. Conversely, if they claim you hit them, the rule is that whoever makes a claim must produce the evidence, and the party that cannot produce evidence bears the adverse consequences. +- Benefit: The health ministry's technical guideline on fall intervention for the elderly: "Falls are the leading cause of injury death among people over 65 in China," and "When you find an elderly person who has fallen, do not rush to lift them up; handle the situation according to the circumstances." If consciousness is impaired, call emergency services immediately; with vomiting, turn the head to one side and clear the mouth and nose; if breathing and heartbeat have stopped, start chest compressions at once; "If moving is necessary, it must be steady, with the person kept as flat as possible." If the person is conscious, first ask whether they remember the fall; "If they cannot recall, it may be syncope or a cerebrovascular accident"; with severe headache, a drooping mouth corner, slurred speech, or weak limbs, "immediately lifting the elderly person may worsen brain hemorrhage or brain ischemia and aggravate the condition"; with signs of fracture, lower-back pain, or incontinence, "if you lack the relevant professional knowledge, do not move them casually" — in all these cases call emergency services immediately; if the person tries to stand up on their own, assist them to rise slowly, "have them rest sitting or lying down and observe, and leave only after confirming nothing is wrong." Article 90 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on the Application of China's Civil Procedure Law: "A party must provide evidence to prove the facts on which its claims are based," and "if before judgment a party fails to provide evidence, or the evidence is insufficient to prove its factual claim, the party bearing the burden of proof bears the adverse consequences." Article 1198 of China's Civil Code: "Where operators or managers of business premises or public places such as hotels, shopping malls, banks, stations, airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues, or organizers of mass activities, fail to fulfill their duty of safety protection and cause harm to others, they bear tort liability." Article 184 of China's Civil Code: "Where a person voluntarily provides emergency assistance and causes harm to the person being assisted, the rescuer bears no civil liability." In a Supreme People's Court model case, a pharmacy operator performed CPR on a person in cardiac arrest, fracturing their ribs and leading to 18 days in hospital; the recipient claimed over 9,000 yuan in damages, and the court ruled that the rescuer bore no civil liability +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 卫生部 (2011). 老年人跌倒干预技术指南（「老年人跌倒后的处理」）. 全文 PDF 见广东省疾病预防控制中心 ，现场处理部分全文见贵南县人民政府转载 ；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一百八十三、一百八十四条）. ；最高人民法院 (2023). 人民法院抓实公正与效率践行社会主义核心价值观典型案例（案例十三，齐某某诉孙某某健康权纠纷案，辽宁省康平县人民法院）. ；最高人民法院 (2022 年第二次修正，2022 年 4 月 10 日施行). 关于适用《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》的解释（第九十条）. ；民法典第一千一百九十八条同上最高检转载全文；全国人大常委会 (2023 年修正，2024 年 1 月 1 日施行). 民事诉讼法（第一百五十二、一百六十四条）. 上海市发展和改革委员会转载全文 ；国务院 (2006). 诉讼费用交纳办法（国务院令第 481 号，第六、二十九条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，2026 年 1 月 1 日起施行，第二十六条第一项、第五十条第五项）. +- Notes: The reason for grade B is that the guideline gives handling rules but no effect size for "how many fewer deaths if followed." Article 184 exempts harm caused in the course of the rescue, on the premises of voluntariness and emergency; it does not cover moves like "deciding on your own to stuff the person into your car and drive them to a hospital" — waiting for 120 is the safer course. After calling 120, do not hang up; do what the dispatcher says. Under the beneficiary yardstick, this set of judgments is first of all for your own elderly relatives and acquaintances; for someone you do not know on the street, walking away is lawful and the least costly — you have no duty to rescue, and stopping means paying in time, a phone number on record, being tracked down by family, being listed as a defendant, escalation to your workplace, and being filmed and spread online, costed layer by layer in [docs/should you stop when a stranger collapses](../docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md). If you really do decide to stop, the only move with no second-guessing is **do not start moving the person** — the reason is medical, not legal: forcing them up can worsen brain hemorrhage or spinal injury. One exception to remember: if you are the operator or manager of the premises or the organizer of the activity, walking away is no longer free — Article 1198 of China's Civil Code imposes on you a duty of safety protection. For fall prevention itself see Section 1, item 13; for delayed symptoms after an elderly person hits their head see item 9 of this section; for money after being injured while rescuing see item 40 of this section; for preserving evidence and reporting cyberbullying see Section 8, item 14. + +### 3. Sudden facial droop, weakness in one arm, or slurred speech: call 120 at once; do not wait and do not drive there yourself + +- Cost: 0 yuan; remember three actions: have them smile, raise both arms level, and say a complete sentence +- In plain terms: Thrombolysis within 3 hours gives roughly 1.75 times the chance of recovering to near-independent daily living compared with no thrombolysis; dragged out to 3 to 4.5 hours it falls to 1.26 times; beyond 4.5 hours no difference can be shown. Drooping mouth, one arm that won't lift, speech that won't come out — call 120 immediately, note the exact time symptoms started, don't give water or medicine, and don't drive there yourself. +- Benefit: An individual-patient-data meta-analysis of 16 intravenous thrombolysis randomized trials with 6,756 patients: thrombolysis with alteplase within 3 hours of onset gives an odds ratio of 1.75 (95% CI 1.35–2.27) for a good outcome (modified Rankin score 0–1); at 3 to 4.5 hours, 1.26 (1.05–1.51); beyond 4.5 hours, 1.15 (0.95–1.40), no longer significant +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Emberson J, Lees KR, Lyden P, et al. (2014). Effect of treatment delay, age, and stroke severity on the effects of intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomised trials. Lancet, 384(9958), 1929-1935. +- Notes: The earlier it is given, the more effective it is; beyond the 4.5-hour window there is essentially no thrombolysis benefit left. Call 120 rather than driving yourself because the ambulance will take the patient directly to a hospital with a stroke center and notify them in advance. Note the exact time symptoms began — doctors use it to decide whether thrombolysis is possible. Give no water or medicine, and do not wait to "rest a bit and see." + +### 4. Sudden violent dizziness with unsteady standing, double vision, one eye going dark, or a finger that cannot touch its own nose tip: also treat it as a stroke and call 120 + +- Cost: 0 yuan; add two checks to the three actions in the previous item: have them stand straight, close their eyes, and see whether they sway, and ask whether their vision is doubled or has a missing patch; if you suspect it yourself, extend a finger and touch your nose tip, then do it again with your eyes closed +- In plain terms: Of 736 strokes, 14.1% began with neither a drooping mouth nor a paralyzed hand — checking only those three signs misses them; once "unsteady standing, double vision, or a missing patch in the visual field" is added too, the miss rate drops to 4.4%. Sudden spinning dizziness with an inability to stand, double vision, or a finger that can't find its own nose tip — call 120 all the same, and note the time all the same. +- Benefit: A 2014 review of 736 acute ischemic strokes at the University of Kentucky Stroke Center in the US: 14.1% of patients had none of the three FAST symptoms at onset (facial droop, arm weakness, slurred speech); adding "unsteady gait, weak legs, and visual symptoms" to the screen reduced the proportion missed from 14.1% to 4.4% +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Aroor S, Singh R, Goldstein LB (2017). BE-FAST (Balance, Eyes, Face, Arm, Speech, Time): Reducing the Proportion of Strokes Missed Using the FAST Mnemonic. Stroke, 48(2), 479-481. +- Notes: Infarcts in the cerebellum and brainstem (posterior circulation) often cause neither facial droop nor limb paralysis, showing only as vertigo, a veering gait, double vision, or choking on swallowing, and are most easily delayed by being mistaken for cervical spondylosis, low blood sugar, or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Inaccurate nose-tip pointing and inability to stand with eyes closed are signs of cerebellar involvement, but no single action can rule stroke out in the other direction: if it is sudden in onset and does not ease off, call 120 and note the exact time of onset. The study is a single-center retrospective analysis, and its authors state themselves that prospective validation is needed + +### 5. One eye suddenly going dark like a curtain pulled down — even if it clears on its own within minutes, go to the emergency department the same day as a stroke + +- Cost: 0 yuan; it takes half a day to a day for emergency evaluation and vascular workup +- In plain terms: One eye suddenly going dark like a curtain coming down means a vessel at the back of the eye is blocked, and the longer the blockage lasts, the less retina can be saved; it is also a form of cerebral ischemia, and the next few days are exactly the high-risk window for a stroke. When similar patients were switched to same-day evaluation and same-day treatment, the share having another stroke within 90 days fell from 10.3% to 2.1%. Go to an emergency department with a stroke center the same day; do not wait until the next day to book ophthalmology. +- Benefit: The American Heart Association's 2021 scientific statement on central retinal artery occlusion: "Acute central retinal artery occlusion is an emergency"; care systems should recognize and triage it as an emergency, and the longer the ischemia, the less retinal tissue can still be salvaged; the Oxford EXPRESS study: after patients with transient ischemic attack and minor stroke were switched to same-day evaluation and same-day treatment, the proportion of recurrent stroke within 90 days fell from 10.3% (32/310) to 2.1% (6/281) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Mac Grory B, Schrag M, Biousse V, et al. (2021). Management of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Stroke, 52(6), e282-e294. ; Rothwell PM, Giles MF, Chandratheva A, et al. (2007). Effect of urgent treatment of transient ischaemic attack and minor stroke on early recurrent stroke (EXPRESS study): a prospective population-based sequential comparison. Lancet, 370(9596), 1432-1442. +- Notes: It is graded B because EXPRESS was not a randomized trial but a sequential before-and-after comparison in the same population, so the effect size contains some time-trend component. A few minutes of darkness that then clears by itself is the easiest thing to wave off as "tiredness" or "low blood sugar"; it is a form of transient ischemic attack, and the next few days are exactly the high-risk window for stroke. Single-eye vision loss with no pain, no redness, and no tearing deserves particular seriousness: do not wait for a next-day ophthalmology clinic appointment, go straight to the emergency department of a hospital with a stroke center. + +### 6. Chest pain, tightness, or pressure lasting more than 15 minutes without easing: call 120; do not tough it out and do not drive yourself + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: Chest pain, tightness, or pressure that lasts more than 15 minutes without easing — call 120. Among patients who get balloon dilation within 55 minutes of arriving at the hospital, 2.8% die within 30 days; beyond 55 minutes, 9.7% — every stretch of delay kills off another patch of heart muscle. Do not drive yourself: losing consciousness on the road is a second accident. +- Benefit: An analysis of ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients from Israel's national acute coronary syndrome survey: those with door-to-balloon time ≤55 minutes had 30-day mortality of 5/178 (2.8%); those with >55 minutes, 15/155 (9.7%) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Karkabi B, Meir G, Zafrir B, et al. (2021). Door-to-balloon time and mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. European Heart Journal - Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes. +- Notes: The study compares in-hospital delay after arrival, not time from symptom onset to arrival, but the direction is the same: every stretch of delay is charged against dead heart muscle. The pain may present as upper-abdominal pain, back pain, jaw pain, or left-arm numbness; people with diabetes and the elderly may feel no pain at all, only shortness of breath. Do not drive yourself — losing consciousness on the road is a second accident + +### 7. Sudden tearing agony migrating from the chest to the back and down into the waist: call 120 and say clearly that "the pain is moving" + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: A tearing pain that runs from the chest to the back and down into the waist — when you call 120, say straight out "it feels like tearing, and the pain is traveling downward." Without surgery, on drugs alone, the death rate for this disease is 58%, and its management is the opposite of a heart attack's — only when the doctor thinks of it will they order a contrast CT instead of giving you anticoagulation and thrombolysis. If the blood pressure differs a lot between the two arms, or the pulse on one side cannot be felt, say that too. +- Benefit: The International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD), 464 cases at 12 centers: sudden severe sharp pain is the most common presenting complaint; overall in-hospital mortality is 27.4%, and for type A dissection treated without surgery, with medication alone, mortality is 58% +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Hagan PG, Nienaber CA, Isselbacher EM, et al. (2000). The International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD): new insights into an old disease. JAMA, 283(7), 897-903. +- Notes: Dissection is managed in exactly the opposite way from myocardial infarction — a heart attack gets anticoagulation and thrombolysis, but giving those in dissection amounts to bleeding out through the tear, so at the hospital proactively say "tearing pain, traveling downward" so the doctor thinks of ordering a contrast CT. A large blood-pressure gap between the arms or an absent pulse on one side is a clue. People with poorly controlled hypertension, Marfan syndrome, or a family history of aortic aneurysm or dissection are at high risk. Likewise, do not drive yourself and do not endure it until the next day + +### 8. A sudden "worst headache of your life" that peaks within an hour: go straight to the emergency department for a head CT + +- Cost: 0 yuan; an emergency head CT costs a few hundred yuan +- In plain terms: What matters is not how much it hurts but how fast it gets there: among 2,131 people with a severe headache peaking within an hour, 6.2% had a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Being over 40, neck pain or stiffness, someone seeing you pass out, onset during exertion, an instant exploding pain, or a neck that won't bend forward — hit any one of these and go to the emergency department for a head CT. Almost everyone who gets checked turns out fine; miss one rebleed and it is death. Do not swallow a painkiller and go back to sleep. +- Benefit: A prospective cohort of 2,131 cases of "severe headache reaching maximum intensity within one hour" across 10 Canadian emergency departments: 132 cases (6.2%) were subarachnoid hemorrhage. The Ottawa SAH rule (age 40 or over, neck pain or stiffness, witnessed loss of consciousness, onset during exertion, thunderclap onset, or limited neck flexion on examination; a positive on any one of the six calls for imaging) had 100% sensitivity for detecting hemorrhage (95% CI 97.2%–100.0%) and 15.3% specificity +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Perry JJ, Stiell IG, Sivilotti MLA, et al. (2013). Clinical decision rules to rule out subarachnoid hemorrhage for acute headache. JAMA, 310(12), 1248-1255. +- Notes: The key is not "how painful" but "how fast it peaks": a headache that explodes within seconds to a minute is the danger signal; a migraine that builds gradually is not. With vomiting, a stiff neck, light sensitivity, or brief fainting, take it even more seriously. Specificity is only 15.3%, which means the great majority of people checked under this rule turn out fine, but missing one rebleed is death, so the check is worth it. Do not suppress it with a painkiller and go to sleep + +### 9. If an elderly person becomes unsteady, dull, sleepy, or weak on one side two or three weeks to a few months after a head knock, get a head CT + +- Cost: A head CT costs two to three hundred yuan +- In plain terms: After an elderly person knocks their head, blood usually does not pool until the third week; at the moment of impact there can be nothing at all, and the person may not even remember the knock. This condition has a postoperative recurrence rate of up to 33% and a fatality rate of up to 32%, and it is most easily delayed by being written off as dementia or the aftermath of a previous stroke. If an elderly relative suddenly becomes confused, walks as if floating, is always sleepy, or has one weak hand, first work backward and ask whether they fell or hit their head in the past two or three months, then get the CT. +- Benefit: The Chinese expert consensus on drug treatment of chronic subdural hematoma from the Neurosurgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and others: chronic subdural hematoma is a chronic space-occupying collection of blood between the arachnoid and the dura mater, "usually forming in the third week after head injury," mostly in the elderly, with postoperative recurrence up to 33%, fatality up to 32%, and an overall good-outcome rate of 24% in those over 90; a systematic review: global incidence is 3.39 to 39.1 per 100,000 person-years, rising with age and up to threefold in those over 80; the most common causes are trauma and falls, followed by long-term heavy alcohol use, anticoagulation, and assault; a geriatric review: clinical presentation "typically includes confusion, cognitive decline, gait disturbance, or somnolence and may resemble other geriatric syndromes" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Zhang J 等 (2021). Expert consensus on drug treatment of chronic subdural hematoma. Chinese Neurosurgical Journal, 7(1), 47. ; Dziho A 等 (2025). Global prevalence and incidence of chronic subdural hematoma: A systematic review. Brain and Spine, 5, 105893. ; Mathon B, Shotar E (2026). Diagnostic and therapeutic management of chronic subdural hematoma in elderly patients. Gériatrie et Psychologie Neuropsychiatrie du Vieillissement, 24(1), 30-41. +- Notes: At the moment of impact there can be nothing at all, and the elderly person may not even recall the knock. So if at home you find "suddenly confused lately, walking unsteadily, always sleepy, one weak hand," first work backward and ask about falls or head knocks in the past two or three months, then get a CT — do not jump straight to "dementia" or "leftover from that last stroke"; that is the only fork that causes delay. Elderly people on aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin, or a novel oral anticoagulant are at higher risk, as are heavy long-term drinkers. For fall prevention see Section 1, item 13. + +### 10. One leg suddenly swollen, tight, and tender to press: seek care promptly; if sudden breathlessness or chest pain is added on top, call 120 at once + +- Cost: A lower-limb venous ultrasound costs one to two hundred yuan +- In plain terms: One leg suddenly swollen, a full size bigger than the other, and hurting when pressed — go get a leg venous ultrasound promptly. If sudden breathlessness, chest pain on deep breaths, a racing heart, or lightheadedness appears on top, the clot may already have traveled to the lungs: call 120 directly — 17.4% of people diagnosed with pulmonary embolism die within 3 months. Sitting still for more than 4 hours roughly doubles the risk, but the absolute probability is still low. +- Benefit: The International Cooperative Pulmonary Embolism Registry (ICOPER), 2,454 confirmed acute pulmonary embolism cases from 52 hospitals in 7 countries: 3-month all-cause mortality of 17.4% (426/2454); the World Health Organization's WRIGHT project: journeys of 4 hours or more raise the risk of venous thromboembolism to "about double," but absolute risk remains low, at "about one in six thousand" for more than 4 hours of immobility +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Goldhaber SZ, Visani L, De Rosa M (1999). Acute pulmonary embolism: clinical outcomes in the International Cooperative Pulmonary Embolism Registry (ICOPER). Lancet, 353(9162), 1386-1389. ; WHO (2007). Study results released on travel and blood clots. +- Notes: Both legs swelling together is mostly a heart, liver, kidney, or venous-insufficiency problem; one leg suddenly swollen and a size bigger than the other is the typical picture of deep vein thrombosis. High-risk scenarios are long car or plane journeys with immobility, bed rest after surgery or fracture, a cast, pregnancy and the postpartum period, cancer, and oral contraceptives. When a clot breaks off and blocks a pulmonary artery, that is pulmonary embolism: sudden shortness of breath, chest pain worse on deep breaths, racing heart, lightheadedness, coughing up blood — at that stage call 120 directly. The 17.4% is the mortality among diagnosed pulmonary embolism cases, not "a swollen leg carries that much risk"; do not scare yourself with this number. + +### 11. For major bleeding, first press the wound hard with your hand; if a limb cannot be controlled, apply a tourniquet — and call 120 at the same time + +- Cost: A windlass tourniquet costs tens to over a hundred yuan; keep one in the car and in the first-aid kit; learning "place above the wound, twist until bleeding stops, note the time" takes a few minutes +- In plain terms: The order is: press hard with your hand or clothing → if a limb cannot be controlled, apply a tourniquet → call 120 → once it is on, do not loosen it. In battlefield data, 90% survived when the tourniquet went on before shock set in; only 10% when it went on after; all 5 who needed one and did not get it died. Place it above the wound, twist until the bleeding stops, and note the time. Do not substitute shoelaces or cord, and for the neck and torso you can only press, never bind. +- Benefit: 1,026 limb vascular injuries over 6 years at 11 level-1 trauma centers in Texas, US, of which 181 (17.6%) got prehospital tourniquets: crude mortality 3.9% in the tourniquet group versus 5.2% in the no-tourniquet group; after multivariable adjustment, tourniquet use was independently associated with survival (adjusted OR 5.86, 95% CI 1.41 to 24.47); a Baghdad field hospital, 232 casualties: tourniquet applied before shock onset, 90% survived; after shock, only 10%; all 5 who needed a tourniquet and did not receive one died, while 87% of those who got one survived. Order: direct pressure (clothing or a towel will do) → tourniquet for limb bleeding that pressure cannot control → call 120 → do not release +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Teixeira PGR 等 (2018). Civilian Prehospital Tourniquet Use Is Associated with Improved Survival in Patients with Peripheral Vascular Injury. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. ; Kragh JF 等 (2009). Survival with emergency tourniquet use to stop bleeding in major limb trauma. Annals of Surgery. +- Notes: Do not use thin items like cord or shoelaces as a tourniquet — they cannot compress the artery and cut the skin; once a tourniquet is on, do not loosen it every so often to "let the blood out"; for bleeding from the torso or neck you can only press, not bind. In Kragh's data the tourniquet itself caused no amputations, with 4 cases of transient nerve palsy. The hemorrhage-control training pages of the National Health Commission and the Red Cross Society of China could not be opened this time; TODO (to verify: the original text of official Chinese tourniquet training). + +### 12. After a dog or cat bite or scratch that breaks the skin, alternate rinsing with soapy water and running water for 15 minutes and get vaccinated the same day + +- Cost: Rinsing costs 0 yuan; a full rabies vaccine course costs a few hundred yuan; grade III exposure adds rabies passive immunization at a few hundred to over a thousand yuan; the most expensive thing is delay +- In plain terms: Once rabies symptoms appear, the fatality rate is essentially 100%, so rinsing plus vaccination is the only way. First alternate rinses of soapy water and running water for 15 minutes, then get vaccinated the same day; puncture bites or licked broken skin are grade III exposure, which means adding passive immunization on top. "It's a family pet, it's been vaccinated" does not change the handling — the grade is set by the wound, not by the dog's pedigree. +- Benefit: The 2023 national protocol from the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration and the National Health Commission: "the case fatality rate of rabies is nearly 100%"; the handling is to "thoroughly rinse all bite and scratch wounds for about 15 minutes, alternating soapy water (or another weakly alkaline cleanser) with running water under pressure"; a light bite on exposed skin or a scratch without bleeding is grade II exposure and requires vaccination; puncture bites or licked broken skin are grade III exposure and "require wound care, rabies passive immunization, and rabies vaccination"; WHO: about 59,000 people die of rabies worldwide each year, 99% transmitted by dogs +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家疾控局综合司、国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2023). 关于印发狂犬病暴露预防处置工作规范（2023 年版）的通知. ; WHO. 狂犬病 实况报道. +- Notes: Do not skip handling because "it's the family pet, it's had its shots" — the protocol sets handling by exposure grade, not by the animal's origin; do not bandage the wound yourself; the ten-day observation method can only decide whether to stop the shots, never whether to start them. Bites from wild animals and bats are handled the same way. + +### 13. After a burn or scald, immediately rinse under cool running water for 20 minutes; do not apply toothpaste or soy sauce + +- Cost: 0 yuan; 20 minutes +- In plain terms: Rinsing under cool running water for a full 20 minutes within 3 hours of the injury cuts the chance of eventually needing a skin graft to roughly 60% of what it would be without rinsing. It is cool water, not ice water — icing makes the damage worse; do not tear off clothing stuck to the wound, and after rinsing cover it with a clean cloth and go to the hospital. No toothpaste, no soy sauce, no sesame oil, no flour. If you only think of it after a while, starting the rinse within three hours still helps. +- Benefit: An Australian cohort of 2,495 children with burns: children rinsed with cool running water for 20 minutes within 3 hours of injury had an odds ratio of 0.6 (95% CI 0.4–0.8) for needing a skin graft; a meta-analysis of 7 studies likewise found that "20 minutes of cool running water within three hours of injury significantly reduced the likelihood of needing a skin graft or surgical wound management" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Griffin BR, Frear CC, Babl F, Oakley E, Kimble RM (2020). Cool Running Water First Aid Decreases Skin Grafting Requirements in Pediatric Burns: A Cohort Study of Two Thousand Four Hundred Ninety-five Children. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 75(1), 75-85. ；Griffin B, Cabilan CJ, Ayoub B, et al. (2022). The effect of 20 minutes of cool running water first aid within three hours of thermal burn injury on patient outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Australasian Emergency Care, 25(4), 367-376. +- Notes: Cool water, not ice water — icing worsens the injury. Do not forcibly peel off clothing stuck to the wound; after rinsing, cover it with a clean cloth and go to the hospital. Do not apply toothpaste, soy sauce, sesame oil, or flour — they confound judging the burn depth and invite infection. A delayed rinse started within three hours still helps + +### 14. Sudden full-body rash plus breathlessness or faintness: treat as anaphylactic shock, call 120 immediately, and state it clearly + +- Cost: 0 yuan; for people with a known severe allergy, an epinephrine auto-injector costs money and is a prescription drug +- In plain terms: A sudden rash all over the body plus breathlessness or faintness means treating it as anaphylactic shock: call 120 at once and say on the phone "suspected anaphylactic shock" so the ambulance comes carrying epinephrine. Epinephrine is the first-line drug; antihistamines and steroids work slowly and cannot hold this position. Anyone who has had one episode should ask a doctor for an auto-injector and inject into the outer mid-thigh — through clothing if needed. +- Benefit: Epinephrine is the first-line drug for anaphylactic shock of grade II and above, strongly recommended by the guideline; antihistamines and steroids act slowly and cannot replace it +- Evidence grade: B (strongly recommended by the guideline, but the underlying evidence is low grade) +- Sources: 中国医药教育协会等 (2022). 过敏性休克急救临床实践指南（2020）. Frontiers in Pharmacology：「Epinephrine is the first-line medicine in GRADE II to IV anaphylaxis」「Intramuscular epinephrine should be injected in the mid-anterolateral thigh」，成人肌注上限 0.5 mg、14 岁以下 0.3 mg，无反应可每 5–15 分钟重复一次. ；Muraro A, et al. (2022). EAACI guidelines: Anaphylaxis (2021 update). Allergy. +- Notes: EAACI itself states that in this field "the evidence mostly remains at a very low grade"; the strong recommendation comes from benefit far outweighing risk, not from large trials. In China, epinephrine is a prescription drug and ordinary people usually do not have it on hand; what you can do is call 120 immediately and say "suspected anaphylactic shock" so the ambulance brings the drug. People who have had one severe allergic episode should ask a doctor for an auto-injector and learn to inject into the outer mid-thigh, through clothing if necessary. + +### 15. When someone convulses and collapses: clear the surroundings, put them on their side, time it with a watch, and put nothing into their mouth + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: Move hard objects out of the way, lay them on their side with the mouth pointing down, and time the seizure. Do not hold them down, do not pry the mouth open, do not stuff anything in — that only damages teeth and the jaw. Call an ambulance if it lasts over 5 minutes, if it stops and quickly recurs, if they cannot be woken or breathe with difficulty afterward, if it happens in water, or if it is the first-ever seizure. Give water only after they are fully alert. +- Benefit: Avoids tooth and jaw injuries from prying the mouth open or inserting hard objects, and fractures from forcibly holding the person down; a seizure lasting over 5 minutes is the red line that requires an ambulance +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 美国疾病控制与预防中心. 癫痫发作急救：「Don't hold the person down or stop their movements」「Don't put anything in their mouth. This can hurt their teeth or jaw」「Don't offer water or food until they are fully alert」「Time the seizure to track if it lasts more than 5 minutes. If it does, seek immediate medical attention or call 911」. +- Notes: The same page lists further situations requiring an immediate ambulance call: another seizure soon after one ends, inability to wake the person or breathing difficulty afterward, injury sustained during the seizure, a seizure in water, and a first-ever seizure. After it stops, lay them on their side with the mouth down, and give water only once fully alert. Under the beneficiary yardstick, the through-line of this item is your own household — with a person with epilepsy at home, these moves are for them; doing the same for a stranger ranks lower in benefit but still carries no liability for you (Article 184 of China's Civil Code, see item 2 of this section). + +### 16. If a person with diabetes suddenly trembles, sweats cold, and slurs speech: give 15 grams of sugar first and retest after 15 minutes + +- Cost: 0 yuan; carry a few sugar cubes or a small carton of juice +- In plain terms: Give 15 grams of sugar first — sugar cubes or a small carton of juice both work — retest after 15 minutes, and if it is still low, do it again. Blood sugar below 3.0 is clinically significant hypoglycemia, and once it reaches the stage where someone else must handle it, it can be fatal. If the person is not fully conscious, feed nothing at all — it will go down the windpipe; call 120 directly. +- Benefit: Blood glucose below 3.0 mmol/L counts as clinically significant hypoglycemia; hypoglycemia with altered consciousness or behavior that requires another person's help is severe and can be fatal +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 美国糖尿病学会 (2025). 糖尿病诊疗标准 2025·第 6 章 血糖目标与低血糖. Diabetes Care：分级「Level 1: Glucose <70 mg/dL (<3.9 mmol/L) and ≥54 mg/dL (≥3.0 mmol/L)」「Level 2: Glucose <54 mg/dL (<3.0 mmol/L)」「Level 3: A severe event characterized by altered mental and/or physical status requiring assistance for treatment of hypoglycemia, irrespective of glucose level」；处理「For most individuals, 15 g carbohydrates should be ingested」「Fifteen minutes after initial treatment, repeat the treatment if hypoglycemia persists」. +- Notes: Do not feed anything to someone who is not fully conscious — it can go down the windpipe; call 120 directly. The same standard also advises that everyone treated with insulin or at high risk of hypoglycemia should be prescribed glucagon ("All individuals treated with insulin or who are at high risk of hypoglycemia...should be prescribed glucagon"); nasal spray and prefilled injectors work better than formulations that must be mixed on the spot. The default subject of this item is you yourself or a family member with diabetes — the sugar in your pocket is carried for them too. + +### 17. When someone is being electrocuted: cut the power first, then push the source away with something dry like a wooden stick; never grab them directly + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: Cut the power first, or push the source away with a dry wooden stick or similar, and only then touch the person. Grab them directly and one casualty becomes two. If they are not breathing once free of the current, start the compressions from item 1 at once — do not hold back just because it is an electrical injury. With downed high-voltage lines or near substation equipment, do not handle it yourself: back away and wait for the power company to cut the current. +- Benefit: Prevents the rescuer from being electrocuted too, turning one casualty into two; if the person is not breathing once free of the current, perform CPR per item 1 of this section +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: TODO（待核实：本条是急救培训的普遍共识，本次未找到可逐字核对的权威原文。欧洲复苏委员会《2021 特殊情况下的心脏骤停》含触电章节，但全文付费、本机读不了 PDF：） +- Notes: "Cut the power before touching the person" is a pure self-interest rule: grab them directly and the second person to fall is you. Do not handle downed high-voltage lines or substation equipment yourself — back away and wait for the power company. Cardiac arrest caused by electric shock gets standard compressions and defibrillation; do not refrain from touching the person just because it is an "electrical injury." + +### 18. If the carbon monoxide alarm sounds, or a whole room of people gets headaches and nausea at once: get outside first, then call + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: Alarm sounding, or everyone in the house with headache, nausea, and dizziness at the same time — get everyone outside first, then call. Do not stay inside to find the cause, and do not go back to shut the valve. The symptoms look like flu and like being drunk, and "getting better once outside" is the strongest clue. In the US, more than 400 people die each year of carbon monoxide poisoning unrelated to fires, and over 100,000 go to the emergency room. +- Benefit: In the US, more than 400 people die each year of unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning unrelated to fires, with over 100,000 emergency department visits and more than 14,000 hospitalizations +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 美国疾病控制与预防中心. 一氧化碳中毒：「More than 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning not linked to fires」「More than 100,000 visit an emergency department」「More than 14,000 are hospitalized」，常见症状「headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion」. ；美国消费品安全委员会. 一氧化碳信息中心：「If you suspect CO poisoning, get outside to fresh air immediately, and then call 911」. +- Notes: Symptoms resembling flu and drunkenness at once, everyone in the house feeling unwell together, and improvement on getting out are the strongest clues. Do not stay inside to find the cause or go back to shut the valve — people out first, then the phone call. For how to install the alarm see Section 1, item 3. TODO (to verify: the national death toll from carbon monoxide poisoning in China; no official statistics obtained this time). + +### 19. After swallowing a cleaner, pesticide, or medicine by mistake, do not induce vomiting — take the bottle and seek care immediately; for splashes on eyes or skin, flush with plenty of clean water for 15 minutes + +- Cost: 0 yuan; store cleaners, disinfectants, pesticides, and medicines on high shelves or in locked cabinets out of children's reach, and never decant them into beverage bottles +- In plain terms: After swallowing a cleaner, pesticide, or medicine, do not induce vomiting — corrosive liquid coming back up burns the esophagus a second time. First drink a suitable amount of milk or egg white, take the bottle and its instructions, and get to a hospital immediately; doctors need them to identify the ingredient. For splashes on skin or eyes, flush with plenty of clean water for a full 15 minutes; for eyes, hold the lids open while flushing and do not rub. Mixing disinfectant with toilet-bowl cleaner produces chlorine gas, which can cause an incident on the spot. +- Benefit: The handling guidance from China CDC's National Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control — ingestion: immediately drink a suitable amount of milk or egg white, "remember, do not induce vomiting," and seek medical care promptly while carrying the packaging or instructions, "so that the doctor can quickly identify the ingredient and formulate a treatment plan"; inhalation: immediately move to a well-ventilated area, loosen the collar to keep the airway clear, and seek medical care immediately with severe coughing, rapid breathing, or breathing difficulty; skin contact: immediately flush the affected area with plenty of clean water for at least 15 minutes, keeping the runoff away from the eyes and other intact skin; eye contact: immediately flush the eyes with plenty of clean water or saline for at least 15 minutes, holding the eyelids open so the water fully contacts the eyeball and inner lids, "never rub the eyes," and go straight to ophthalmology afterward. Classify high-risk products by pH: those with pH<3 are toilet-bowl cleaners, descalers, floor cleaners, and stainless-steel polishes, and some heavy-duty drain openers also contain dilute sulfuric acid; those with pH>11 are drain openers, heavy-duty kitchen degreasers, dishwasher powder, oxygen bleach, and scouring powder. One combination that goes wrong on the spot: disinfectant used together with an acid-containing toilet-bowl cleaner produces chlorine gas, which irritates the airways, triggers severe coughing and shortness of breath, and can even be life-threatening +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 中国疾病预防控制中心职业卫生与中毒控制所 (2025). 暑假安全提示：警惕强酸强碱清洁剂. +- Notes: The reason for grade B is that the official guidance gives handling procedures and identification methods but no effect size for "how much harm is reduced by following it." The logic against vomiting: corrosive liquid coming back up burns the esophagus a second time. If you are not sure what was swallowed, take the bottle and instructions, along with any vomit, to the hospital. Prevention is far cheaper than emergency care: store by category, never mix with food and drinks, tighten caps and discard empty bottles after use, and never pour leftovers into a water bottle; wear rubber gloves and goggles when using, open windows for ventilation, and never mix different product types. For carbon monoxide see item 18, for burns see item 13. + +### 20. If acid, alkali, or another chemical splashes on the body: strip contaminated clothing at once and flush with plenty of running water; for eyes, hold the lids open under the water and flush for the full time before leaving + +- Cost: 0 yuan; on your first day on the job, note where the eyewash stations and safety showers are — do not go looking after something happens +- In plain terms: Three steps: immediately strip off contaminated clothing, shoes, and socks (pooled clothing causes the worst burns) → flush with plenty of running water, at least 15 minutes for both skin and eyes, with another official source giving 20 to 30 minutes — take the longer one → hold the eyelids open while flushing, then go straight to ophthalmology. Use room-temperature or lukewarm water, never hot; put nothing on the wound, and do not try to neutralize with another acid or alkali. If it happened at work, it goes through occupational-disease and work-injury channels, with treatment and examination costs borne by the employer; take the chemical's name or its safety data sheet to the hospital. +- Benefit: Three on-site steps: immediately remove contaminated clothing, shoes, and socks (the poison keeps being absorbed through the skin, and areas pooled in clothing are burned worst); flush with plenty of running water — China CDC's National Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control gives a floor of "at least 15 minutes" each for skin and eyes, while Hunan Provincial Emergency Management Department gives 20 to 30 minutes of wound flushing and "longer for strong chemicals" — take the longer of the two nearby; for eyes, "hold the eyelids open and ensure the water fully contacts the eyeball and inner lids," "never rub the eyes," and go to ophthalmology immediately afterward. Use room-temperature or lukewarm water; hot water is forbidden. Do not apply ointments, mercurochrome, or anything else to a fresh wound, and do not wrap it in dirty cloth — anything applied confounds the doctor's judgment of depth. On the legal side: "chemical skin burns" and "chemical eye burns" are both on the statutory occupational disease list, so cases arising at work go through occupational-disease and work-injury channels; in an acute occupational hazard incident, the employer "must promptly organize treatment, health examinations, and medical observation, with all costs borne by the employer" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 中国疾病预防控制中心职业卫生与中毒控制所 (2025). 暑假安全提示：警惕强酸强碱清洁剂. ；湖南省应急管理厅 (2015). 常见化学品中毒事故的应急处理与治疗. ；国家卫生健康委等四部门 (2024). 职业病分类和目录（2025 年 8 月 1 日起实施）. ；全国人大常委会 (2018). 职业病防治法（第三十七条）. （北京市人民政府转载） +- Notes: The reason for grade B is that the two official sources give flushing durations of 15 minutes and 20 to 30 minutes respectively, with no unified national standard figure. Take the chemical's name, packaging, or safety data sheet (SDS) to the hospital — the doctor relies on it to set the plan. Do not grab another acid or alkali to "neutralize": neither the heat of reaction nor the dose is controllable; the "neutralizing solution" mentioned in the Hunan document refers to a dedicated flushing solution prepared in advance by the employer, not on-the-spot counter-flushing. For dry powders like quicklime or cement, brush them off before flushing (some emergency pages accordingly say even concentrated sulfuric acid should be wiped dry first, but sources differ on this, so the book does not state it). For household cleaners and accidental swallowing see item 19; for pre-job protection and medical checks see Section 19, items 10 and 11. + +### 21. Memorize the seven most common online scams; anything that has you transfer money first, pay fees first, or share your screen — hang up immediately + +- Cost: 0 yuan; read the seven lines below once, install the "National Anti-Fraud Center" app, and always answer calls from 96110 +- In plain terms: Seven types to remember: fake order-brushing rebates, fake investment schemes, online loan scams, fake customer service, impersonating police-prosecutors-courts, pig-butchering romance scams, and lure-by-sextortion order-brushing. They share one thing — they have you transfer money first, pay fees first, or share your screen. A real loan never requires a deposit or manufactured bank statements; police-prosecutors-courts have no "safe account," and anyone "handling a case or taking your statement" by phone or WeChat is a fraudster; a "lover" you only ever see in photos or videos, never in person, who always has an urgent need for money, cannot be trusted. If money has already gone out, call 110 at once for payment interception. +- Benefit: Article 8 of the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law requires the government to "popularize the relevant laws and knowledge and raise the public's awareness of fraud and ability to recognize all types of telecom and online fraud." The Fujian Provincial Public Security Department breaks down the recognition features by type: order-brushing rebates = "whoever invites you to make money together probably wants to make money off you"; the principal is not refunded when the task list never ends. Fake investments = paid shills in the group posting gains, small rebates first to draw in bigger stakes, withdrawals demanding "tax payments." Online loans = "a real loan does not require a deposit or manufactured bank statements — once you encounter that, it is certainly fake." Fake customer service = claims you activated a membership that will auto-charge and hurt your credit record, pressuring you to transfer money to cancel. Impersonating police-prosecutors-courts = "the police, procuratorate, and courts have no so-called 'safe account'; any 'police-prosecutors-courts' handling cases or taking statements by phone, QQ, WeChat, or the internet is fraud." Pig-butchering = "do not readily trust a 'lover' you have never met and have only seen in photos or videos," one who never video-calls or meets yet constantly has urgent needs for money. Sextortion order-brushing = meeting in person is made conditional on "doing tasks" first, with payments growing ever larger +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2022). 反电信网络诈骗法（第八条）. ; 福建省公安厅 (2023 到 2024). 识骗技巧专栏：刷单 ；投资理财 ；贷款 ；冒充客服 ；冒充公检法 ；杀猪盘 ；色诱刷单 ；96110 +- Notes: The reason for grade B is that the Ministry of Public Security's official notification pages on the share of each fraud type (mps.gov.cn) failed with error 521 throughout this session; TODO (to verify: the high-frequency types and their shares published by the Ministry of Public Security or the National Anti-Fraud Center). Once money has been transferred, call 110 immediately to apply for payment interception (see Section 8, item 2). + +### 22. If someone threatens you with private photos or videos: pay not a cent, delete no record, and report to the police immediately + +- Cost: 0 yuan; screenshot the other party's account, the chats, and the payment QR code, and take your phone to the police station +- In plain terms: Pay not a cent, delete no record, report to the police on the spot. Paying only marks you as "someone who pays," and then comes a second and third demand. Screenshot their account, the chats, and the payment QR code, and take your phone to the police station. If they actually send the photos out, that is one more crime on them: extortion of a relatively large amount carries up to 3 years, a huge amount 3 to 10. Deleting your own photos or deactivating your account first destroys the evidence and makes the case hard to open. +- Benefit: Paying does not end it; it only gets you classified as "someone who pays." Article 274 of China's Criminal Law: whoever extorts public or private property of a relatively large amount, or extorts repeatedly, is sentenced to up to three years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or public surveillance, with a fine imposed concurrently or separately; for a huge amount, three to ten years. Article 1032 of China's Civil Code: no organization or individual may infringe another person's privacy rights by prying into, intruding upon, disclosing, or publicizing; Article 1033 prohibits disturbing another person's private peace by telephone, text message, instant messaging tools, and other means; if they actually send the photos, that is one more crime on them, not your fault; the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department's warning in comparable cases: "be sure to preserve the evidence and dial 110 promptly; do not continue making transfers" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020 年修正). 刑法（第二百七十四条）. （北京市公安交管局转载整合文本）；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千零三十二、一千零三十三条）. ；福建省公安厅 (2024). 因为一条「约炮」信息，我背上 23 万的债务. +- Notes: Do not delete the photos yourself, deactivate your account, or just block them — with the evidence gone the case is hard to open; do not try to "negotiate installments." Webcam-sex extortion is mostly run by overseas groups using screen recordings plus trojans that read your contact list; the "we will send it to your whole family" line is a script, and the case can still be opened after you report. The platform notice-and-takedown clause (Article 1195 of China's Civil Code) was cut off before that article on all the official full-text pages this session; TODO (to verify: the original text of Article 1195). + +### 23. Dizziness, nausea, no sweating, or impaired consciousness in high heat: move to shade and strip and douse with water to cool immediately; for the unconscious, give no water and call 120 + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: Skin hot and red, speech slurred, confusion — that is heat stroke, and the run from dizziness to coma can be only tens of minutes, with a very high fatality rate. Move at once to a cool, ventilated place, strip off clothing, and cool with water and wet towels, while calling 120; for anyone not fully conscious give not a mouthful of water — it will choke them. With only heavy sweating, weakness, and cool clammy skin — heat exhaustion — move to a cool spot, loosen clothing, and sip water; with vomiting or no improvement within an hour, go to the hospital. +- Benefit: The US National Weather Service: heat stroke is "a serious medical emergency"; with body temperature above 103°F (39.4°C), confusion, slurred speech, and hot red skin, the response is to call for an ambulance immediately, move to a cool place, cool with water and wet cloths, and "do not give fluids"; for heat exhaustion (heavy sweating, weakness, cool clammy skin, rapid weak pulse), move to a cool place, loosen clothing, and sip water; seek care with vomiting, worsening, or no relief after more than 1 hour; the Yunnan Provincial Disease Control and Prevention Administration's guidance: immediately move to a cool, ventilated place, cool with cold wet towels, give salt-containing drinks to the fully conscious, and call for an ambulance immediately with severe symptoms; severe heat stroke has "an extremely high fatality rate"; the Wilderness Medical Society's 2019 heat illness guidelines are the practice guideline in this field +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: US National Weather Service. Heat Related Illnesses. ; 云南省疾控局 (2026). 出现这些症状，你可能是中暑了. ; Lipman GS 等 (2019). Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Heat Illness: 2019 Update. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. +- Notes: Do not wait to "see if it passes" — the run from dizziness to coma in heat stroke can be only tens of minutes; do not pour water into an unconscious person — it will choke them. The full Wilderness Medical Society guideline requires a subscription, so only the abstract was verified this time; specific recommendations such as cold-water immersion are marked "to be verified"; the National Health Commission's "key points on preventing heat illness" page returned error 412 and could not be opened. + +### 24. For someone with heat illness who is fully conscious: give cool, lightly salted water or a sports drink in small frequent amounts — no gulping, no alcohol or high-sugar drinks + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a bottle of sports drink costs a few yuan +- In plain terms: Only someone who is fully conscious gets to drink: cool, lightly salted water or a sports drink, small amounts frequently, 500 to 1,000 ml per hour. No gulping it all down — vomiting and choking it into the windpipe kills faster than the heat illness itself; no alcohol and no high-sugar drinks, which make the body lose more water. Cool water sponging and ice packs on the neck, armpits, and groin are the cooling measures applied to the body, and cooling always comes before rehydration. Anyone not fully conscious or with slurred speech gets not a mouthful. +- Benefit: China CDC's Guide to Public Prevention and Emergency Handling of Heat Illness (2014 edition): "drink at least 2 to 4 cups of cool water per hour (500–1000 ml); the water should not be too warm, and drinking should be in small, frequent amounts"; "do not drink beverages containing alcohol or large amounts of sugar. These drinks cause the body to lose more fluid. Also avoid drinks that are ice-cold"; for heat stroke it states explicitly "do not give the patient water to drink." US NIOSH: for heat exhaustion, "encourage sipping cool water frequently"; for heat cramps, replace with a sugar-and-electrolyte sports drink every 15 to 20 minutes, and "do not use salt tablets" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 中国疾病预防控制中心职业卫生与中毒控制所 (2014). 公众高温中暑预防与紧急处理指南（2014 版）. ; US CDC/NIOSH. Heat-Related Illnesses. +- Notes: Drinking only plain water after heavy sweating dilutes blood sodium, so the water should carry a little salt; gulping a large amount at once tends to cause vomiting, and vomiting with aspiration kills faster than the heat illness itself. "Avoid ice-cold drinks" is the guideline's advice, on the grounds of possible stomach cramps, without quantified evidence — do not misread it as "nothing cold may be used": the cool-water sponging, cold-water immersion, and ice packs on the neck, armpits, and groin in the previous item are precisely the officially recommended first-line cooling measures, applied to the body rather than poured into the mouth, and cooling always takes priority over rehydration. For anyone not fully conscious or with slurred speech, give not a mouthful + +### 25. In a fire: crawl low, feel the door before opening it, keep shut if it is hot, take the stairs not the elevator, and once out, do not go back + +- Cost: 1 to 2 standalone smoke alarms for the home cost tens of yuan; look ahead at the two exits in your stairwell +- In plain terms: Get down on the floor and crawl under the smoke toward the exit. Before opening a door, feel the handle and the door panel — hot, or smoke seeping through the crack, means this door stays closed and you take the second route; open doors slowly, and shut them immediately if thick smoke comes through. Take the stairs, not the elevator — one power cut and you are trapped inside; once out, do not turn back for belongings. If your clothes catch fire: stop, drop, roll, hands shielding your face. If you cannot get out, close the door, stuff the cracks, and call with a clear report of which floor and which room you are in. +- Benefit: US FEMA escape guidance verbatim: "get down on the floor and crawl under the smoke toward the exit"; before opening a door, feel the handle and the door panel, "if it is hot, or there is smoke around the door, do not open it — use your second way out"; open doors slowly and close them immediately if heavy smoke comes through; for burning clothes, "stop, drop, and roll," hands protecting the face; if you cannot get out, close the door, seal cracks and vents with cloth or tape, and call with your location +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: US FEMA Ready.gov. Home Fires. +- Notes: Do not take the elevator (trapped the moment power fails), do not turn back for valuables, do not run upward unless you have confirmed the roof door is open, and do not jump. The National Fire and Rescue Administration pages (119.gov.cn) returned 405/412 and could not be opened this session; TODO (to verify: the National Fire and Rescue Administration's original escape guidance, including the wet-cloth-over-mouth-and-nose advice). + +### 26. Seeing someone drowning: first shout for people and call 110/120, extend a pole, throw something that floats, and do not go into the water yourself + +- Cost: 0 yuan; hold back the urge to jump in +- In plain terms: Jump in yourself and most likely two people go under — a drowning person instinctively pushes the rescuer under. The order: shout for help → call 110/120 → pass a long pole or a rope → throw a life ring, an empty bucket, sealed water bottles → if they are not breathing once on land, start compressions immediately. Do not form a hand-in-hand chain into the water. About 300,000 people drown worldwide each year, and this is the fourth leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 4. +- Benefit: WHO: about 300,000 people drown worldwide each year, 92% in low- and middle-income countries; drowning is the fourth leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 4 and the third among those aged 5 to 14; WHO's recommended intervention is "safe rescue and resuscitation training," meaning learning water-free rescue methods first. Order: shout for help → phone → pass a long pole or rope, throw a life ring, an empty bucket, sealed water bottles → start compressions immediately if the person is not breathing once out of the water +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: WHO. 溺水 实况报道. +- Notes: The reason for grade C is that no official original text was found for the "do not enter the water" rule, only WHO's death figures and the "safe rescue" direction. Do not form a hand-in-hand chain into the water, and do not try to drag a person out untrained — a drowning person pushes the rescuer down. "Do not enter the water" is likewise a self-interest rule: the one who goes in drowns, no matter who the person in the water is. The person you would really be saving is most likely your own child; for prevention see Section 1, item 12. + +### 27. When someone is choking and cannot speak: stand behind them for 5 back blows plus 5 abdominal thrusts, and start CPR if they collapse + +- Cost: 0 yuan; watch the motion once: one fist pressed just above the navel, the other hand wrapped around it, quick inward and upward thrusts +- In plain terms: First ask, "Are you choking — can you speak?" If they can still cough hard and make sounds, keep your hands off — coughing is itself the most effective tool. If they cannot speak, get behind them and do 5 back blows followed by 5 abdominal thrusts — one fist just above the navel, the other hand wrapped around it, sharp inward and upward thrusts — repeating until the object comes out or the person collapses; if they collapse, start CPR while getting someone to call an ambulance. For pregnant and very heavy people, thrust the chest instead. Do not reach into the mouth after an object you cannot see — it only pushes it deeper. +- Benefit: The US National Library of Medicine verbatim: first ask "Are you choking — can you speak?"; "do not intervene in someone who can cough forcefully or speak"; coughing itself usually expels the object; if they cannot speak, "repeat cycles of 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts until the object is expelled or the person loses consciousness"; "begin CPR if the person loses consciousness," and have someone call emergency services; for pregnant and obese people, switch to chest thrusts +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: US National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus. Choking – adult or child over 1 year. +- Notes: Do not reach into the mouth for an object you cannot see — it pushes it deeper; do not slap someone who can still cough. Choking happens most often at your own dinner table, so under the beneficiary yardstick this item counts your own household. Official pages on the Heimlich maneuver from the National Health Commission and the Red Cross Society of China were not found this session; TODO (to verify: the official Chinese original text). + +### 28. Lost or broken down in the Gobi, desert, or unpopulated wilderness: stay put or with the vehicle, report your location first, then shade and insulate, ration water, and do not wander + +- Cost: Before entering an unpopulated area, tell someone your route, destination, return date, and vehicle model and plate; water from 4 liters per person per day; a satellite communicator or BeiDou short-message device costs over a thousand yuan, a few hundred yuan per rental +- In plain terms: Stay where you are or with the vehicle: the car is the biggest sunshade and the easiest thing to find. The order is: with signal, send your location before calling → shade and warmth → ration water, move nothing in daytime and move when it cools at night → no wandering → signal with a mirror, smoke, or three of anything in a group. Before going in, give someone your route, destination, return date, and vehicle model and plate; carry water at no less than 3.8 liters per person per day, doubled for hikers and cyclists. Do not trek looking for a route at midday, and do not stop drinking to save water. +- Benefit: US National Park Service, Mojave Desert, verbatim: "at least 1 gallon (about 3.8 liters) of water per person per day; hikers and cyclists 2 gallons per person per day"; "tell someone your route, destination, return date, vehicle model and plate"; "cell signal comes and goes." Death Valley verbatim: "do not hike on the valley floor and low elevations in the heat"; wilderness areas have "almost no cell signal"; satellite phones are recommended. Priorities: report you are safe and give coordinates (with signal, send location before calling) → shade and warmth (the vehicle is the biggest shelter) → water (move nothing by day, move when it cools at night) → do not wander → signaling (mirror, smoke, three in a group) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: US National Park Service. Mojave National Preserve Safety. ; US National Park Service. Death Valley Safety. +- Notes: The reason for grade C is that no official original text was found for "stay put" or "three in a group"; only the water amounts, the filing of plans, and signal coverage are official wording. Do not trek looking for a route at midday, do not drink urine, and do not stop drinking to save water. The Emergency Management Ministry and National Forestry and Grassland Administration advisory pages on unpopulated areas were not found this session, and the BeiDou official site's short-message page failed with "Socket is closed"; TODO (to verify). + +### 29. Shivering, slurred speech, an unsteady gait mean hypothermia: swap out wet clothes, wrap them up, warm the torso first, give hot sweet drinks not alcohol + +- Cost: A foil emergency blanket costs a few yuan, plus a spare set of dry clothes; learning to read the signs costs 0 yuan +- In plain terms: Body temperature dropping below 35°C is hypothermia — the person shivers, slurs their speech, staggers when walking, and cannot think clearly. Swap off wet clothes, wrap them in a thermal blanket or dry clothing, warm the torso before the hands and feet, and give hot sweet drinks — never alcohol, which suppresses shivering. Do not rub the limbs, do not use a hot bath, and do not move the person roughly. Shivering stopping is not improvement; it is worsening. If they are not conscious, do CPR. +- Benefit: US National Weather Service verbatim: hypothermia begins at a body temperature below 95°F (35°C); "feeling cold, sluggish, or unable to think clearly — see a doctor immediately"; the response is "seek medical attention immediately, move the person to a heated room, and rewarm the center of the body first"; hot drinks are given, "alcohol reduces shivering" so none is given; "if unconscious, perform CPR"; frostbitten parts are warmed with warm water or body heat, "never hot water or radiant heat such as a fireplace"; the Wilderness Medical Society's 2019 hypothermia guideline is the practice guideline in this field +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: US National Weather Service. During Extreme Cold. ; Dow J 等 (2019). Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Out-of-Hospital Evaluation and Treatment of Accidental Hypothermia: 2019 Update. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. +- Notes: Do not rub the limbs, do not use a hot bath, do not move the person roughly (in severe hypothermia the heart can arrest easily), and do not read the end of shivering as improvement — the stop of shivering is worsening. The full Wilderness Medical Society guideline requires a subscription; only the abstract was verified this time. + +### 30. After a snakebite: sit still, remove rings and watches, get to a hospital for antivenom as fast as possible; no cutting, no sucking, no tight binding + +- Cost: 0 yuan; find out in advance which nearby hospital stocks antivenom +- In plain terms: Sit down and do not move, immobilize the bitten limb, remove rings and watches first (the swelling is coming), and get to a hospital that has antivenom as fast as possible — antivenom is the only thing that can reverse most of the venom's effects. No cutting, no sucking with the mouth, no icing, no cord tied until purple, and no drinking or running. Take a photo of the snake from a distance if you can; do not try to catch it. +- Benefit: WHO verbatim: "immediately immobilize the bitten body part and get to the nearest medical facility quickly"; "avoid applying tourniquets, and avoid cutting the wound"; "treat with appropriate antivenom targeted at the local snake species"; "high-quality antivenom is the most effective treatment to prevent or reverse most of the toxic effects of snakebite"; globally, about 81,000 to 138,000 people die of snakebites each year, with amputations and permanent disability about three times the death count +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: WHO. 动物咬伤 实况报道. ; WHO (2023). 蛇咬伤中毒 实况报道. +- Notes: Photograph the snake from a distance if you can, but do not catch it; no drinking, no running, no sucking with the mouth, no icing, no cord tied until the limb turns purple. The diagnosis-and-treatment consensus on snakebites from China's health commission or disease control was not found this session, and the annual death toll in China is marked "to be verified." + +### 31. In an earthquake, first know what kind of building you are in: in a code-compliant building, take cover where you are; in an old building that can collapse with the door only a few steps away, get out + +- Cost: 0 yuan; know in advance how many steps to your door, which route to take, and which table is sturdy +- In plain terms: First know what kind of building you are in. In buildings built to code after 2001, where getting out means stairs and a lobby, take cover where you are: shield your head and neck, get under a sturdy table, and grip the table legs; with no table, crouch against a load-bearing wall, away from exterior walls, windows, and balconies. In single-story houses, old brick buildings, and self-built houses without seismic design, with the door only a few steps away, get out — in the kind of earthquake where precast-slab buildings collapse in whole clusters, staying indoors carried 4.4 times the probability of injury compared with running out. In no case jump from a building, take the elevator, or go down stairs during the shaking. +- Benefit: The China Earthquake Administration's educational film "When an earthquake strikes: take cover or run?" gives the maxim "take cover nearby during the shaking, evacuate quickly afterward," and explicitly limits it to "buildings meeting seismic design requirements," on the grounds that such buildings are "less likely to collapse entirely" and that "falling building components and decorative objects" "are the greatest threat to life," while "blindly running around without protection during the shaking" "instead makes it easy to be struck by falling ceilings, chandeliers (fans), and the like"; for cover, "protect the head and neck with your hands or something soft" and "grip the table legs firmly"; with no table, "quickly crouch tight against a load-bearing wall" and "stay away from exterior walls, windows, and balconies"; "if outdoors" you "should evacuate immediately to open ground." Conversely, in the case-control study of the 1988 Armenian earthquake (whole clusters of Soviet-style precast-slab buildings collapsing), "leaving the building after the first jolt was protective behavior": staying indoors versus running out had an injury odds ratio of 4.40 (95% CI 2.24–8.71), being inside a building versus outdoors 12.20 (3.62–63.79), and being in a building over 5 stories versus a shorter one 3.65 (2.12–6.33) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 中国地震局（安徽省地震局制作）. 地震来了，是躲还是跑？（科普视频，字幕转录）. ；Armenian HK, Noji EK, Oganesian AP (1992). A case-control study of injuries arising from the earthquake in Armenia, 1988. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 70(2), 251-257. ；US FEMA Ready.gov. Earthquakes. ；Mahue-Giangreco M, Mack W, Seligson H, Bourque LB (2001). Risk factors associated with moderate and serious injuries attributable to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Annals of Epidemiology, 11(5), 347-357. +- Notes: This is contested territory — the two conclusions apply to two kinds of buildings, and the China Earthquake Administration itself writes the premise of "cover" as "inside buildings meeting seismic design requirements" and requires adaptation "to the building" and "to the person," weighing seismic capacity, location, and physical fitness. In Armenia those buildings fell whole, there was nowhere to hide, and getting out won; US FEMA, for American homes, gives "Drop, cover your head and neck, hold on, and do not run outside," because there injuries come mainly from falling objects and moving or falling during shaking, and the Northridge study also suggests that reaching for things or grabbing something that "looks stable" worsens injuries. So the judgment is not "run or not" but "will this building collapse, and can you reach open ground in seconds": buildings built to code after 2001 where exit requires stairs or a lobby — take cover where you are; single-story houses, old brick buildings, and self-built houses without seismic design with the door a few steps away — get out. The Armenia study compared only injured versus uninjured among survivors, did not include the dead, and does not say whether it adjusted for floor — those who could run out were likely already on lower floors, so discount the numbers. In no case jump from a building, take the elevator, or descend stairs during shaking; once outside, stay clear of tall buildings, overpasses, utility poles, glass curtain walls, and billboards. + +### 32. Facing a bear, wild boar, or a pack of feral dogs: do not run, do not scream, do not stare it down; turn sideways and back away slowly + +- Cost: 0 yuan; carry a trekking pole into the mountains, walk with companions and make noise as you go, so the animals know you are coming before you meet +- In plain terms: Do not run — a bear runs uphill and downhill like a racehorse; do not climb a tree either, since both black bears and brown bears climb. Stand still, keep talking to it in a low voice, make yourself as big as possible, and once it goes still, turn sideways and back away slowly — that keeps your eyes on it without tripping. If a brown bear really charges, play dead: lie face down with hands clasped behind your neck and legs apart; a black bear is the opposite — do not play dead, run for the car or a building, and if you cannot escape, fight back with anything at hand. For dog scratches and bites, rinse and get vaccinated per item 12. +- Benefit: US National Park Service on bears, verbatim: "do not run; a bear can run uphill and downhill as fast as a racehorse"; "stay calm — most bears do not want to attack you, they just want to be left alone"; "keep talking to the bear in a low voice"; "when the bear is still, back away slowly and sideways, so you can keep watching it without tripping"; "make yourself look as big as possible"; "do not climb a tree — both grizzly bears and black bears climb"; for a brown bear attack, "play dead — lie flat with hands clasped behind your neck and legs apart"; for a black bear attack, "do not play dead; escape to a car or building, and if you cannot, fight back with anything at hand"; dog bites are handled per item 12 +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: US National Park Service. Staying Safe Around Bears. ；国家疾控局综合司、国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2023). 狂犬病暴露预防处置工作规范（2023 年版）. +- Notes: Grade B applies only to bears; for wild boar and feral dogs, "do not run, back away slowly, put elevation or obstacles between you" is experience-based (C); official advisories from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and local forestry authorities were not found this session. Do not lure animals with food, do not approach for photos, and do not take a dog into boar country. China's bears are mostly black bears and brown bears — apply the play-dead distinction above accordingly. + +### 33. In a thunderstorm outdoors: get inside a hard-topped car or a building; avoid ridgelines, lone trees, open water, and metal + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the price is having your itinerary interrupted for half an hour or more +- In plain terms: Outdoors within reach of a thunderstorm, there is no safe spot. Get into a hard-topped car or a building — convertibles and motorcycles do not count, and neither do tents, pavilions, trees, or rock overhangs. Stay away from open ground, ridgelines and summits, isolated tall trees, open water, and iron railings and posts. If a group cannot leave, spread out rather than bunching together. Start withdrawing at the first sound of thunder, and it is safe only 30 minutes after the last one. +- Benefit: Outdoors within range of a thunderstorm there is no safe place; it is safe only 30 minutes after the last thunder +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 美国国家气象局. 户外雷电安全：「There is no safe place outside when thunderstorms are in the area」「Avoid open fields, the top of a hill or a ridge top. Stay away from tall, isolated trees or other tall objects」「Stay away from water, wet items, such as ropes, and metal objects, such as fences and poles」；实在走不了时「If you are in a group, spread out to avoid the current traveling between group members」；恢复活动「Wait 30 minutes until after the last rumble of thunder」. +- Notes: Tents, pavilions, trees, and rock overhangs do not count as shelter. A hard-topped car counts; convertibles and motorcycles do not. Start withdrawing at the first thunder — do not wait for the rain to arrive. + +### 34. Ascend to high altitude gradually by sleeping elevation; if symptoms worsen, descend — do not tough it out + +- Cost: An extra day or two for acclimatization; preventive medication is a prescription drug — ask a doctor before departure +- In plain terms: What counts is how high you sleep, not how high you went during the day: sleeping above 2,450 meters carries altitude illness risk. Above 3,000 meters, raise your sleeping elevation by no more than 500 meters a night, and add an extra acclimatization day for every 1,000 meters gained. Headache plus nausea, a staggering walk, altered consciousness, or breathlessness even at rest — go down. Descent comes before oxygen and medication; continuing to climb while breathing oxygen is the wrong move. +- Benefit: Sleeping above 2,450 meters already carries altitude illness risk; high-altitude cerebral edema and pulmonary edema kill if descent is delayed +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 美国疾病控制与预防中心. 黄皮书·高海拔旅行与高原病：「Any unacclimatized traveler proceeding to a sleeping altitude of ≥2,450 m (≥8,000 ft)—and sometimes lower—is at risk for altitude illness」；上升速度「500 m (1,650 ft) per night in sleeping altitude once above 3,000 m (9,800 ft)」，每上升 1000 米加一天适应日；乙酰唑胺预防「125 mg twice a day; 250 mg twice a day if >100 kg body weight」；「If symptoms become worse despite rest or treatment at the same elevation」必须下撤. ；荒野医学会 (2024). 急性高原病预防、诊断与治疗临床实践指南（2024 更新）. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. +- Notes: What counts is "how high you sleep," not how high you went during the day. Headache plus nausea, a staggering walk, altered consciousness, or breathlessness at rest are all signals to descend. Descent takes priority over oxygen and medication; continuing upward while breathing oxygen is the wrong move. + +### 35. For an embedded tick: pull it straight out with fine-tipped tweezers flush to the skin; no oils, no burning + +- Cost: A pair of fine-tipped tweezers +- In plain terms: Grip the tick's head with fine-tipped tweezers right at the skin and pull steadily straight out. No oils, no fire, no twisting — that stimulates it to pump pathogen-laden fluid into the skin and often leaves the mouthparts in the flesh. Note the date after removal, and in the following weeks, with fever, rash, or fatigue, proactively tell the doctor you were bitten by a tick — otherwise it is easily treated as a cold. +- Benefit: Oils, burning, and twisting yanking stimulate the tick to pump pathogen-laden fluid into the skin, and often leave the mouthparts in the flesh +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 美国疾病控制与预防中心. 被蜱叮咬之后：「Grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible using clean fine-tipped tweezers」「Pull tick away from the skin with steady, even pressure」「Do not use petroleum jelly, heat, nail polish, or other substances to try and make the tick detach from the skin. This may agitate the tick and force infected fluid from the tick into the skin」. +- Notes: Write down the date after removal. In the following weeks, with fever, rash, or fatigue, proactively tell the doctor you were bitten by a tick — if the doctor does not ask and you do not say, it is easily handled as a cold. TODO (to verify: annual case counts and case fatality rate of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in China; official figures not obtained this time). + +### 36. Boil all wilderness water before drinking; a rolling boil for one minute is enough — no extra boiling for altitude + +- Cost: The weight of a stove and fuel +- In plain terms: Every microorganism that can sicken you via drinking water dies within seconds at boiling temperature; the extra minute is only a margin for "misjudging the boil," with no added boiling for high altitude. If you cannot boil, use a filter or purification tablets — each misses some pathogens the other covers, so boiling is still first choice. Crystal-clear stream water and snowmelt can carry parasites just the same. +- Benefit: All waterborne pathogens are inactivated within seconds at boiling temperature; "water boils inadequately at high altitude" is a common misconception +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 美国疾病控制与预防中心. 黄皮书·旅行者的水消毒：「All organisms that may cause illness from drinking water are killed within seconds at boiling temperature」「CDC recommends that travelers boil water for a full minute to account for user variability in identifying boiling points and to add a margin of safety」「Although the boiling point for water decreases with increasing elevation, at common travel elevations the temperature needed to achieve boiling is still well above the temperature required to inactivate enteric pathogens」. +- Notes: The same page also notes that a true boil is not strictly necessary: holding water at 60°C for 30 minutes works just as well; boiling is simply the visible endpoint that needs no thermometer. If you cannot boil, use a filter or chemical tablets — each has pathogens the other misses — so boil when you can. Clear-looking streams and snowmelt can still carry parasites; do not judge by appearance. + +### 37. If a stranger demands money in remote open country: hand it over, do not fight, note their features, and report to the police once clear + +- Cost: The cash on you; swallowing your anger +- In plain terms: Hand the money over, do not fight, do not talk back. For a few hundred yuan the other party is risking robbery charges: starting at 3 to 10 years, and with home invasion, use of a gun, or serious injury or death, 10 years up to death. Once they take the money and turn to leave, chasing them to strike is no longer self-defense. The moment you are clear, write down their appearance, accent, plate number, and direction of flight, and call 110. Do not follow them anywhere secluded "to get money," do not get in their car, and do not hand over your phone password. +- Benefit: Life is dearer than money, and for a few hundred yuan the other party is risking a serious crime: Article 263 of China's Criminal Law — whoever robs public or private property by violence, coercion, or other means is sentenced to 3 to 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment plus a fine, and where a gun is used, a home is invaded, or serious injury or death results, 10 years or more up to death; Article 20 on justifiable defense protects only "stopping an unlawful infringement in progress" — once they take the money and turn away, chasing them down to strike is no longer defense. As soon as you are clear, note appearance, accent, plate, and direction, and call 110 +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020 年修正). 刑法（第二十条、第二百六十三条）. （北京市公安交管局转载整合文本） +- Notes: The reason for grade C is that there is no direct literature for "complying rather than resisting is safer"; the statutes only state the other party's risk and your boundaries. Do not follow them anywhere secluded "to withdraw money," do not hand over your phone password, do not get in their car; this item is not a lesson in fighting, nor in not reporting to the police. + +### 38. When you come upon a group fight: withdraw and leave; do not step in to break it up, do not gawk, do not pick up weapons off the ground; if you report it, move to a safe distance and call 110 + +- Cost: 0 yuan; hold down two urges — stepping in to pull people apart and standing around to watch; after reporting you may be re-contacted for one statement, costing at most half a day +- In plain terms: The person who steps in to break up a fight is often the last one counted into it — once you lay hands on anyone, it changes from peacemaking to joining the brawl. Joining an affray carries up to 3 years; with large numbers and scale, on a public road, or with weapons, 3 to 10 years, and if it causes serious injury or death, it is charged as intentional injury or intentional homicide; at the public-order level, group brawling carries up to 15 days of detention plus a 2,000-yuan fine. Standing around watching is not free either — the more people, the more chaotic the scene, and the easier to be hurt by mistake. The move is to withdraw and leave; if you are willing to report, get to a safe distance and call 110, stating the location, how many people, whether anyone has a knife or club, and whether anyone is lying motionless, and film a clip from far off. If you see someone being surrounded and beaten one-sidedly, you are indeed entitled to stop it — justifiable defense protects others as well as yourself — but going in bare-handed most likely just adds another casualty; shouting, filming, and calling are more effective. +- Benefit: Article 292 of China's Criminal Law: "For affray, ringleaders and other active participants are sentenced to up to three years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or public surveillance"; for repeated affray, large numbers and scale with vile social impact, serious disruption of public order in public places or on major thoroughfares, or carrying weapons, "sentence of three to ten years of fixed-term imprisonment"; where affray "causes serious injury or death," conviction and punishment follow the crimes of intentional injury or intentional homicide. The Public Security Administration Punishment Law: assault carries 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of 500 to 1,000 yuan; group brawling as picking quarrels and provoking trouble carries up to 15 days of detention plus a 2,000-yuan fine. The Guiding Opinion on the Lawful Application of Justifiable Defense, Article 5: an unlawful infringement "includes both infringements directed at oneself and those endangering the state or the public interest or directed at others"; Article 9: where one party strikes first with clearly excessive means, or strikes first and continues the attack while the other party is trying hard to avoid the conflict, the party striking back should generally be found to be acting in defense +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百三十二、二百三十四、二百九十二、三百零五、三百一十条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第三十、五十一条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部 (2020). 关于依法适用正当防卫制度的指导意见（法发〔2020〕31 号，第 5、9 条）. ；全国人大 (2018). 刑事诉讼法（2018 年修订，第六十二、一百一十、一百一十一、一百九十三条）. 宁夏回族自治区人民检察院转载全文 +- Notes: The reason for grade B is that the provisions on consequences are hard law, but there is no official original text for the step "withdraw and report, do not step in to break it up" — it is inferred from the statutes and the standards for finding mutual combat. "I was just breaking it up" is no talisman; the finding turns on whether you used force and whom you hit. Chasing and striking after the other party is down or has fled is no longer defense. What is guaranteed profit in this item is "keep your hands off, do not gawk"; the benefit of the 110 call falls mainly on the person on the ground — the lowest tier of beneficiary — and whether to spend that time is your own call. To weigh it you need to know: the duty to testify already exists (Article 62 of the Criminal Procedure Law: everyone who knows the circumstances of a case has a duty to testify), and not making the call does not make it go away; with serious injury or death, police tracing surveillance will find those present anyway, and onlookers are the easiest to register; for a reporting person unwilling to disclose their name, the handling organ "shall keep their identity secret" (Article 111), and once you have stated the location, the number of people, and whether anyone is armed, you may hang up without staying on the scene. Reaching admonishment or detention of ten days or less requires refusing to testify after the court notifies you to appear (Article 193), which passersby almost never reach. Not reporting is itself not unlawful: the "right and duty" wording of Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Law carries no sanction, and the Criminal Law has no offense punishing an ordinary person's failure to report what they know — walking away is a lawful option; after walking away, only two red lines remain — later hiding the offender or giving false proof to shelter them (Article 310, up to 3 years, 3 to 10 years in serious cases), and deliberately giving false testimony when called to testify (Article 305, up to 3 years, 3 to 7 years in serious cases). Staying silent and telling the truth are both fine; making things up is what brings trouble. For being drawn into a conflict yourself see Section 8, item 9; for a stranger demanding money see item 37 of this section; for money after being injured while rescuing see item 40 of this section. + +### 39. Possible HIV exposure: get post-exposure prophylaxis within 72 hours — the earlier the better + +- Cost: A 28-day course of medication costs over a thousand yuan, out of pocket in most regions; and a hospital run is needed that very night +- In plain terms: If you suspect you have been infected with HIV, 72 hours is the hard line, with the best result from starting within 2 hours, and the drugs must be taken for a full 28 days. Past 72 hours this road is gone, so do not wait until the next day to decide. +- Benefit: The Beijing municipal government's HIV-prevention information page: post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) should begin "preventive medication as soon as possible, ideally within 2 hours, within 24 hours at best, and no later than 72 hours," and be "taken continuously for 28 days." Beyond 72 hours starting it is no longer advised — a hard deadline where hesitating one night versus leaving immediately makes a completely different outcome +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 北京市人民政府. 事前、事后分不清？六问六答全面了解艾滋病病毒暴露前/暴露后预防. ；中国疾病预防控制中心性病艾滋病预防控制中心 (2020). 艾滋病病毒暴露后预防技术指南（试用）. +- Notes: Where to get it: the designated HIV medical institutions named by the local disease control center, usually the infectious disease clinic (STI/HIV clinic); many cities already run 24-hour clinics — Chongqing's published data show 29 clinics across 26 districts and counties, 14 of them round-the-clock. Call the local CDC before going to ask which one stocks the drugs; do not burn time in the emergency department. Applicable exposures include unprotected sex, a burst condom, a needle-stick injury, and mucosal contact with blood; whether to medicate is assessed by a doctor. The full 28 days must be completed — missed doses markedly reduce effectiveness; follow-up testing follows medical advice at 4 to 6 weeks and 3 months. This is a remedy, not a substitute; for routine prevention and testing see Section 1, items 28 and 29. + +### 40. If you are injured or out of pocket from rescuing someone: first pursue the wrongdoer and basic medical insurance, then apply for confirmation of brave-and-meritorious conduct + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the application requires submitting materials and waiting for the finding, several trips, weeks to months +- In plain terms: Getting hurt or out of pocket rescuing someone does not mean absorbing the loss alone. For injuries from brave-and-meritorious conduct, treatment comes before payment; where there is a wrongdoer, they pay the medical costs, and if they fled or cannot pay, basic medical insurance covers it. For losses incurred protecting someone else, first seek compensation from the infringer; with no infringer, or if they fled or cannot pay, the person you saved "shall" give appropriate compensation — that is legal wording, not a matter of their conscience. At the same time, apply for confirmation of brave-and-meritorious conduct: for those killed who qualify, martyr status; for cases deemed work-related death, a one-time work-death benefit plus a survivors' special subsidy equal to 40 months of the person's own wages; for the injured, work-injury insurance benefits apply, and those not qualifying have a disability grade assessed by the civil affairs department; the person and family are also given priority in employment assistance and housing support. If it comes to a lawsuit, the civil rights and interests of the brave-and-meritorious are already within the scope of free legal aid. +- Benefit: Article 183 of China's Civil Code: "Where a person suffers harm protecting another person's civil rights and interests, the infringer bears civil liability, and the beneficiary may give appropriate compensation. Where there is no infringer, the infringer has fled, or cannot bear civil liability, if the injured party requests compensation, the beneficiary shall give appropriate compensation." State Council Doc. No. 39 [2012]: for those injured in brave-and-meritorious conduct, medical institutions must open a green channel and "uphold the principle of 'treatment first, payment after'"; "for medical costs incurred in emergency treatment, where there is a wrongdoer or responsible party, the wrongdoer or responsible party bears them; where there is none, or they have fled or cannot bear them, they are resolved through the basic medical security system as prescribed"; for the dead, "those meeting the conditions for martyr designation are designated martyrs in accordance with the law," and "cases deemed work-related death carry a one-time work-death benefit plus a survivors' special subsidy equal to 40 months of the person's own wages"; for the disabled, "those meeting the conditions for work-injury insurance benefits receive them under the Work Injury Insurance Regulations; those not meeting them have a disability grade assessed and corresponding benefits provided by the civil affairs department"; for employment, "priority inclusion in employment assistance with focused support," with public-welfare posts "prioritizing qualified persons of brave-and-meritorious conduct," and for housing, "priority inclusion in the housing security system, with priority allocation of subsidized housing or issuance of rental subsidies" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一百八十三条）. ；国务院办公厅转发民政部等部门 (2012). 关于加强见义勇为人员权益保护的意见（国办发〔2012〕39 号）. +- Notes: The reason for grade B is that the benefits are fixed by national documents, but bonus standards and confirmation procedures are set by each province's own brave-and-meritorious regulations, with figures differing locally and not verified province by province this round; applications generally go to the public security organ where the event occurred or to the brave-and-meritorious work body (foundation). The finding depends on evidence: the police report receipt, on-site surveillance, witnesses' names and phone numbers, and hospital records — secure them on the spot. For the national standard of the one-time work-death benefit and how disability grades convert into money see Section 19, items 15 and 16; for applying for legal aid see Section 7, item 3. + +### 41. If a knife, rebar, or glass is embedded in the body: press around the object to stop the bleeding — do not pull it out + +- Cost: 0 yuan; hold back the instinct to "pull it out first," and stay with the person until the ambulance comes +- In plain terms: The embedded object is also plugging the vessels it cut, so pulling it out often means major bleeding on the spot, and it makes it harder for doctors to judge how deep the damage goes. The approach: call 120, press on the wound around the object with hands or dressings to stop the bleeding, pad the object so it does not shift, and keep the person from moving. If the object pulses with the heartbeat, stabilize it loosely — do not press it down or straighten it forcibly. With organs protruding from an abdominal wound, do not push them back in; cover them with a clean, moist dressing. For a chest wound that is bubbling or hissing, do not seal it with plastic sheeting or the like — sealing it can trap air in the chest cavity and collapse the lung. +- Benefit: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' 2025 International First Aid Guidelines: "First aid providers should apply pressure around an embedded object (e.g. a knife) to stabilize the object. Avoid removing the object."; "Do not remove any impaled objects from an abdominal or chest wound, as this may cause serious bleeding and make it more difficult for a medical professional to determine the severity of the wound."; "Impaled objects in the body should be stabilized, and if the object is pulsating, it should be allowed to do so while loosely stabilized."; "First aid providers should not push internal organs back into the body."; open chest-wall wounds not actively bleeding "may be left open, without the application of a dressing, because a sealed wound may allow air to build up in the chest, which may lead to the lung partially or fully collapsing (pneumothorax)"; all penetrating chest and abdominal wounds warrant an immediate call for emergency services +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2025). International First Aid, Resuscitation and Education Guidelines 2025，第 256–257、267–268 页. +- Notes: It is graded B because this is the guideline's good-practice recommendation without randomized trials — "pull out" versus "leave in" cannot ethically be randomized. The only exception is an object blocking the airway so the person cannot breathe. At the hospital, go straight to the triage desk at the emergency entrance and report "penetrating injury" — that is the tier that goes straight to the resuscitation room; do not queue at the registration window (see Section 24, item 8); if truly impaled, call 120 and the ambulance will notify the hospital ahead of arrival. For pressure hemostasis and tourniquets in major bleeding see item 11. + +### 42. If you suspect a fracture, stop moving that body part; support it still, ice for under 20 minutes, and do not straighten it yourself + +- Cost: 0 yuan; find a stiff board, a rolled magazine, or clothing to use as support, and place a cloth between the cold pack and skin +- In plain terms: Treat any limb injury as a fracture first — whether they can stand or move rules nothing out, and only an X-ray can settle it. Keep the injured part motionless, cradle it with your hand or support it in its original position with a sling or stiff board, and ice it early — no more than 20 minutes at a time, with a cloth between pack and skin. In the city, if the ambulance can arrive, do not straighten anything yourself; straightening is considered only in the field, when rescue cannot be relied on, when the limb below the break is cold and pale, and when the rescuer is trained. With a femur fracture, the bleeding from the bone itself alone can be fatal — with severe pain, severe swelling, an obviously misaligned limb, or signs of shock, call 120 directly. If broken bone has pierced the skin, stop the bleeding and cover with a clean dressing first; do not push the bone back in. +- Benefit: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' 2025 International First Aid Guidelines: "Any injury to an extremity should be approached as a potential bone fracture." "The only accurate way to diagnose a fracture is with an X-ray. When in doubt, assume it is a fracture."; the purpose of immobilization is "to minimize any movement and pain"; cooling "for up to 20 consecutive minutes, as this may decrease the pain. Cooling for longer than this may damage the skin"; "If a long bone is injured, such as the femur, the bleeding from the bone itself can be life-threatening"; call emergency services with marked pain or swelling, signs of shock, a femur fracture, or an abnormally positioned limb; on-site realignment of an angulated fracture is considered only for a "remote environment (or one with limited resources)" where the limb below the angulated fracture is cool or pale or the first aid provider is unable to splint for movement, and the rescuer is trained; for open fractures the priorities are stopping bleeding and preventing infection +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2025). International First Aid, Resuscitation and Education Guidelines 2025，第 301–302 页. +- Notes: It is graded B because these are good-practice recommendations: prehospital traction splinting of femur fractures is supported by only one retrospective cohort (less transfused blood within 24 hours and shorter hospital stays, with differences in mortality and complications not reaching significance, very low certainty of evidence), and for realign-first versus immobilize-in-place no evidence was found at all. Three common misconceptions to shed: standing and walking does not rule out a fracture; use cold only, never heat, and never alternate hot and cold; a sprain will not "work itself out with movement" — rest it first. For the moving prohibitions after an elderly person falls with a suspected fracture see item 2; for one leg swelling after a cast or bed rest, beware thrombosis — see item 10; for whether to seek a disability assessment or a disability certificate afterward see Section 24, items 10 and 11. From 39d0bfe07076f2bf2ff321ebeb9871c5db701f08 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:18 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 06/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch02:=20Do=20Not=20Die=20Slowly=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/02-Do-Not-Die-Slowly.md | 292 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 292 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/02-Do-Not-Die-Slowly.md diff --git a/book/en/02-Do-Not-Die-Slowly.md b/book/en/02-Do-Not-Die-Slowly.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..e9c2a43ab --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/02-Do-Not-Die-Slowly.md @@ -0,0 +1,292 @@ +[← Back to the master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 2. Don't Die Slowly + +This section includes only chronic risk factors with large effects on all-cause mortality and hard evidence, ranked from highest to lowest value for money. Except where a randomized trial is specifically noted, the numbers come from observational studies; the HRs/RRs contain confounding and reverse causation, so read them as direction and magnitude, not as a discount you are guaranteed to receive by following the advice. +### 1. Quit smoking, and quit as early as possible + +- Cost: willpower during withdrawal (weeks to months); money-wise it is a negative cost — a pack a day runs about 20–30 yuan, and quitting saves it. +- In plain terms: smokers live more than ten years less than non-smokers on average; quitting before 40 wipes out about 90% of the excess death risk from continuing to smoke, and the earlier you quit, the more you get back. +- Benefit: US cohort (observational): current smokers live at least 10 years less than never-smokers; quitting before 40 eliminates about 90% of the excess mortality risk from continued smoking, and quitting at ages 25–34, 35–44, and 45–54 adds roughly 10, 9, and 6 years of life respectively (the original reports life-years). Chinese cohort (observational): among urban male smokers in the 2010s, all-cause mortality RR 1.65, rural men RR 1.22; after 10 years of sustained quitting the attributable risk nearly disappears. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Jha P 等 (2013). 21st-century hazards of smoking and benefits of cessation in the United States. NEJM. ；Chen Z 等 (2015). Contrasting male and female trends in tobacco-attributed mortality in China: evidence from successive nationwide prospective cohort studies. Lancet. +- Notes: Secondhand smoke kills too: worldwide in 2004 about 603,000 people died from secondhand smoke exposure, about 1% of all deaths that year (Oberg M et al. (2011). Worldwide burden of disease from exposure to second-hand smoke: a retrospective analysis of data from 192 countries. Lancet. ). Avoid other people's smoke even if you don't smoke yourself, and above all keep children away from it. + +### 2. Don't smoke at home or in the car, and don't let guests smoke there either + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the hard part is speaking up to family and guests. +- In plain terms: about 600,000 people worldwide die each year from breathing other people's smoke, nearly a third of them children; people chronically exposed to secondhand smoke run about 30% higher risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, and what you breathe at home hurts you more than what you breathe outside. +- Benefit: in 2004, 603,000 people worldwide died from secondhand smoke, about 1.0% of all global deaths, of whom 28% were children; in a meta-analysis of 57 studies, people exposed to secondhand smoke had an odds ratio for hypertension of 1.28, heart disease 1.39, myocardial infarction 1.50, and stroke 1.36, with the risk from exposure inside the home higher than outside it. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Öberg M, Jaakkola MS, Woodward A, Peruga A, Prüss-Ustün A (2011). Worldwide burden of disease from exposure to second-hand smoke: a retrospective analysis of data from 192 countries. Lancet：「603,000 deaths were attributable to second-hand smoke in 2004, which was about 1·0% of worldwide mortality. 47% of deaths from second-hand smoke occurred in women, 28% in children, and 26% in men」，「61% of DALYs were in children」. ；(2026). The Associations Between Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Various Cardiovascular Diseases: A Meta-Analysis. Nicotine & Tobacco Research：57 项研究，「hypertension (OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.40), heart disease (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.50), myocardial infarction (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.17 to 1.84), stroke (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.18 to 1.54)」「Home exposure has a higher risk of CVD than non-home exposure」. +- Notes: The home is the place to police hardest — not only because you spend the most time there, but because the meta-analysis shows the effect of within-home exposure is larger than outside-home exposure. Children bear 61% of the disability-adjusted life years lost to secondhand smoke. For quitting yourself, see item 1 in this section. + +### 3. Don't drink sugar-sweetened beverages + +- Cost: zero; switching to water or unsweetened tea actually saves money. +- In plain terms: people who drink two or more sweetened drinks a day are about 20% more likely to die over the same period than those who hardly drink any, and even one to two a day adds a bit over 10%. +- Benefit: two large US cohorts (observational, about 118,000 people, 36,000 deaths): ≥2 servings a day vs <1 a month, all-cause mortality HR 1.21; 1–2 servings a day HR 1.14. The European EPIC cohort (observational, 450,000 people): ≥2 cups a day vs <1 a month, sugar-sweetened soft drinks HR 1.08, all soft drinks combined HR 1.17. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Malik VS 等 (2019). Long-Term Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Mortality in US Adults. Circulation. ；Mullee A 等 (2019). Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries. JAMA Internal Medicine. +- Notes: Observational — heavy drinkers of these beverages tend to have worse overall lifestyles, so the effect may be overestimated. In EPIC, artificially sweetened drinks at ≥2 cups a day showed HR 1.26, higher than sugar-sweetened ones — probably reverse causation (people who already have metabolic disease switch to diet drinks). Don't treat diet drinks as a safe substitute to consume in bulk; the replacement of choice is water. + +### 4. Don't chew betel nut + +- Cost: 0 yuan — you also save the money you'd spend on betel nut. +- In plain terms: betel chewers are about 20% more likely to die over the same period than non-chewers, with nearly 50% higher risks of diabetes and metabolic syndrome — and oral and esophageal cancers come on top of that. +- Benefit: meta-analysis of 17 Asian studies, 388,000 people: relative risk of all-cause mortality for chewers vs non-chewers 1.21 (P=0.02, 179,600 people), diabetes 1.47, metabolic syndrome 1.51; betel nut is itself a known risk factor for oral and esophageal cancer. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Yamada T, Hara K, Kadowaki T (2013). Chewing betel quid and the risk of metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis. PLoS One, 8(8), e70679. +- Notes: Oral cancer risk scales with years of chewing and daily amount, and declines over time after quitting. Betel nut with tobacco added is more dangerous still. + +### 5. Replace the salt at home with low-sodium salt (potassium salt) + +- Cost: a few yuan more per bag than regular salt; taste is nearly unchanged, no willpower needed. +- In plain terms: in a randomized trial of twenty thousand people, those who switched the household salt to low-sodium salt were about 12% less likely to die within five years, and had about 14% fewer strokes. This came out of random assignment, so it is more credible than the usual observational data. +- Benefit: randomized trial (rural China, 20,995 people with a prior stroke or hypertension at age ≥60, followed 4.74 years): low-sodium salt group vs regular salt group, all-cause mortality RR 0.88, stroke RR 0.86, major cardiovascular events RR 0.87; no significant difference in hyperkalemia events between the two groups. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Neal B 等 (2021). Effect of Salt Substitution on Cardiovascular Events and Death. NEJM. +- Notes: Controversy: the PURE cohort (observational; O'Donnell M et al. (2014). Urinary sodium and potassium excretion, mortality, and cardiovascular events. NEJM. ) reported that for estimated sodium excretion <3 g/day the composite OR for death plus cardiovascular events was 1.27, and at ≥7 g/day OR 1.15, suggesting a J-shaped sodium curve. But SSaSS was a randomized trial, and low-sodium salt only partially replaces sodium, so it does not push sodium that low. The trial population was high-risk elderly; healthy young people would gain less in absolute terms. People with impaired kidney function or taking potassium-sparing drugs should ask a doctor before switching salt. + +### 6. Brush your teeth properly, clean between your teeth once a day, and replace missing teeth promptly + +- Cost: dental floss or interdental brushes run tens of yuan a year and add two or three minutes a day; professional cleaning costs 100–200 yuan per visit. +- In plain terms: people who floss or use interdental brushes daily are about 10% less likely to die over the same period; elderly people who have lost all their teeth are about 90% more likely to die, and those left with fewer than 20 teeth about twice as likely. +- Benefit: Japanese cohort of 9,676 people over 6 years: users of interdental cleaning tools had an all-cause mortality hazard ratio of 0.89, users of tongue-coating cleaning tools 0.77; meta-analysis of community-dwelling elderly: edentulous (fully toothless) odds ratio for death 1.87 (95% CI 1.35–2.59), fewer than 20 teeth 2.04 (1.67–2.49). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Wang K, Matsuyama Y, Kiuchi S, et al. (2026). Routine oral health practices and all-cause mortality. Journal of Dentistry. ；Ko MJ, Seo S, So JS, et al. (2026). Deteriorated oral health and function as risk factors for physical disability and mortality in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Geriatric Medicine. +- Notes: Contested. Observational — people with bad teeth tend to have worse overall health and finances, so the direction of causation is uncertain. But the cost is very low, and periodontitis and missing teeth impair eating in their own right. + +### 7. Walk to 7,000–8,000 steps a day + +- Cost: about 60–90 minutes of walking, which can be split into commuting and shopping; free. +- In plain terms: people who walk 5,800 steps a day are about 40% less likely to die over the same period than those who walk only 3,500; at 7,800 steps it's about 45% lower, and beyond that the curve flattens out. For older adults, 6,000–8,000 steps is enough. +- Benefit: meta-analysis of 15 cohorts (observational, 47,471 people, 3,013 deaths): by steps quartile, medians of 5,801, 7,842, and 10,901 steps/day vs 3,553 steps/day, all-cause mortality HR 0.60, 0.55, and 0.47 respectively; for those ≥60 the benefit plateaus after 6,000–8,000 steps, for those <60 after 8,000–10,000. Another meta-analysis: benefit starts from about 3,867 steps/day, and each extra 1,000 steps/day cuts all-cause mortality by about 15%. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Paluch AE 等 (2022). Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. Lancet Public Health. ；Banach M 等 (2023). The association between daily step count and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: a meta-analysis. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. +- Notes: Observational — the least-active group includes people who are already frail (reverse causation), so inflated HRs are the norm; but the dose-response is clear, the marginal gain is largest going from 4,000 to 7,000 steps, and there is no need to obsess over ten thousand. This and item 7 in this section are two ways of measuring the same thing; hitting either one is enough. + +### 8. Take your blood pressure and lipid medication on schedule as prescribed, and don't stop on your own + +- Cost: centrally procured blood pressure drugs and statins run a few yuan to a few dozen yuan a month; plus a once-a-day habit. +- In plain terms: for every 10 mmHg your blood pressure drops, your chance of dying falls about 13% and stroke about 27%; a statin that lowers LDL cholesterol by one unit cuts the chance of dying about 10%. People who take their medication on time are 30% to 45% less likely to die than those who often miss doses. +- Benefit: meta-analyses of randomized trials: for each 10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure, all-cause mortality RR 0.87, major cardiovascular events RR 0.80, stroke RR 0.73, heart failure RR 0.72; with statins, each 1.0 mmol/L reduction in LDL gives all-cause mortality RR 0.90, major vascular events RR 0.78. Adherence meta-analysis (observational): statin and antihypertensive users with ≥80% adherence vs poor adherence, all-cause mortality RR 0.55 and 0.71 respectively. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Ettehad D 等 (2016). Blood pressure lowering for prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. ；Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' (CTT) Collaboration (2010). Efficacy and safety of more intensive lowering of LDL cholesterol: a meta-analysis of data from 170 000 participants in 26 randomised trials. Lancet. ；Chowdhury R 等 (2013). Adherence to cardiovascular therapy: a meta-analysis of prevalence and clinical consequences. European Heart Journal. +- Notes: This holds only for people with an indication for the drugs; healthy people don't need them. The adherence numbers are observational — "people who stick to their medication are more self-disciplined to begin with" inflates the effect, and the two randomized-trial figures above are more reliable. This section does not list blood sugar control separately: the evidence that intensive glucose lowering lowers all-cause mortality is less consistent than for blood pressure and lipids. + +### 9. Sleep about 7 hours a night, on a fixed schedule + +- Cost: time (for most people, swapping phone-scrolling time for sleep); a fixed schedule takes a little discipline. +- In plain terms: people who chronically sleep under 7 hours are about 10% more likely to die over the same period; the more chaotic your schedule, the higher the risk — the most regular sleepers are 20% to nearly 50% less likely to die than the least regular, so regularity matters more than duration. +- Benefit: meta-analysis (observational, 16 studies, 1.38 million people, 113,000 deaths): short sleepers all-cause mortality RR 1.12, long sleepers RR 1.30. Dose-response meta-analysis: with 7 hours as the low point, each hour below 7 gives RR 1.06, each hour above 7 RR 1.13. UK Biobank wrist-tracker data on about 61,000 people (observational): the four most regular sleep quintiles vs the least regular, all-cause mortality 20%–48% lower; regularity predicts mortality better than duration. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Cappuccio FP 等 (2010). Sleep duration and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Sleep. ；Yin J 等 (2017). Relationship of Sleep Duration With All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Events: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies. JAHA. ；Windred DP 等 (2024). Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration: A prospective cohort study. Sleep. +- Notes: The higher risk of long sleepers is mostly reverse causation (depression, chronic disease, and sleep apnea make people sleep more), so there is no need to deliberately cut sleep; short sleep and irregularity are what deserve fixing. The regularity evidence currently comes from a single cohort, which on its own is grade B. + +### 10. Accumulate 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week; brisk walking counts + +- Cost: 20–45 minutes a day; free. +- In plain terms: people who briskly walk 150–300 minutes a week are about 30% less likely to die over the same period than those who don't exercise; even falling short of the target still cuts it by about 20%, and training up to three to five times that amount bottoms out the risk (about 40% lower) — beyond that it stops falling, with no harm. +- Benefit: pooled analysis of multiple cohorts (observational): meeting 1–2 times the guideline minimum (7.5–15 MET·h/week, roughly 150–300 minutes of brisk walking a week) vs no exercise, all-cause mortality HR 0.69; even below the minimum HR 0.80; at 3–5 times, HR 0.61 and no further decline, though more is not harmful (≥10 times HR 0.69). Meta-analysis using accelerometer measurement: highest vs lowest quartile of moderate-to-vigorous activity HR 0.52. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Arem H 等 (2015). Leisure time physical activity and mortality: a detailed pooled analysis of the dose-response relationship. JAMA Internal Medicine. ；Ekelund U 等 (2019). Dose-response associations between accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time and all cause mortality: systematic review and harmonised meta-analysis. BMJ. +- Notes: Observational; the accelerometer studies have short follow-up and older samples, and the HRs contain reverse causation, so the true effect should be smaller than magnitudes like 0.52. Choose this or item 4 in this section — either one. + +### 11. Play a racket sport three times a week, 45 minutes each + +- Cost: court fees of tens of yuan per session; about 2 hours a week. +- In plain terms: people who regularly play tennis, badminton, or table tennis are about half as likely to die over the same period as those who don't, and about 56% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease; swimming cuts it about 28%, while running and soccer show no difference in this dataset. +- Benefit: UK cohort of 80,300 people: relative to not doing the sport, racket sports (tennis, badminton, table tennis) had an all-cause mortality hazard ratio of 0.53 (95% CI 0.40–0.69), cardiovascular death 0.44 (0.24–0.83); swimming 0.72 and 0.59; aerobics 0.73 and 0.64; cycling 0.85; no significant association seen for running or soccer. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Oja P, Kelly P, Pedisic Z, et al. (2017). Associations of specific types of sports and exercise with all-cause and cardiovascular-disease mortality: a cohort study of 80 306 British adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(10), 812-817. +- Notes: Contested. Observational — racket players are healthier and more socially connected to begin with; the lack of a significant association in the running group also points to selection effects. Don't conclude from this that running is useless; this section has a separate entry on total exercise volume. + +### 12. Accumulate four or five minutes a day of incidental vigorous activity like stair climbing and brisk walking + +- Cost: 0 yuan; no need to carve out extra exercise time. +- In plain terms: for people who never otherwise exercise, just three bursts of one or two minutes of vigorous activity a day (climbing stairs, hurrying on foot) make them about 40% less likely to die over the same period than those with none at all, and nearly half as likely to die of cardiovascular disease. +- Benefit: UK Biobank, 25,200 non-exercisers, mean follow-up 6.9 years, 852 deaths: 3 bouts a day of 1–2 minutes of incidental vigorous activity, relative to none at all, cut all-cause and cancer mortality by 38%–40% and cardiovascular mortality by 48%–49%; a daily total of 4.4 minutes corresponded to 26%–30% lower all-cause and cancer mortality and 32%–34% lower cardiovascular mortality. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Stamatakis E, Ahmadi MN, Gill JMR, et al. (2022). Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality. Nature Medicine, 28, 2521-2529. +- Notes: Contested. Measured by wearables rather than questionnaires, so more reliable — but still observational, and follow-up was only 6.9 years. The study population was people who did no exercise at all; it does not apply to those who already exercise regularly. + +### 13. Do 30–60 minutes of strength training a week + +- Cost: 1–2 sessions a week of 20–30 minutes each; bodyweight squats and push-ups are free. +- In plain terms: people who do 30–60 minutes of strength training a week are 10% to 20% less likely to die over the same period than those who don't, and training more stops adding benefit; it works best combined with aerobic exercise. +- Benefit: cohort meta-analysis (observational): those doing strength training vs those not, all-cause mortality 10%–17% lower; the dose-response is J-shaped, with the largest reduction (about 10%–20%) at roughly 30–60 minutes/week, no further gain beyond that; strength plus aerobic vs neither, all-cause mortality lower still. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Momma H 等 (2022). Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine. +- Notes: Observational, self-reported exercise volume. The evidence for the rising right arm of the J-curve is thin, so don't limit training on its account. For older adults there are additional benefits — fall prevention and muscle preservation — which belong to section 1. + +### 14. Don't sit continuously for too long; get up and move every so often + +- Cost: zero; set yourself a reminder. +- In plain terms: the heaviest sitters are 2.6 times as likely to die over the same period as the lightest, and long uninterrupted sitting spells count on top of that. But 60–75 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a day essentially cancels out the extra risk from sitting. +- Benefit: US cohort (observational, accelerometers): highest vs lowest quartile of total sedentary time, all-cause mortality HR 2.63; longest vs shortest quartile of continuous uninterrupted sitting HR 1.96 — total volume and bout length are each independently associated. Pooled analysis of a million people (observational): sitting >8 hours a day and barely exercising vs sitting <4 hours and most active, HR 1.59; about 60–75 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a day offsets the excess risk from sitting (the most active group sitting >8 hours had HR 1.04, not significant). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Diaz KM 等 (2017). Patterns of Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in U.S. Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A National Cohort Study. Annals of Internal Medicine. ；Ekelund U 等 (2016). Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women. Lancet. +- Notes: Observational — the heaviest sitters include many frail people, and a magnitude like HR 2.63 clearly contains reverse causation. The reliable conclusion: how much you move matters more than how long you sit, and with enough exercise the sitting risk largely disappears; TV viewing ≥3 hours/day carries risk at every activity level, and even the most active only push the threshold out to ≥5 hours (HR 1.16). + +### 15. Eat less processed meat (ham, bacon, sausage, luncheon meat) + +- Cost: zero — it even saves money; a small sacrifice in taste. +- In plain terms: people who eat the most ham, bacon, and sausage are about 20% more likely to die over the same period than those who eat the least; each extra serving of processed meat a day adds about 20%. +- Benefit: meta-analysis (observational): highest vs lowest intake of processed meat, all-cause mortality RR 1.23; total red meat RR 1.29, unprocessed red meat RR 1.10 (not significant); another meta-analysis by dose: each additional serving/day of processed meat RR 1.23, red meat each additional serving/day RR 1.10. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Larsson SC, Orsini N (2014). Red meat and processed meat consumption and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology. ；Schwingshackl L 等 (2017). Food groups and risk of all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. +- Notes: Controversy: the NutriRECS guideline (Johnston BC et al. (2019). Unprocessed Red Meat and Processed Meat Consumption: Dietary Guideline Recommendations From the NutriRECS Consortium. Annals of Internal Medicine. ) graded the evidence as low certainty under GRADE and issued a weak recommendation to "maintain current intake." The dispute is over evidence quality, not direction — no study says processed meat is beneficial. The effect for unprocessed red meat is small and not significant; the focus is processed meat. + +### 16. Drink little or no alcohol + +- Cost: a bit of awkwardness at social occasions; saves money. +- In plain terms: past 100 g of pure alcohol a week (about 2.5 L of beer), the more you drink the sooner you die: at age 40, drinking 100–200 g a week costs about half a year of life, 200–350 g costs one to two years, and over 350 g costs four to five. On overall health, the best value is zero. +- Benefit: pooled analysis of 83 prospective studies, 600,000 current drinkers (observational): all-cause mortality lowest at ≤100 g pure alcohol a week (about 2.5 L of 5% beer or 300 mL of 40° baijiu); at age 40, 100–200 g/week shortens life expectancy by about 6 months, 200–350 g by 1–2 years, >350 g by 4–5 years (the original reports life-years). GBD 2016: aggregating all health losses, the drinking level with the lowest risk is 0 drinks/week. Meta-analysis correcting for study-design bias: light drinking (1.3–24 g/day) vs lifetime abstainers RR 0.93 (not significant), 45–64 g/day RR 1.19, ≥65 g/day RR 1.35. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Wood AM 等 (2018). Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption: combined analysis of individual-participant data for 599 912 current drinkers in 83 prospective studies. Lancet. ；GBD 2016 Alcohol Collaborators (2018). Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet. ；Zhao J 等 (2023). Association Between Daily Alcohol Intake and Risk of All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses. JAMA Network Open. +- Notes: Contested. The J-curve side: meta-analysis of 34 prospective studies (Di Castelnuovo A et al. (2006). Alcohol dosing and total mortality in men and women: an updated meta-analysis of 34 prospective studies. Archives of Internal Medicine. ) reported light drinking lowered all-cause mortality by up to 17%–18%, with an inverse association persisting at ≤4 drinks/day for men and ≤2 for women. The opposing side argues "non-drinkers" are contaminated by people who quit for health reasons and by people in worse overall health; Zhao 2023 found the protective effect disappears after correcting for these biases, and GBD 2018 also ranked 0 as safest. The safe reading: drinking little does not noticeably shorten life, drinking a lot certainly does, and "starting to drink for your health" has no basis. + +### 17. Eat a small handful of nuts every day + +- Cost: 28 g a day, roughly 200–300 yuan a year. +- In plain terms: people who regularly eat nuts are about 20% less likely to die over the same period than those who don't; even once a week shows a difference (about 10% lower), and the effect is clearest at daily frequency. +- Benefit: two US cohorts, 119,000 people, over 3 million person-years: relative to eating no nuts, all-cause mortality hazard ratio less than 1 serving a week 0.93 (95% CI 0.90–0.96), once a week 0.89 (0.86–0.93), 2–4 times a week 0.87 (0.83–0.90), 5–6 times a week 0.85 (0.79–0.91), 7 or more times a week 0.80 (0.73–0.86). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Bao Y, Han J, Hu FB, et al. (2013). Association of nut consumption with total and cause-specific mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(21), 2001-2011. +- Notes: Observational cohorts — nut eaters have better overall lifestyles, so discount the numbers. Choose unsalted, plain nuts; they are not low in calories, so don't snack on them without limit. + +### 18. Swap part of your red meat for fish and poultry + +- Cost: 0 yuan — a substitution, not an addition. +- In plain terms: two extra servings of processed or red meat a week raise the chance of dying over the same period by about 3%; swapping in the same number of servings of fish or poultry shows no such rise. This item's effect is on the small side for this section — something to switch on a whim, not to fight over. +- Benefit: pooled analysis of six US cohorts, nearly 30,000 people: two additional servings a week of processed meat, all-cause mortality hazard ratio 1.03 (95% CI 1.02–1.05); two additional servings a week of unprocessed red meat 1.03 (1.01–1.05); poultry in the same eating pattern 0.99 (0.97–1.02), fish 0.99 (0.97–1.01), neither statistically significant. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Zhong VW, Van Horn L, Greenland P, et al. (2020). Associations of Processed Meat, Unprocessed Red Meat, Poultry, or Fish Intake With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine, 180(4), 503-512. +- Notes: The effect size for two servings a week is tiny — don't expect swapping meat to extend your life; the value of this item lies in which kind of meat you pick when spending the same money. + +### 19. Swap part of your refined rice and white flour for whole grains + +- Cost: brown rice, oats, and whole-wheat noodles cost slightly more; the texture takes getting used to. +- In plain terms: people who eat an extra 90 g of whole grains a day (about three servings) are about 17% less likely to die over the same period, and the risk keeps falling up to roughly 200 g a day. +- Benefit: meta-analysis (observational): each additional 90 g/day of whole grains (about 3 servings), all-cause mortality RR 0.83, with benefits continuing up to 210–225 g/day; another meta-analysis, each additional serving/day RR 0.92. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Aune D 等 (2016). Whole grain consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all cause and cause specific mortality: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ. ；Schwingshackl L 等 (2017). Food groups and risk of all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. +- Notes: Observational — whole-grain eaters are healthier overall, so the effect is probably inflated; heterogeneity between studies is high (I² 83%). You don't have to switch everything; even half is already on the steep part of the dose-response curve. + +### 20. Drink tea more than three times a week + +- Cost: tens to a few hundred yuan a year. +- In plain terms: habitual tea drinkers are about 15% less likely to die over the same period; counted from age 50, that averages 1.26 extra years of life and 1.41 extra years free of cardiovascular disease. +- Benefit: Chinese cohort of 100,900 people, median follow-up 7.3 years (China-PAR): habitual tea drinkers had an all-cause mortality hazard ratio of 0.85 (95% CI 0.79–0.90); starting from age 50, habitual tea drinkers had 1.41 more years free of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and 1.26 more years of life expectancy. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Wang X, Liu F, Li J, et al. (2020). Tea consumption and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: The China-PAR project. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 27(18), 1956-1963. +- Notes: Contested. Observational — among Chinese men, tea drinkers have higher rates of smoking and drinking; the authors adjusted for this, but residual confounding is inevitable. Don't drink it scalding hot; see the item in this section on beverage temperature. + +### 21. Drink three to four cups of coffee a day, no sugar and no cream topping + +- Cost: a yuan or two a day if you brew it yourself. +- In plain terms: people who drink three to four cups of coffee a day are about 17% less likely to die over the same period than those who don't. +- Benefit: umbrella review covering a meta-analysis of 201 observational studies: 3–4 cups a day vs none, relative risk for all-cause mortality 0.83 (95% CI 0.79–0.88), i.e. 17% lower. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Poole R, Kennedy OJ, Roderick P, et al. (2017). Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ, 359, j5024. +- Notes: Contested. The original authors stated that the evidence is almost entirely observational and that "reliable randomized controlled trials are needed to judge whether this is causal." Different story for pregnant women and people with arrhythmia, anxiety, or insomnia; adding sugar or cream topping cancels out the benefit. + +### 22. Eat 5 servings (about 400 g) of fruit and vegetables a day + +- Cost: a few to a dozen-odd yuan a day; plus time for washing and cutting. +- In plain terms: each extra 200 g of fruit and vegetables a day cuts the chance of dying over the same period by about 10%; people who hit 5 servings a day are about 13% less likely to die than those who eat only 2, and more than that stops lowering the risk. +- Benefit: meta-analysis (observational): each additional 200 g/day, all-cause mortality RR 0.90, with benefits continuing up to 800 g/day; two US cohorts plus a meta-analysis of 26 cohorts: 5 servings a day vs 2, all-cause mortality HR 0.87, with 2 servings of fruit + 3 of vegetables optimal, and no further reduction beyond that. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Aune D 等 (2017). Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. International Journal of Epidemiology. ；Wang DD 等 (2021). Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies of US Men and Women and a Meta-Analysis of 26 Cohort Studies. Circulation. +- Notes: Observational, with obvious confounding (people who eat more vegetables differ in income, education, and exercise), so RR 0.90 is an upper-bound magnitude. The two studies agree on what counts as enough: 5 servings does it, 10 is unnecessary. + +### 23. Eat less ultra-processed food (chips, instant noodles, pastries, ready meals) + +- Cost: you have to cook yourself or pick whole ingredients; moderate cost in time and willpower. +- In plain terms: people who eat the most ultra-processed food are about 20% more likely to die over the same period than those who eat the least, and 50% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease. That said, the certainty of this evidence has been graded as low, so discount the numbers accordingly. +- Benefit: umbrella review (pooling observational meta-analyses): high vs low intake of ultra-processed food, all-cause mortality RR 1.21, cardiovascular death RR 1.50; the evidence grading was "highly suggestive" and "convincing" respectively, but GRADE certainty was low/very low. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Lane MM 等 (2024). Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ. +- Notes: Controversy: the NOVA classification lumps foods with very different nutritional profiles into one category, and it overlaps heavily with sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meat (items 2 and 10 in this section), so the independent effect is hard to isolate and the GRADE rating is low. After you have done items 2 and 10, the marginal benefit of this item is uncertain; the counter-evidence is the low-certainty grading itself in the same review — there are currently no original studies pointing the other way. + +### 24. Don't drink sweetened drinks, sugar-free ones included + +- Cost: 0 yuan — it saves money. +- In plain terms: people who drink more than two soft drinks a day are about 17% more likely to die over the same period than those who have less than one a month; diet drinks come in about 26% higher, higher than the sugared ones — mostly because people who already have a disease are the ones who switch to diet versions. Don't conclude that sweeteners are more toxic, but don't treat them as a safe substitute either. +- Benefit: European cohort across 10 countries, 450,000 people: more than two soft drinks a day vs less than one a month, all-cause mortality hazard ratio 1.17 (95% CI 1.11–1.22); of which sugar-sweetened beverages 1.08 (1.01–1.16), artificially sweetened beverages 1.26 (1.16–1.35). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Mullee A, Romaguera D, Pearson-Stuttard J, et al. (2019). Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries. JAMA Internal Medicine, 179(11), 1479-1490. +- Notes: Contested. The stronger association for artificially sweetened drinks is most likely reverse causation: people switch to the sugar-free version only after becoming overweight or diabetic. But it at least shows there is no evidence behind "just switch to sugar-free and you're fine." + +### 25. Don't burn coal or wood for cooking and heating; switch to electricity or gas + +- Cost: for rural households, new stove plus fuel costs several hundred to a thousand-odd yuan a year; urban residents have mostly already made the switch. +- In plain terms: people who cook with coal or wood are about 10% more likely to die over the same period, and those who heat with them about 14%; those who have switched to electricity or gas are 13%–33% less likely to die than those still burning solid fuels. +- Benefit: China Chronic Disease Prospective cohort (observational, 271,000 adults without cardiovascular disease): solid fuel vs clean fuel for cooking, all-cause mortality HR 1.11, solid fuel for heating HR 1.14; those who had switched from solid to clean fuels vs those still using solid fuels, cooking HR 0.87, heating HR 0.67. Outdoor PM2.5: meta-analysis of 104 cohorts, for each 10 µg/m³ of long-term exposure, RR 1.08 for death from natural causes. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Yu K 等 (2018). Association of Solid Fuel Use With Risk of Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality in Rural China. JAMA. ；Chen J, Hoek G (2020). Long-term exposure to PM and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environment International. +- Notes: Observational; households that switch fuels also tend to be wealthier, so HR 0.67 contains confounding. What an individual can do about outdoor PM2.5 is limited (moving, masks, air purifiers), and no studies have death as an endpoint for air purifiers, so this section gives no numbers there. + +### 26. Let hot things sit a while before drinking; don't drink scalding tea, soup, or coffee + +- Cost: 0 yuan; wait an extra two or three minutes. +- In plain terms: drinking very hot tea makes esophageal cancer 8 times as likely as drinking warm tea, and merely "hot" tea still doubles it; drinking within two minutes of pouring carries 5 times the risk of waiting four minutes or more. Letting it sit for two minutes cuts most of this risk away. +- Benefit: 300 cases and 571 controls from a high-incidence esophageal cancer region in northern Iran: relative to warm tea, the odds ratio for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was 2.07 (95% CI 1.28–3.35) for "hot" tea and 8.16 (3.93–16.9) for "very hot" tea; drinking within 2 minutes of pouring vs waiting 4 minutes or more, 5.41 (2.63–11.1). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Islami F, Pourshams A, Nasrollahzadeh D, et al. (2009). Tea drinking habits and oesophageal cancer in a high risk area in northern Iran: population based case-control study. BMJ, 338, b929. ；Loomis D, Guyton KZ, Grosse Y, et al. (2016). Carcinogenicity of drinking coffee, mate, and very hot beverages. Lancet Oncology, 17(7), 877-878. +- Notes: The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies beverages above 65 °C as Group 2A (probably carcinogenic), while finding coffee itself non-carcinogenic. Esophageal cancer runs high in the Chaoshan and Taihang Mountain regions of China, linked to the habit of drinking while scalding hot. + +### 27. Get out in the sun during the day; don't go all day without light + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a dozen-odd minutes a day, commuting and lunch break are enough. +- In plain terms: women who deliberately avoid the sun live 0.6–2.1 years less than those who get the most sun; the authors put it this way — non-smokers who avoid the sun have a life expectancy similar to the smokers in the sunniest group. +- Benefit: Swedish cohort of 29,500 women, 20 years of follow-up: relative to the group with the most sun exposure, sun avoiders had 0.6 to 2.1 years less life expectancy; the authors wrote that "non-smokers who avoided sun exposure had a life expectancy similar to smokers in the group with the greatest sun exposure." +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Lindqvist PG, Epstein E, Nielsen K, et al. (2016). Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death: a competing risk analysis of the Melanoma in Southern Sweden cohort. Journal of Internal Medicine, 280(4), 375-387. +- Notes: Contested. Sweden is high-latitude with little sunshine, so the conclusion doesn't transfer directly to China; people who avoid the sun may already be frail and housebound. Sun exposure raises skin cancer risk — don't burn, and still cover up in strong midday light. + +### 28. Keep BMI between 20 and 25; lose weight if overweight + +- Cost: the biggest willpower item on the list: long-term adherence to diet plus exercise, and keeping it off after losing it is harder still. +- In plain terms: the chance of dying is lowest at BMI 20–25; at BMI 27.5–30 it is about 20% higher, at 30–35 about 45% higher, and at 35–40 nearly double. East Asians are more sensitive to overweight — every 5 points of BMI adds about 40%. +- Benefit: individual-data meta-analysis of 239 prospective studies (observational, restricted to never-smokers with no chronic disease at baseline who survived at least 5 years): all-cause mortality lowest at BMI 20–25, 25–27.5 HR 1.07, 27.5–30 HR 1.20, 30–35 HR 1.45, 35–40 HR 1.94, 40–60 HR 2.76; above BMI 25, each 5 kg/m² in East Asian populations HR 1.39. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Global BMI Mortality Collaboration (2016). Body-mass index and all-cause mortality: individual-participant-data meta-analysis of 239 prospective studies in four continents. Lancet. +- Notes: Controversy: the "obesity paradox" side (Flegal KM et al. (2013). Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. ) pooled an HR of 0.94 for overweight and 0.95 for grade-1 obesity — i.e. mild overweight was slightly lower. The disagreement mainly stems from whether smokers, the already ill, and early follow-up (people seriously ill lose weight first) are excluded; after Global BMI excluded them, the risk of overweight reappeared. Also, no randomized trial has shown that weight loss itself lowers all-cause mortality; the benefit is inferred from cross-sectional comparison and cannot be taken directly as a discount "you get once you lose the weight." + +### 29. Eat chili peppers more than four times a week + +- Cost: 0 yuan. +- In plain terms: people who eat chili peppers more than four times a week are about 23% less likely to die over the same period than those who rarely eat them, and about a third less likely to die of cardiovascular disease. +- Benefit: Italian cohort of 22,800 people, median follow-up 8.2 years, 1,236 deaths: eating chili more than 4 times a week vs rarely, all-cause mortality hazard ratio 0.77 (95% CI 0.66–0.90), cardiovascular death 0.66 (0.50–0.86). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Bonaccio M, Di Castelnuovo A, Costanzo S, et al. (2019). Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality in Italian Adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 74(25), 3139-3149. +- Notes: Contested. An observational study set against a Mediterranean diet background — chili eaters may simply eat closer to the traditional pattern overall. People with gastroesophageal reflux, hemorrhoids, or irritable bowel will have worse symptoms from chili; no need to force it. + +### 30. Have one or two servings of milk or yogurt a day + +- Cost: a few yuan a day. +- In plain terms: people who drink two or more servings of milk or yogurt a day are about 17% less likely to die over the same period than those who drink none. +- Benefit: PURE cohort, 136,000 people from 21 countries, mean follow-up 9.1 years, 6,796 deaths: two or more servings of dairy a day vs none, all-cause mortality hazard ratio 0.83 (95% CI 0.72–0.96, trend P=0.0052). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Dehghan M, Mente A, Rangarajan S, et al. (2018). Association of dairy intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 21 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study. Lancet, 392(10161), 2288-2297. +- Notes: Contested. PURE includes many low- and middle-income countries, where drinking milk daily is itself a marker of economic means, and the confounding is hard to fully remove. People with lactose intolerance should switch to yogurt or low-lactose milk rather than forcing it down. + +### 31. No need to give up eggs, but don't eat three or four a day + +- Cost: 0 yuan. +- In plain terms: each extra half whole egg a day raises the chance of dying over the same period by about 7%; swapping that half for egg white, fish, poultry, or nuts actually lowers every cause of death. No need to give up eggs — just don't eat three or four a day. +- Benefit: US cohort of 521,000 people, 129,000 deaths: each additional half whole egg a day, all-cause mortality hazard ratio 1.07 (95% CI 1.06–1.08); substituting an equivalent amount of egg white, poultry, fish, dairy, or nuts and legumes for that half whole egg gave lower all-cause, cardiovascular, cancer, and respiratory mortality. +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Zhuang P, Wu F, Mao L, et al. (2021). Egg and cholesterol consumption and mortality from cardiovascular and different causes in the United States: A population-based cohort study. PLoS Medicine, 18(2), e1003508. +- Notes: Heavily contested. Other large cohorts and meta-analyses have found no association between eggs and mortality, and the US dietary guidelines have dropped the daily cholesterol cap. This item only argues against three or four a day; one egg a day is nothing to worry about. + +### 32. Take a bath when you can, not just a quick shower + +- Cost: water and electricity bills; half an hour each time. +- In plain terms: people who bathe almost every day have about 28% lower risk of cardiovascular events than those who bathe less than twice a week, and about 46% lower risk of cerebral hemorrhage. +- Benefit: Japanese cohort of 30,000 people, 19 years of follow-up, 2,097 cardiovascular events: bathing almost every day vs no more than twice a week, hazard ratio for cardiovascular events 0.72 (95% CI 0.62–0.84), coronary heart disease 0.65 (0.45–0.94), stroke 0.74 (0.62–0.87), cerebral hemorrhage 0.54 (0.40–0.73). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Ukai T, Iso H, Yamagishi K, et al. (2020). Habitual tub bathing and risks of incident coronary heart disease and stroke. Heart, 106(10), 732-737. +- Notes: Contested. A result from the Japanese population and bathtub culture; most households in China cannot bathe daily. Water that is too hot or baths that run too long are dangerous in themselves for the elderly and for people with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease — a large number of elderly Japanese die suddenly in the bathtub each year. From fd669351c8f3a239c517661c49a3059d64ed6f1f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:18 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 07/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch03:=20Do=20Not=20Waste=20Energy=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/03-Do-Not-Waste-Energy.md | 175 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 175 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/03-Do-Not-Waste-Energy.md diff --git a/book/en/03-Do-Not-Waste-Energy.md b/book/en/03-Do-Not-Waste-Energy.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..ed146f9a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/03-Do-Not-Waste-Energy.md @@ -0,0 +1,175 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 3. Don't Waste Energy + +This section only counts energy and time: usable attention per day, reaction speed, error rates, and recovery time after interruptions. All numbers come from direct measurements in experiments or cohort studies, not converted into lifespan or mortality. Most items carry an evidence grade of B, which is the norm in this field and does not mean the advice is unsound. +### 1. Turn off non-essential notifications and keep the phone out of sight while working + +- Cost: A few minutes of setup; almost no willpower required +- In plain terms: When a phone pings, even if you don't look at it or touch it, your score on an attention task drops — by roughly the same amount as if you had actually answered a call or read a text. Even just having your phone sit on the desk while you resist looking at it leaves your brain less working capacity to spare, and the more attached you are to your phone, the bigger the drop. +- Benefit: Merely receiving a notification (without looking at or touching the phone) significantly lowers performance on attention tasks, with an effect size comparable to actually taking a call or texting (laboratory study, university students); two experiments show that even when people successfully resist checking their phone, the mere presence of their own phone reduces available cognitive capacity, with the largest decline among the most phone-dependent +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Stothart, Mitchum & Yehnert (2015). The attentional cost of receiving a cell phone notification. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. ；Ward, Duke, Gneezy & Bos (2017). Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One's Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. +- Notes: These are all single laboratory tasks; the cumulative effect in everyday work has not been directly measured. Jobs that genuinely require being on call can keep notifications for a small number of contacts only + +### 2. Fix your wake-up time, weekends included + +- Cost: Free; gives up sleeping in on weekends, needs a bit of willpower +- In plain terms: The most chaotic fifth of people run a body clock about 2.5 hours later than the most regular fifth — the equivalent of living in permanent jet lag. The more regular a student's schedule, the better their grades. +- Benefit: 61 university students tracked for 30 days: the least regular fifth had a circadian rhythm about 2.5 hours later than the most regular fifth (melatonin onset 00:08 vs 21:32), with peak sleepiness about 1.8 hours later; schedule regularity correlated with academic performance (r = 0.37) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Phillips et al. (2017). Irregular sleep/wake patterns are associated with poorer academic performance and delayed circadian and sleep/wake timing. Scientific Reports. +- Notes: Single cohort, observational, small sample. Modeling suggests the rhythm differences mainly come from different light exposure, so a fixed wake-up time only works when paired with morning light + +### 3. Sleep 7 to 8 hours a night; don't treat 6 hours as enough + +- Cost: Set aside an extra 1 to 2 hours per day for sleep +- In plain terms: Sleep only 6 hours a night for two weeks in a row and your brain performs at the level of someone who has gone without sleep for two days and two nights straight. The catch is you can't feel it: subjective sleepiness rises for the first few days and then stops rising, and people sleeping 6 hours rate themselves exactly as sleepy as people sleeping 4. So the statement "6 hours is enough for me" is itself a symptom of sleep debt. +- Benefit: 48 healthy adults aged 21 to 38 slept only 6 hours per night for 14 consecutive days, and cognitive performance declined cumulatively to the level seen after 2 nights of total sleep deprivation; meanwhile subjective sleepiness scores rose only in the first few days and then barely increased, with no difference in subjective sleepiness between the 6-hour and 4-hour groups (RCT); acute sleep deprivation (up to 48 hours) has an effect size of g = -0.776 on simple-attention lapses and g = -0.125 on reasoning accuracy (meta-analysis of 70 studies) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Van Dongen, Maislin, Mullington & Dinges (2003). The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness. Sleep. ；Lim & Dinges (2010). A meta-analysis of the impact of short-term sleep deprivation on cognitive variables. Psychological Bulletin. +- Notes: The key point is that "I don't feel sleepy" is not evidence of adequate sleep — people who chronically sleep 6 hours adapt subjectively, but their performance does not. The meta-analysis covers acute total deprivation; the effect size for chronic restriction comes from a single RCT + +### 4. No caffeine after two in the afternoon + +- Cost: Zero; people in the habit of afternoon coffee need a little willpower +- In plain terms: A large coffee (400 mg) drunk 6 hours before bed costs you a measured hour or more of sleep that night — yet your own sleep diary shows no difference at all. A regular cup of coffee (107 mg) has to be finished more than 8.8 hours before bedtime to leave sleep untouched — for someone going to bed at eleven, two in the afternoon is the cutoff. +- Benefit: 400 mg of caffeine taken 6 hours before bedtime reduced objectively monitored total sleep time by 1.1 to 1.2 hours versus placebo, while participants' sleep diaries reported no difference — that is, they could not detect it themselves; meta-analysis: caffeine reduces total sleep time by 45 minutes on average and sleep efficiency by 7%, and a cup of coffee (107 mg) must be consumed more than 8.8 hours before bedtime to avoid affecting sleep +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Drake, Roehrs, Shambroom & Roth (2013). Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. ；Gardiner et al. (2023). The effect of caffeine on subsequent sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews. +- Notes: Drake is a single laboratory study and its 400 mg dose is on the high side (about two to three cups of coffee). Slow caffeine metabolizers need an earlier cutoff. The benefit here is measured in sleep duration and stacks with item 3 + +### 5. Batch email and messages at fixed times a few times per day + +- Cost: Free; requires telling colleagues your reply rhythm; moderate willpower +- In plain terms: The same people, two weeks, compared against themselves: in the week when email was limited to checking 3 times a day, everyday stress was noticeably lower — while the number of emails sent and received stayed the same. Unrestricted, people check email an average of 15.5 times a day. +- Benefit: 124 adults in a two-week within-subject comparison: in the week limited to checking email 3 times a day, daily stress was significantly lower than in the unrestricted week (Cohen's d = 0.37), with no difference in the number of emails received or replied to across the two weeks; at baseline, people checked email an average of 15.5 times per day +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Kushlev & Dunn (2015). Checking email less frequently reduces stress. Computers in Human Behavior. +- Notes: Single study, small-to-medium effect size, and the outcome measured is stress rather than output. Instant messaging has not been studied directly; only analogy applies + +### 6. Block out even a few seconds of interruption when doing work that needs sustained thinking + +- Cost: Closing a door, wearing headphones, or hanging up a "do not disturb" sign; free +- In plain terms: A single interruption averaging 2.8 seconds doubles the chance of making an error on the next step; a 4.4-second interruption triples it. Field tracking shows the interrupted task takes about 25 minutes on average to get back to — with two other tasks squeezed in along the way. The people being interrupted work faster, but their stress, frustration, and effort are all higher. +- Benefit: An interruption averaging 2.8 seconds doubled the step error rate in a sequential task, and a 4.4-second interruption tripled it (laboratory); field observation of 24 information workers: work topics switched every 11 minutes on average, 57% of work topics were interrupted, resuming the interrupted work took an average of 25 minutes 26 seconds that day, with 2.26 other tasks interleaved in between; the interrupted participants worked faster but reported higher stress, frustration, time pressure, and effort (experiment with 48 participants) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Altmann, Trafton & Hambrick (2014). Momentary interruptions can derail the train of thought. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. ；Mark, Gonzalez & Harris (2005). No task left behind? Examining the nature of fragmented work. CHI 2005. ；Mark, Gudith & Klocke (2008). The cost of interrupted work: More speed and stress. CHI 2008. +- Notes: The field study separates external interruptions from self-initiated internal ones; closing the door only blocks the former. Use together with items 1 and 5 + +### 7. Do one thing at a time; don't reply to messages during meetings + +- Cost: Zero; needs a little willpower +- In plain terms: Every time you switch tasks, reactions get slower and errors more likely. People who routinely run several screens at once have not trained up a multitasking ability — they actually perform worse on task-switching tests. +- Benefit: After a task switch, responses are significantly slower and errors more frequent (review); heavy media multitaskers are more easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and irrelevant memories, and perform worse on task-switching tests (laboratory, university students) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Monsell (2003). Task switching. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. ；Ophir, Nass & Wagner (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. PNAS. +- Notes: The exact percentage cost of switching depends heavily on the task type, so no single number is given here. Ophir is a cross-sectional comparison and cannot distinguish "multitasking causes poor attention" from "people with poor attention multitask more" + +### 8. No light-emitting screens in the hour before bed; if you must read, use paper or e-ink + +- Cost: Free; requires willpower +- In plain terms: Reading on a light-emitting screen before bed takes about 10 minutes longer to fall asleep than reading a paper book, suppresses melatonin by 55%, and pushes your body clock back more than 1.5 hours — leaving you sleepier the next morning and slower to fully wake. +- Benefit: Laboratory crossover trial: reading a light-emitting e-book before bed took about 10 minutes longer to fall asleep than reading a paper book (25.7 vs 15.8 minutes), suppressed evening melatonin by 55%, and delayed the next day's circadian rhythm by more than 1.5 hours (melatonin onset 22:31 vs 21:01), with greater morning sleepiness and longer time to full alertness the next day +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Chang, Aeschbach, Duffy & Czeisler (2015). Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. PNAS. +- Notes: Small sample, controlled laboratory conditions; the effect at everyday phone brightness and usage duration may be smaller. How much night mode reduces the effect was not measured in this study + +### 9. Go to bed on time; don't stay up for games, short videos, or porn + +- Cost: Free; requires long-term resistance to the "one more episode" pull — keeping the phone out of the bedroom takes the least effort +- In plain terms: In 2025, people in China slept an average of 6.97 hours a night and fell asleep at 0:10 on average. People who use a phone or tablet before bed are more than twice as likely to get insufficient sleep and 2.7 times as likely to be sleepy during the day; the numbers are similar when the device merely sits in the bedroom unused — so the simplest fix is not to bring the phone into the bedroom at all. +- Benefit: In 2025, residents of China slept an average of 6.97 hours at night, with an average sleep onset time of 0:10 (Chinese Sleep Research Society). Bedtime use of portable devices is associated with insufficient sleep (OR 2.17), poor sleep quality (OR 1.46), and daytime sleepiness (OR 2.72), and the same holds when the device is merely present in the bedroom but unused (OR 1.79/1.53/2.27) (meta-analysis of 20 cross-sectional studies, 125198 children and adolescents); among 844 adults aged 18 to 94, those who still used their phone after lights-out fell asleep more slowly, had lower sleep efficiency, and were more fatigued during the day (cross-sectional) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Carter et al. (2016). Association Between Portable Screen-Based Media Device Access or Use and Sleep Outcomes. JAMA Pediatrics. ；Exelmans & Van den Bulck (2016). Bedtime mobile phone use and sleep in adults. Social Science & Medicine. ；中国睡眠研究会 (2026). 2026 中国睡眠健康研究白皮书（福建省卫健委转载健康报报道）. +- Notes: Contested: the cost of staying up late itself is covered in item 3 of this section; there is no reliable causal evidence on how porn affects ordinary people's energy and cognition — one systematic review and meta-analysis argues that "porn problems" stem more from a mismatch between personal values and behavior than from the content itself (Grubbs et al. 2019, ), and another study pooling data from 280 men found that viewing time was unrelated to erectile function in partnered sex (Prause & Pfaus 2015, ); what this item targets is only the sleep time porn displaces. TODO (to verify: the original page on the Chinese Sleep Research Society website is dynamically loaded and could not be scraped; the figures follow the provincial health commission's repost) + +### 10. Make no major decisions and send no important messages late at night + +- Cost: Free; it only means pushing things to after you wake up +- In plain terms: People kept awake for 49.5 hours take a risky-decision experiment: when well rested, they quickly learn to avoid high-risk options; once sleep-deprived, they pick the high-risk ones over and over — and the older they are, the stronger the effect. Messages sent and decisions made late at night work the same way. +- Benefit: 34 healthy adults performed the Iowa Gambling Task (an experiment measuring risky decision-making) after 49.5 hours without sleep; when rested they quickly learned to avoid high-risk options, but after sleep deprivation they chose high-risk options more often, with older participants more affected (experiment, single study) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Killgore, Balkin & Wesensten (2006). Impaired decision making following 49 h of sleep deprivation. Journal of Sleep Research. +- Notes: The study covers the extreme case of two consecutive sleepless nights; the effect of ordinary staying-up until two in the morning has not been directly measured. The "no messages" part is experience-based (C) — sending them the next day is not too late + +### 11. When afternoon drowsiness hits, nap 10 minutes, not half an hour + +- Cost: 10 minutes plus somewhere to lie down or rest your head +- In plain terms: A 10-minute nap perks you up on the spot and the effect lasts about two and a half hours; 5 minutes does basically nothing; 20 minutes only kicks in half an hour later; after 30 minutes you wake into a stretch of grogginess during which you perform worse than if you hadn't napped at all. +- Benefit: After a night of restricted sleep, a 10-minute nap immediately improved sleepiness, fatigue, vigor, and cognitive performance, with part of the benefit lasting to 155 minutes later; 5 minutes produced almost no benefit; the benefit of 20 minutes only appeared 35 minutes later; a 30-minute nap was followed first by a stretch of sleep inertia (performance worse right after waking) before improving +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Brooks & Lack (2006). A brief afternoon nap following nocturnal sleep restriction: Which nap duration is most recuperative? Sleep. +- Notes: Single laboratory study, healthy young adults. If you can't fall asleep, don't force it — there is no research-backed benefit to simply lying with eyes closed for 10 minutes + +### 12. Use earplugs or find a quiet room for memory-heavy work when working in an open-plan office + +- Cost: Earplugs cost a few dozen yuan; booking a meeting room takes some time +- In plain terms: When background noise rises from 39 decibels to 51, fewer words get remembered, people feel more tired, and motivation to work drops. Watching a nature video with sound during breaks restores energy better than going on listening to office noise. +- Benefit: Students working in a simulated open office: when background noise rose from 39 dB to 51 dB (LAeq), they remembered fewer words, rated themselves as more fatigued, and showed reduced motivation; during breaks, watching a nature film with sound restored vigor ratings better than listening to river sounds alone or to office noise +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Jahncke, Hygge, Halin, Green & Dimberg (2011). Open-plan office noise: Cognitive performance and restoration. Journal of Environmental Psychology. +- Notes: Single laboratory study. The main harm from noise comes from intelligible human speech; white-noise headphones help with that, but headphones were not tested in this study + +### 13. Keep working hours under 49 hours a week + +- Cost: Possibly less overtime pay, or the cost of negotiating with your manager +- In plain terms: Output records from British munitions factories in World War I: up to 49 hours a week, output grows with hours worked; past 49 hours, the gains start falling away, and a 70-hour week produces almost exactly as much as a 56-hour week — the extra 14 hours are wasted. +- Benefit: Output records of workers in British munitions factories during World War I: up to 49 hours per week, output was proportional to hours; above 49 hours, output gains diminished, peaking around 63 hours, with output at 70 hours almost no different from 56 hours — that is, the extra 14 hours were wasted +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Pencavel (2015). The Productivity of Working Hours. The Economic Journal. +- Notes: The data come from manual labor, century-old factories, and a predominantly female workforce; the threshold need not be the same for knowledge work, and the author himself said other trades could be higher or lower. The directional conclusion (marginal output approaches zero past some point) is more reliable than the specific figure of 49 + +### 14. When you catch yourself replaying the same upsetting thing, switch to a hands-on task + +- Cost: Free; requires noticing that you are ruminating, which itself takes practice +- In plain terms: Going over the same upsetting thing again and again doesn't produce an answer — it deepens depression, nails negative thoughts in more firmly, leaves you less able to solve the problem and less likely to actually act, and it wears out the people around you who were willing to listen. Once you notice you're circling in place, go do something that involves your hands. +- Benefit: Review: rumination worsens depression, strengthens negative thinking, impairs problem-solving, hinders concrete action, and drains social support; it is associated with anxiety, binge eating, heavy drinking, and self-harm +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco & Lyubomirsky (2008). Rethinking Rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science. +- Notes: This is the hardest item to quantify in energy terms; the review gives direction, not numbers. "Switching to another task" is the author's own practice; what the literature supports is that distraction beats continued rumination — which specific task has not been comparatively studied + +### 15. Treat thoughts like "things will definitely get worse" as a symptom, not as fact + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: In a twin study with 20 years of follow-up, each step up on the pessimism scale came with roughly 13% higher probability of dying in the same period, and roughly 20% higher for cardiovascular death; conversely, high optimism scores brought no corresponding benefit. So what needs handling is pessimism, not "insufficient positivity." +- Benefit: 2978 Australian twins aged over 50, mean follow-up 20 years, 1068 deaths: each 1 standard deviation higher on the pessimism scale, total mortality hazard ratio 1.134 (95% CI 1.065–1.207, P=8.85×10⁻⁵), cardiovascular death 1.196 (1.045–1.368, P=0.0093), no association with cancer death; optimism scores showed no significant association with mortality +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Whitfield JB, Zhu G, Landers JG, Martin NG (2020). Pessimism is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but optimism is not protective. Scientific Reports, 10, 12609. +- Notes: Contested. Observational study; the authors rebut reverse causation by arguing that if illness caused pessimism, cancer deaths should also be associated — but residual confounding remains. Note that optimism has no protective effect, so there is no need to force yourself to "think positive"; what to do is stop treating pessimistic expectations as accurate forecasts of the future + +### 16. Cut down on draining relationships and learn to refuse requests you don't want to take on + +- Cost: Short-term social friction, possibly losing some relationships; requires considerable willpower +- In plain terms: The damage done by one person who drains you is bigger, and more consistent, than the benefit brought by one who supports you. So subtract first, add later. +- Benefit: A survey of 120 widowed women aged 60 to 89: negative social interactions were more consistently and more strongly associated with psychological well-being than positive ones — that is, the loss caused by one draining person outweighs the gain from one supportive person +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: Rook (1984). The negative side of social interaction: Impact on psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. +- Notes: Special sample and cross-sectional data; the outcome measured is well-being rather than energy, and placing this item in this section is the author's inference. There is no objective standard for which relationships count as "draining" — you can only judge for yourself + +### 17. Fix low-value decisions like what to wear and what to eat + +- Cost: Free; a little time up front to settle on defaults +- In plain terms: There is no hard evidence for this one. The original experiment behind "making choices drains willpower" failed twice in large-scale replications (multi-lab replications with two thousand and then three thousand participants, effects essentially zero). Fixing what you wear and eat is still worth doing — the reason is the saved minutes and fewer rounds of deliberation, not "saving willpower." +- Benefit: Not quantifiable. The original experiments claimed that making choices and exerting self-control deplete a shared limited resource (ego depletion), but two large pre-registered multi-lab replications failed to reproduce this: 23 laboratories, 2141 participants, d = 0.04, 95% CI [-0.07, 0.15]; 36 laboratories, 3531 participants, d = 0.06, not significant +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven & Tice (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. ；Hagger et al. (2016). A Multilab Preregistered Replication of the Ego-Depletion Effect. Perspectives on Psychological Science. ；Vohs et al. (2021). A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect. Psychological Science. +- Notes: Contested. "Decision fatigue" is treated as settled in popular books, but the laboratory evidence largely fell apart in the replication crisis. This item is kept only because its cost is nearly zero and the time saved is real; don't expect it to improve your judgment in the afternoon + +### 18. Walk away first when angry; treat the other person as weather, not as an enemy + +- Cost: Free; holding your tongue on the spot, turning and leaving, then deciding later whether to deal with it takes a little practice +- In plain terms: Reinterpreting what just happened, or briefly putting yourself in the other person's shoes, both genuinely bring the emotion down (the latter works better); suppressing it and keeping a straight face does nothing. Also, people who punished the offender ended up ruminating on the incident for longer afterward, while those who didn't retaliate moved on faster — the satisfaction revenge will bring is something people overestimate in advance. +- Benefit: Meta-analysis of 306 experimental comparisons: reappraising what happened (cognitive reappraisal) had an effect of d = 0.36 on emotion, taking the other person's perspective d = 0.45, distraction d = 0.27, and suppressing feelings was ineffective (d = -0.04); three experiments showed that people who punished an offender ruminated on them longer afterward, those who did not punish "moved on" faster, and people overestimated in advance the satisfaction revenge would bring +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Webb TL, Miles E, Sheeran P (2012). Dealing with feeling: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological Bulletin. ；Carlsmith KM, Wilson TD, Gilbert DT (2008). The paradoxical consequences of revenge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. +- Notes: The meta-analysis measures emotion intensity, not energy; effect sizes are small to medium, and the revenge studies are a single series of experiments — hence the B. "The empty boat" is a parable from Zhuangzi's "Shan Mu": an empty boat bumping into you provokes no anger, while a crewed one does, even though the bump is identical — this is an analogy, not evidence. If there is a real loss, take the legal route in sections 8 and 9; it is far cheaper than blowing up on the spot. + +### 19. When feeling low, first do the highest-value-for-effort things: move, get sunlight, sleep on schedule, talk to someone, call 12356 + +- Cost: Free or minimal; brisk walking, jogging, or strength training a few times a week, going outdoors in daylight during the day, a fixed schedule, one phone call +- In plain terms: For depression, brisk walking and jogging worked best across these 218 trials, with yoga and strength training slightly behind — the higher the intensity, the better it works; light exposure is strongly effective for seasonal depression and also works for the non-seasonal kind; online self-help cognitive behavioral courses help, and having a person guide you works better when symptoms are heavier. If things feel unbearable, call 12356 first. +- Benefit: Network meta-analysis of 218 randomized controlled trials, 14170 people: versus active controls, walking or jogging had an effect of g = -0.62 on depression (95% credible interval -0.80 to -0.45), yoga -0.55, strength training -0.49, with higher intensity working better; light therapy meta-analysis: effect size 0.84 (0.60 to 1.08) for seasonal depression, 0.53 (0.18 to 0.89) for non-seasonal depression; individual-participant-data network meta-analysis of internet cognitive behavioral therapy (online self-help courses): both guided and unguided outperformed control, with guided better for moderate-to-severe cases (PHQ-9 above 9); the 12356 national psychological assistance hotline operates no fewer than 18 hours a day +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Noetel M 等 (2024). Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ. ；Golden RN 等 (2005). The efficacy of light therapy in the treatment of mood disorders: a review and meta-analysis of the evidence. American Journal of Psychiatry. ；Karyotaki E 等 (2021). Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Network Meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. ；国家卫生健康委 (2024). 关于应用"12356"全国统一心理援助热线电话号码的通知（国卫医政函〔2024〕259 号）. +- Notes: These are adjuncts for mild-to-moderate depression; moderate-to-severe cases and anyone with suicidal thoughts should seek medical care, calling 12356 first (see section 1, item 16). The exercise trials are mostly small and cannot be blinded; the light therapy research dates to 2003 and has small samples; "sleep on schedule" and "talk to someone" are the author's experience, with no dedicated citations. Don't treat "get moving" as a demand to place on depressed people — a ten-minute walk counts. From 3fd786f3f661a57fc74c95beb69ace2ae4795ee5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:18 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 08/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch04:=20Do=20Not=20Waste=20Time=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/04-Do-Not-Waste-Time.md | 134 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 134 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/04-Do-Not-Waste-Time.md diff --git a/book/en/04-Do-Not-Waste-Time.md b/book/en/04-Do-Not-Waste-Time.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..91fdd77a2 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/04-Do-Not-Waste-Time.md @@ -0,0 +1,134 @@ +[← Back to main contents](../README.md) + +# 4. Don't Waste Time + +This section only runs the numbers on time: how many hours can be saved per day, per week, or per year, or how much task completion rates improve. Nothing is converted into lifespan or into money; where money comes up, only the calculation method is given, not conclusions. For most entries the evidence is a single study or time-use statistics, and the grades are mostly B or C. +### 1. Turn "planning to do" into "at what time, where, doing what when X happens" + + +- Cost: for each task, spend 1 to 2 minutes writing one "if...then..." sentence (e.g. "if I sit down at my desk at 8 a.m. Tuesday, I start with the introduction"), no money +- In plain terms: rewrite "I will do it" as "if I sit down at my desk at 8 a.m. Tuesday, I start with the introduction". Across 94 tests, goal attainment rates rose noticeably — a medium-to-large effect. All you change is how one sentence is written; it costs no money and no effort. +- Benefit: a meta-analysis of 94 independent tests found that people who form implementation intentions reach their goals more often, effect size d = 0.65 (medium to large), covering getting started, resisting distractions, and withdrawing from failing routes +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119. +- Notes: it only works for things you genuinely want to do — if you don't actually want the goal, no amount of writing helps; the samples are mostly students and health-behavior studies, so extrapolating to work settings needs caution + +### 2. Write down exit conditions before starting + + +- Cost: 5 minutes at project kickoff to write down "if by such-and-such date the metric hasn't been reached, stop", no money; a bit of pride at stake when executing +- In plain terms: before starting, write down "if by such-and-such date I haven't hit this metric, I stop". Studies of the same kind show that writing it this way also helps people pull out of things that are headed for failure. What you save is all the time you would otherwise keep pouring in. +- Benefit: the implementation-intentions meta-analysis shows that pre-set "if...then..." plans also promote disengagement from failing courses of action; what you save is all the time that would otherwise keep going in +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119. +- Notes: the disengagement effect is a sub-result within the meta-analysis, with no separate time-savings figure; set exit conditions during the calm planning phase — deciding after the fact gets skewed by what you've already sunk in (see next entry) + +### 3. When deciding whether to continue, look only at future costs and future returns, not at what's already been invested + + +- Cost: no money; requires accepting the fact that "the time already spent is gone" +- In plain terms: money and time already sunk make people want to keep going, and that shows up consistently across 98 datasets. So when judging whether to continue, count only "how much more I'd have to put in and what I could still get back" — leave out what's already spent. +- Benefit: money, effort, and time already invested make people more inclined to continue (the sunk-cost effect); a meta-analysis of 98 effect sizes confirms the effect is robust; avoiding it saves the follow-on time that would otherwise be chained by "not wanting to waste it" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Arkes, H. R., & Blumer, C. (1985). The psychology of sunk cost. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35, 124–140. ；Roth, S., Robbert, T., & Straus, L. (2015). On the sunk-cost effect in economic decision-making: A meta-analytic review. Business Research, 8(1), 99–138. +- Notes: Arkes & Blumer's theater experiments could only be verified to a qualitative conclusion (people who paid more for season tickets attended more performances over six months); the per-group attendance figures remain unverified; Roth et al. found the effect weakens over time and that older people are less affected + +### 4. Estimate task duration from actual time spent on past similar tasks, not from the plan + + +- Cost: no money; a few minutes before estimating to check how long the last similar task actually took +- In plain terms: students estimated 33.9 days to finish a thesis and actually took 55.5 days; only 29.7% finished by their own estimate. The group told to first recall how long their last similar task took saw on-time completion rise from 29.3% to 60.0%. +- Benefit: students predicted 33.9 days to finish a thesis, took 55.5 days, and only 29.7% finished on their own schedule; once asked to link past experience to the current task, on-time completion rose from 29.3% in the control group to 60.0%, and the optimism bias disappeared +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Buehler, R., Griffin, D., & Ross, M. (1994). Exploring the "planning fallacy": Why people underestimate their task completion times. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(3), 366–381. ；Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). From Nobel Prize to project management: Getting risks right. Project Management Journal, 37(3), 5–15. ；Halkjelsvik, T., & Jørgensen, M. (2012). From origami to software development: A review of studies on judgment-based predictions of performance time. Psychological Bulletin, 138(2), 238–271. +- Notes: Buehler's sample was Canadian university students, a single study with small samples (37 people, and about 40 per group); reference-class forecasting for engineering projects is described in Flyvbjerg; the Halkjelsvik review notes underestimation is more common than overestimation, but effect sizes vary widely with the task and the research method + +### 5. Send an agenda before the meeting; no agenda, no meeting; stand up when you can + + +- Cost: 5 to 10 minutes before the meeting for the organizer to write an agenda; stand-up meetings need participants to go along +- In plain terms: participants rate meetings with an agenda as more effective; in the experiment, meetings held sitting down ran 34% longer than stand-ups, with no difference in decision quality. +- Benefit: in two surveys (958 people and 292 people), using an agenda was a significant predictor of perceived meeting effectiveness; in the experiment, 55 groups meeting seated ran 34% longer than 56 groups standing, with no difference in decision quality +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Leach, D. J., Rogelberg, S. G., Warr, P. B., & Burnfield, J. L. (2009). Perceived meeting effectiveness: The role of design characteristics. Journal of Business and Psychology, 24(1), 65–76. ；Bluedorn, A. C., Turban, D. B., & Love, M. S. (1999). The effects of stand-up and sit-down meeting formats on meeting outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2). +- Notes: the stand-up experiment used 5-person groups on lab tasks, so don't extrapolate directly to long or large meetings; Leach's finding is about "perceived effectiveness", not objective output + +### 6. Cut the number of meetings; if it can be settled in writing asynchronously, don't meet + + +- Cost: needs coworkers and your manager to go along; writing a clear paragraph takes a bit more effort than speaking +- In plain terms: the more meetings you have in a day, the more worn out you are and the higher your perceived workload. The time saved by cutting a meeting is simply the length of that meeting itself, at full value. +- Benefit: among employees working 35+ hours a week (two surveys, 676 people and 304 people), how meeting time relates to work attitudes and well-being is moderated by meeting quality and task interdependence; a week-long diary study showed the more meetings in a day, the higher fatigue and perceived workload. Time saved equals the duration of the meetings cut, one for one +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Rogelberg, S. G., Leach, D. J., Warr, P. B., & Burnfield, J. L. (2006). "Not another meeting!" Are meeting time demands related to employee well-being? Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(1). ；Luong, A., & Rogelberg, S. G. (2005). Meetings and more meetings: The relationship between meeting load and the daily well-being of employees. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 9(1). +- Notes: controversy: Rogelberg 2006 found the relationship between meeting load and well-being is not one-directional — in roles highly dependent on others, many meetings are not actually bad; no study has directly compared asynchronous replacement against meetings; the async-replacement claim is the author's inference + +### 7. Break big tasks into subtasks before estimating and starting + + +- Cost: 5 to 15 minutes to do the breakdown itself, no money +- In plain terms: people don't automatically split a task into parts when estimating how long it will take; listing the subtasks first cuts a chunk off the underestimation. And once it's split, every small step can start immediately, which makes it harder to put off. +- Benefit: people do not spontaneously break multi-faceted tasks into subparts when estimating (writing the literature review, writing the discussion, organizing references, etc.); listing subtasks before estimating reduces the planning fallacy; once broken down, each small step becomes an action that can start immediately, which also lowers procrastination (strong predictors of procrastination include task aversiveness and task delay) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Kruger, J., & Evans, M. (2004). If you don't want to be late, enumerate: Unpacking reduces the planning fallacy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40(5), 586–598. ；Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1). +- Notes: Kruger & Evans was verified only to the abstract's qualitative conclusion, not to specific percentages; over-fragmenting itself eats time — aim for "each subtask finishable in one sitting" + +### 8. Set your own deadline for tasks that have no external one + + +- Cost: no money; once set, you have to honor it — otherwise it's as if you never set it +- In plain terms: students with an external deadline, 80.6% finished in time; those working to their own predicted time, only 38.7%. Completion time is almost dictated by the deadline and only weakly tied to one's own estimate — so for anything without a deadline, set one yourself and hold yourself to it. +- Benefit: 80.6% of students with an external deadline finished before it, while only 38.7% finished within their own predicted time; completion time correlated strongly with the deadline (r = 0.82) and only weakly with one's own prediction +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Buehler, R., Griffin, D., & Ross, M. (1994). Exploring the "planning fallacy": Why people underestimate their task completion times. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(3), 366–381. +- Notes: what the research confirms is the effect of external deadlines; self-set deadlines (timeboxes, pomodoros and the like) have not been directly tested — that's an analogy; telling other people your self-set deadline makes it behave more like an external one + +### 9. Use your hourly wage to decide which chores to outsource + + +- Cost: outsourcing fees; you need to run the calculation once first +- In plain terms: on average people in China spend 1 hour 17 minutes a day on housework, and among those who actually do it, 1 hour 59 minutes. People who spend money to buy time report higher life satisfaction, and the same amount of money spent buying time feels better in the moment than buying things. +- Benefit: Chinese residents average 1 hour 17 minutes of housework per day; those who do housework average 1 hour 59 minutes (2024 survey, 38,500 households and 107,000 people); in a four-country sample of 6,271 people, people who spend money to save time report higher life satisfaction, and in a field experiment buying time brought higher moment-to-moment happiness than buying material goods +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Whillans, A. V., Dunn, E. W., Smeets, P., Bekkers, R., & Norton, M. I. (2017). Buying time promotes happiness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ；国家统计局 (2024). 第三次全国时间利用调查公报（第二号）. +- Notes: the calculation: hourly wage = monthly after-tax income ÷ monthly actual working hours; if the price of outsourcing a chore is below your hourly wage and you would genuinely spend the saved time on income or rest, outsource it. Method only, no conclusions, since everyone's hourly wage and outsourcing prices differ; Whillans's result is on the happiness dimension, not the time dimension + +### 10. Set hard caps on short videos and aimless scrolling + + +- Cost: a lot of willpower; requires turning off notifications, deleting apps, or setting app time limits +- In plain terms: people in China average 5 hours 37 minutes online per day, and among internet users it's 6 hours 3 minutes; in 2018 the same measure was only 2 hours 42 minutes. This is the biggest number in the whole book's time accounting — cut one hour from it and you gain 365 hours a year. +- Benefit: Chinese residents average 5 hours 37 minutes of internet use per day, users average 6 hours 3 minutes, participation rate 92.9% (2024); in 2018 the same measure was 2 hours 42 minutes. This is the largest figure in this section; cutting one hour of it equals 365 extra hours a year +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国家统计局 (2024). 第三次全国时间利用调查公报（第二号）. ；国家统计局 (2019). 2018年全国时间利用调查公报. ；TODO（待核实：CNNIC 第55次/第56次《中国互联网络发展状况统计报告》中的网民人均每周上网时长与短视频用户规模，官方 PDF 无法提取文本，数字未核实） +- Notes: internet use time includes work, study, and socializing — it is not all waste; the C grade is because no study has quantified "how much time is clawed back after restricting use and where it goes" — there are only aggregate statistics + +### 11. Skip TV and rolling news; check needed information at set times in batches + + +- Cost: moderate willpower; you may miss some breaking news +- In plain terms: Americans aged 15 and over watch 2.6 hours of TV a day, half of all their leisure time; people in China average 1 hour 40 minutes, and adults aged 75 to 84 watch 3 hours 16 minutes. Batch the information you need at set times, and what you save is this entire block. +- Benefit: Americans aged 15 and over watch 2.6 hours of TV per day, half of all leisure time (5.2 hours) (2025); Chinese residents average 1 hour 40 minutes of TV per day, with the 75-to-84 age group at 3 hours 16 minutes (2018) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026). American Time Use Survey — 2025 Results. ；国家统计局 (2019). 2018年全国时间利用调查公报. +- Notes: only aggregate statistics exist; no study has quantified where time goes after cutting TV/news; the "batching" approach is the author's own practice + +### 12. Spend time once to learn keyboard shortcuts and automation in your everyday software + + +- Cost: a one-time investment of a few hours to a few dozen hours; slower than the mouse at first +- In plain terms: most people who have used Word for years are still clicking the toolbar, while in a controlled experiment shortcuts were the fastest of three input methods. Learning is a one-time cost; after that, every operation pays it back a little every day — the longer you do the same kind of work, the more you come out ahead. +- Benefit: among 251 experienced Word users, most rarely used the more efficient shortcuts and still relied mainly on the icon toolbar; a controlled experiment confirmed shortcuts were the fastest of the three methods. Time saved accumulates with the number of daily operations; people who do the same kind of work for years gain the most +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Lane, D. M., Napier, H. A., Peres, S. C., & Sándor, A. (2005). Hidden costs of graphical user interfaces: Failure to make the transition from menus and icon toolbars to keyboard shortcuts. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. +- Notes: the efficiency experiment had only 6 participants, and the abstract gives no seconds saved per operation; learn only operations you use more than ten times a day — learning everything is another form of waste + +### 13. When choosing where to live, put commute length first; shorten the one-way commute + + +- Cost: high — possibly higher rent or a smaller place, and moving itself takes time +- In plain terms: the longer the commute, the lower people's subjective well-being, and this loss is not paid back in wages or housing. Shave 30 minutes off each one-way trip and you free up 5 hours a week. +- Benefit: Chinese residents average 50 minutes of daily travel activity, participants 1 hour 2 minutes (2024); German panel data show that longer commutes systematically lower subjective well-being, with no compensation in income or housing; a review confirms commuting satisfaction falls with duration, regardless of mode. Shaving 30 minutes off the one-way commute saves about 5 hours a week +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Stutzer, A., & Frey, B. S. (2008). Stress that doesn't pay: The commuting paradox. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 110(2), 339–366. ；Chatterjee, K., et al. (2020). Commuting and wellbeing: A critical overview of the literature with implications for policy and future research. Transport Reviews, 40(1), 5–34. ；国家统计局 (2024). 第三次全国时间利用调查公报（第二号）. +- Notes: controversy: the review by Chatterjee et al. points out that a consistent link between commuting and overall life satisfaction has not been established, and people can generally trade better jobs or housing for the loss a long commute imposes; travel-activity statistics include all trips, not just commuting; shifting your commute off peak hours also compresses the same route From 134b569558f8601de15c6f3e2aa228a2c3fe69dd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:18 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 09/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch05:=20Do=20Not=20Waste=20Money=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md | 283 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 283 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md diff --git a/book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md b/book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..e8c684a19 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md @@ -0,0 +1,283 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 5. Don't Waste Money + +This section's unit of account is money: savings percentages, annualized return differences, and expected value — not converted into lifespan or time. Entries involving investments discuss only the algorithms and verified historical data; nothing here constitutes investment advice. +### 1. Turn off all auto-renewals and switch to manual renewal at expiry + +- Cost: a one-time 10 to 20 minutes going through the "automatic deductions" lists in Alipay/WeChat/Apple/Android; after that, one extra tap per renewal +- In plain terms: what you save is those subscriptions you stopped using long ago but that keep charging you every month. Going through the auto-deduction lists in Alipay, WeChat, Apple and Android takes well under 20 minutes; regulations require merchants to prominently notify you before charging and to give you a simple entry point for cancelling at any time. +- Benefit: the savings equal the total of subscriptions "no longer used but still being charged," which varies from person to person; regulators already require operators to prominently remind you before renewal and provide a "simple, cancel-anytime" option, and cancellation costs nothing extra (China, in force since 2021) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国家市场监督管理总局 (2021, 2025 修正). 网络交易监督管理办法（总局令第 37 号，第十八条）. +- Notes: for services you genuinely use often, annual payment is usually cheaper than monthly, and keeping auto-renewal can actually be the better deal; this item targets the part you "forgot is still being charged." + +### 2. Do your annual individual income tax reconciliation between March and June, and fill in every special additional deduction you qualify for + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a dozen or so minutes in the Individual Income Tax app +- In plain terms: if you worked only a few months in the year, changed jobs mid-year, or never filled in deductions like children's education, mortgage, rent or supporting elderly parents, the reconciliation usually gets you a refund, and it takes a dozen or so minutes on your phone. If your annual comprehensive income is under 120,000, or the tax you owe is under 400 yuan, you can skip it. +- Benefit: wages and salaries, labor remuneration, author's remuneration and royalties are combined, and you either get a refund or pay the difference. A 2023 announcement by the State Taxation Administration extended the exemption from filing through December 31, 2027: if annual comprehensive income does not exceed 120,000 yuan, or the tax due does not exceed 400 yuan, you may skip it. Conversely, if you had income in only a few months of the year, changed jobs mid-year, or left deductions like children's education, mortgage, rent or supporting elderly parents unfilled, you can usually get money back +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家税务总局 (2025). 个人所得税综合所得汇算清缴管理办法（第六条）及其解读. ；财政部、税务总局 (2023). 关于延续实施个人所得税综合所得汇算清缴有关政策的公告. +- Notes: if you owe tax, you must still file — not doing so is illegal. Special additional deductions cover children's education, continuing education, major medical expenses, housing loan interest, housing rent, supporting elderly parents, and care of infants under 3; you can choose only one of housing loan interest and housing rent + +### 3. Use your housing provident fund for more than buying a home: rent, renovation and property fees are all valid withdrawals, and from September 20, 2026 the revised regulation applies + +- Cost: one withdrawal application +- In plain terms: the housing provident fund is not locked to home purchases only. The revised regulation lists nine situations where you can withdraw, and renting, renovating your own home and paying property fees all count; once the fund center accepts your application, it must tell you yes or no within 3 days. +- Benefit: the revised regulation lists nine permitted withdrawal situations, including paying rent, renovating an owner-occupied home, and paying property fees for an owner-occupied home; the fund management center must decide whether to approve the withdrawal within 3 days of accepting the application +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 国务院关于修改《住房公积金管理条例》的决定（国务院令第 844 号，2026 年 7 月 31 日国务院第 93 次常务会议通过，「自2026年9月20日起施行」）：修改后第二十四条「职工有下列情形之一的，可以提取职工住房公积金账户内的存储余额：（一）支付房租的；（二）购买、建造、翻建、大修自住住房的；（三）偿还购房贷款本息的；（四）装修自住住房的；（五）支付自住住房物业费的；（六）离休、退休的；（七）完全丧失劳动能力，并与单位终止劳动关系的；（八）出境定居的；（九）国务院批准的其他住房消费情形。」；第二十五条「住房公积金管理中心应当自受理申请之日起3日内作出准予提取或者不准提取的决定」；第十八条缴存比例「均不得低于职工上一年度月平均工资的5％」. +- Notes: the money in the account is your own contributions plus the matching portion from your employer, and it only accrues interest at a very low rate while it sits there. The regulation also states that if a contributor dies or is declared dead, heirs and legatees may withdraw the balance. Required documents and local details are set by each local management center — check your local center's service guide before making the trip. + +### 4. Recalculate your mobile and broadband plans every year, downgrade the ones you don't use, and complain if the carrier won't let you switch + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a dozen or so minutes checking one bill +- In plain terms: old plans are often tens of yuan more expensive than what's on sale now — hundreds of yuan a year thrown away for nothing. Carriers may not refuse, block or delay number portability without a valid reason, and may not set special pricing just for porting users; if they hold your number hostage, complain. +- Benefit: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology rules explicitly state that carriers may not "refuse, obstruct or delay providing number portability services to users without a valid reason," may not "use technical means such as interception or restriction to affect the service quality of number-portability users," and may not "set special pricing and marketing schemes for number-portability users." Old plans are often tens of yuan more expensive than current plans, and leaving them untouched means throwing away several hundred yuan a year +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 工业和信息化部 (2019). 携号转网服务管理规定（工信部信管〔2019〕242 号）. +- Notes: first check your actual usage over the past six months in the carrier's app, then choose a plan based on that usage. When customer service says "downgrading requires a store visit" or "you can't change during the contract period," demand written justification, and if that fails, file a complaint via 12300 + +### 5. Don't buy lottery tickets + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: by regulation, the minimum share of sales that lottery-number games must pay out as prizes is 50%, and for the Double Color Ball it's 51% — every 1 yuan you bet returns 0.51 yuan on long-term average, a steady 49% loss. In 2024, 623.486 billion yuan was sold nationwide, of which 161.031 billion yuan went straight into the public welfare fund and never came back as prizes. +- Benefit: under Ministry of Finance rules, the minimum prize payout ratio is 50% of sales for lottery/number games, 65% for instant tickets, and 73% for sports betting; the Double Color Ball accrues prizes at 51% of sales, so every 1 yuan bet returns only 0.51 yuan in long-term expectation — an expected loss of 49%. In 2024, national lottery sales were 623.486 billion yuan, of which 161.031 billion yuan went into the public welfare fund and never reached buyers (China, 2024) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 财政部 (2015). 关于规范和加强彩票资金构成比例管理的通知（财综〔2015〕94 号）. ；财政部 (2025). 财政部公告 2025 年第 8 号（2024 年彩票公益金筹集分配情况）. ；中国福利彩票双色球游戏规则（第十四条）. +- Notes: the negative expected value is a result of how lotteries are designed, not a matter of luck; treating it as 2 yuan of entertainment per ticket rather than a financial decision is the only sensible framing. + +### 6. Walk away the moment you hear "high yield", "guaranteed principal" or "sure profit" + +- Cost: zero; you only need to stop when you hear those words +- In plain terms: in the regulators' own words: treat yields above 6% with a question mark, above 8% as very dangerous, and above 10% as ready to lose your entire principal. Legitimate wealth-management products are no longer allowed to promise principal protection or guaranteed returns; losses from illegal fundraising are borne by the participants themselves, and if things go wrong nobody bails you out. +- Benefit: the words of the then-chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission at the 2018 Lujiazui Forum: "yields above 6% deserve a question mark, above 8% are very dangerous, and above 10% you should be prepared to lose all your principal"; the new asset-management rules require that financial institutions "must not promise principal protection or guaranteed returns" and "must not advance funds to honor payments when redemption difficulties arise" — that is, legitimate wealth-management products no longer come with principal protection; losses from participating in illegal fundraising are "borne by the fundraising participants themselves," and after the fact nobody covers for you (China, 2018 and 2021) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 郭树清在第十届陆家嘴论坛的讲话（2018 年 6 月），天津市地方金融管理局转载. ；中国人民银行等 (2018). 关于规范金融机构资产管理业务的指导意见（银发〔2018〕106 号，第二条、第六条）. ；国务院 (2021). 防范和处置非法集资条例（国务院令第 737 号，第二十五条）. +- Notes: the 6%/8%/10% figures are rule-of-thumb thresholds given by the regulator, not legal provisions; TODO (to be verified: the original speech page on the former CBIRC website loads dynamically and could not be scraped; the quote follows the version republished by the Tianjin Local Financial Administration). Not investment advice. + +### 7. Don't pay only the credit card minimum, and don't take installment plans or consumer loans for spending + +- Cost: zero; you need to keep enough cash on hand to pay the bill in full before the due date +- In plain terms: the minimum payment is not a discount — it's a loan accruing interest daily, equivalent to roughly 18% annualized, and your interest-free grace period is voided on the spot, with interest charged on the full remaining principal. Judge rates by their annualized figure — the central bank already requires card issuers to display the annualized rate prominently and forbids showing only a "daily rate." +- Benefit: credit card overdraft rates were capped at a "daily rate of 0.05 per mille" before 2020, with a floor of 0.7 times that cap — equivalent to 18.25% annualized simple interest (from 2021, pricing became a matter negotiated between issuer and cardholder); after a minimum payment, interest accrues daily on the full remaining principal and the interest-free period lapses at the same time. The central bank requires issuers to display the annualized rate prominently and "not to display only the daily rate or daily repayment amount" — decide based on the annualized figure (China, 2020 notice) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 中国人民银行 (2020). 关于推进信用卡透支利率市场化改革的通知（银发〔2020〕327 号）. +- Notes: 18.25% comes from "0.05 per mille × 365" and is a simple-interest figure; compounding monthly would make it higher. Some banks offer discounts — go by the annualized rate published on your own statement. If you genuinely can't cover it, first look for a legitimate channel with a lower rate rather than letting minimum payments roll interest over. + +### 8. Don't tip streamers, don't top up games, don't impulse-buy + +- Cost: zero; a few minutes once to turn off password-free payments, set per-transaction and daily limits, and delete the payment methods linked in the platforms +- In plain terms: in 2024 domestic game revenue was 325.783 billion yuan with 674 million users, about 480 yuan per person. Money spent is essentially unrecoverable: the law only supports refunds for what minors spent without a parent's consent — adults have no such clause. The lowest-effort defense is turning off password-free payment, setting per-transaction and daily limits, and unlinking your payment methods. +- Benefit: this is a large category of spending: in 2024 the domestic game market's actual sales revenue was 325.783 billion yuan with 674 million users, about 480 yuan per person (derived by dividing the two figures). Money spent is essentially unrecoverable: only for tipping and top-ups by persons with limited civil capacity (minors) made without a guardian's consent does the rule that "the people's court shall support" a guardian's request for return apply; no such provision exists for adults' tipping and top-ups. Minors were already limited to 1 hour of online gaming, 8 to 9 p.m., on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (China, 2020 and 2021) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国家新闻出版署 (2024). 今年中国游戏市场收入超 3257 亿元创新高（中国音数协游戏工委《2024 年中国游戏产业报告》）. ；最高人民法院 (2020). 关于依法妥善审理涉新冠肺炎疫情民事案件若干问题的指导意见（二）（法发〔2020〕17 号，第 9 条）. ；国家新闻出版署 (2021). 关于进一步严格管理 切实防止未成年人沉迷网络游戏的通知（国新出发〔2021〕14 号）. +- Notes: grade B because there is no direct measurement of "how much not tipping saves," only aggregate figures; turning off password-free payment and setting limits is an experiential practice (C). The original text of Articles 19 and 145 of the Civil Code is quoted verbatim in the next entry. Not investment advice. + +### 9. For children's top-ups and tipping on phones: for large sums spent by those over eight without parental ratification, you can claim a refund + +- Cost: 0 yuan; it does take time to gather evidence and negotiate — platforms typically refuse first and refund later; if negotiation fails, only a lawsuit remains, which starts at months of time with attorney fees on you, so having the materials ready and going through the platform and 12315 first is the better deal +- In plain terms: money spent by a child over eight is void if the amount is clearly out of proportion to their age and intelligence and the parents neither consent nor ratify it — you can claim a refund; children under eight cannot make such decisions on their own in the first place. If the parents never take a position, the law treats it as refusal to ratify. +- Benefit: minors over eight years of age are persons with limited civil capacity, and civil juristic acts not suited to their age and intelligence are valid only with the consent or ratification of their statutory agent; those under eight are persons without civil capacity, and their acts are performed on their behalf by the statutory agent. If the statutory agent says nothing, this is deemed a refusal to ratify +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典. 最高人民检察院转载全文. 第十九条：「八周岁以上的未成年人为限制民事行为能力人，实施民事法律行为由其法定代理人代理或者经其法定代理人同意、追认；但是，可以独立实施纯获利益的民事法律行为或者与其年龄、智力相适应的民事法律行为。」第二十条：「不满八周岁的未成年人为无民事行为能力人，由其法定代理人代理实施民事法律行为。」第一百四十五条：「限制民事行为能力人实施的纯获利益的民事法律行为或者与其年龄、智力、精神健康状况相适应的民事法律行为有效；实施的其他民事法律行为经法定代理人同意或者追认后有效。」「法定代理人未作表示的，视为拒绝追认。」 +- Notes: the key is evidence: proving the operator was the child, not you. Useful materials include top-ups concentrated during school hours or when parents are at work, device usage records, the child's chat and game records, and the child's own account. There is no uniform monetary threshold for "suited to age and intelligence" — a skin costing a few dozen yuan and tens of thousands of yuan in tipping are not the same thing. Prevention is cheaper: set a password-free payment cap, enable youth mode, and never share your payment password with the child. For the side of this where you yourself tip and top up impulsively, see the entry "Don't tip streamers, don't top up games, don't impulse-buy" in this section. + +### 10. Teach your child one sentence: anyone who asks you to operate a parent's phone or read out a verification code is a scammer + +- Cost: 0 yuan; explain the six categories below to your child once and agree on a phrase — "if you get scammed, tell me first, I won't scold you"; meanwhile set a password-free payment cap, enable youth mode, and keep the payment password from the child +- In plain terms: these six scam formats differ in every detail except the final step, which is always the same action — getting the child to transfer money on a parent's phone or read out a verification code. So teaching one sentence is enough: whoever tells you to touch a parent's phone or read out a code is a scammer. Add "if you get scammed, tell me first, I won't scold you," and only then will the child dare to say it the same day, and only then is there a chance of getting the money back. +- Benefit: six categories of scams targeting minors, broken down by the Quanzhou anti-fraud center together with the Quanzhou education bureau — different setups but the same final step of making the child transfer money on a parent's phone: cheap off-platform private trades of game accounts and gear (after Xiao Wang privately transferred 260 yuan he was told "transfers by minors violate the rules, the account will be frozen"; using his father's phone he clicked a "verification link" and more than 30,000 yuan was taken from the account); "removing the anti-addiction limit" (threatening "transfer or it's cancelled and your parents go to jail"; 7,000 yuan was transferred on his mother's phone; the source states the anti-addiction system is an official setting and "there is no such thing as a 'private unlock' channel"); tipping refunds (someone posing as "official customer service" says minors' tips are refundable and demands "sending gifts to a designated livestream room from a parent's Alipay to process the refund"; 73,000 yuan was tipped from a mother's account and she was then blocked; the source: "if someone adds you asking you to 'send gifts for a refund', it is 100% a scam"); impersonating classmates or teachers (after stealing an account, sending a voice message saying their name and asking to borrow money; at the start of the school term, infiltrating class group chats posing as the teacher to demand "500 yuan in school fees" with the same avatar and nickname, and planting shills saying "already paid"); celebrity fandom (pulling the child into a "star's fan group, claim an 888 yuan red packet," first "verifying" with a 48.88 yuan transfer, then frightening them: "a minor participating is a violation, the platform will freeze 80,000 and your parents go to jail," scamming 16,000 yuan in total; the source: "real police and lawyers will never contact a minor online for an investigation, let alone ask to operate a parent's phone"); second-hand platforms luring buyers with underpriced goods into leaving the platform for private transfers. The same material lists three red lines for children themselves: never lend, sell or rent out bank cards or SIM cards (a card used to move stolen money may constitute the crime of assisting information network criminal activity, leaving a record that affects graduate school and civil service exams), "shoujikou" phone-relay side jobs are illegal, and overseas "high-paying jobs" may mean being controlled on arrival (nationwide, October 2025) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 泉州市反诈骗中心 (2025). 开学第一课｜反诈是青少年的必修课，这 6 大陷阱一定要避开！（福建省公安厅转载） +- Notes: grade B because the authorities provide script breakdowns and individual cases, with no statistics on incidence or prevention effectiveness. Keep this distinct from the previous entry: money a child tops up or tips themselves can be claimed back under the Civil Code, but money a child is scammed into transferring does not fall under that rule — you can only report to the police for payment interception as in Section 8, item 2, and recovery depends on whether the money is still in the account. The scammer's core line for frightening children is "you broke the rules and your parents go to jail"; explaining in advance that this very phrase is a hallmark of scams is more useful than questioning after the fact. The promise "tell me first, no scolding" must actually be kept — children hiding out of fear of being scolded is the common reason losses grew in these cases. For the adult version of impersonating acquaintances and for AI face-swapping, see Section 8, items 3 and 4. + +### 11. Decline extended warranties on electronics + +- Cost: zero; you bear the small-probability expense of a self-paid repair outside the warranty period +- In plain terms: extended warranties typically sell for 10% to 50% of the product's original price, while their gross margin is more than ten times that of ordinary goods — in 2003 Best Buy earned more than half its profits from extended warranties that made up only 3% to 4% of revenue. That gap is the extra money you're paying. +- Benefit: extended warranties are usually priced at 10% to 50% of the product's original price; industry estimates cited by research put the average gross margin on extended warranties at 50% to 60%, roughly 18 times that of ordinary goods, and in 2003 extended warranties accounted for only 3% to 4% of Best Buy's revenue yet more than 50% of its profit (United States, 2000s retail data) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Chen T, Kalra A, Sun B (2009). Why Do Consumers Buy Extended Service Contracts? Journal of Consumer Research 36(4):611-623. +- Notes: the gross margin figures are industry estimates cited second-hand in the paper (Business Week 2004), not the paper's own calculations; this applies to ordinary people who can absorb one repair bill — those who live off a single device with no backup are a different case. Screen-crack insurance for phones needs its own expected-value calculation based on your actual drop frequency. + +### 12. Prefer generics that passed consistency evaluation and drugs selected in centralized procurement + +- Cost: zero; one extra question at prescribing or purchase — "is there a centralized-procurement or generic-name version?" +- In plain terms: the second centralized-procurement round cut average prices by 53%, with a maximum cut of 93%; by April 2026, 11 rounds had been run covering 490 drugs. When a drug is prescribed or bought, one extra question — "is there a centralized-procurement one, a generic-name one?" — and the same ingredient costs far less. +- Benefit: the second round of nationally organized drug centralized procurement cut average prices by 53% and up to 93%; as of April 2026, 11 rounds had been conducted covering 490 drugs, with 1,695 drugs having passed or been deemed to have passed consistency evaluation — about 2/3 of commonly used chemical drugs in clinical practice (China, official data 2020 to 2026) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家医疗保障局 (2020). 第二批国家组织药品集中采购和使用工作答记者问. ；国家医疗保障局 (2026). 国务院政策例行吹风会：健全全周期全渠道药品价格形成机制. +- Notes: the controversy: entry into centralized procurement uses consistency evaluation as the quality threshold, and the official position is therapeutic equivalence; some clinicians question actual efficacy differences in individual products, but there is no citable systematic evidence. Ask the doctor before switching drugs — especially for long-term chronic-disease medication. + +### 13. Set up family mutual-aid linking once in the medical insurance app, and the money in your employee medical insurance individual account can pay for your spouse's, parents' and children's care and prescriptions + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one family mutual-aid binding at the medical insurance app or service office of the place where you're insured +- In plain terms: do the binding once and the money in your employee medical insurance individual account can pay for your spouse's, parents' and children's medical visits and prescriptions; without it, the money is only for your own use and just sits in the account. +- Benefit: the individual account can be used to pay medical expenses borne by the individual for the account holder and their spouse, parents and children when receiving care at designated medical institutions, as well as the individually borne costs of buying drugs, medical devices and medical consumables at designated retail pharmacies; the document also proposes exploring use for family members' individual contributions to urban-rural resident medical insurance +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2021). 关于建立健全职工基本医疗保险门诊共济保障机制的指导意见（国办发〔2021〕14 号）第（五）项：「个人账户主要用于支付参保人员在定点医疗机构或定点零售药店发生的政策范围内自付费用。可以用于支付参保人员本人及其配偶、父母、子女在定点医疗机构就医发生的由个人负担的医疗费用，以及在定点零售药店购买药品、医疗器械、医用耗材发生的由个人负担的费用。探索个人账户用于配偶、父母、子女参加城乡居民基本医疗保险等的个人缴费。个人账户不得用于公共卫生费用、体育健身或养生保健消费等不属于基本医疗保险保障范围的支出。」 +- Notes: many people have several thousand yuan sitting in their individual account while an elderly relative at home pays for medication out of pocket. The binding takes effect long-term after being done once; locally it is usually called "family mutual aid," handled in your local medical insurance app. Mind the reverse red line: the individual account cannot be used for fitness or wellness purchases, and using it to buy health supplements at a pharmacy to cash out is insurance fraud. + +### 14. Drink boiled tap water instead of buying bottled water year-round + +- Cost: time to boil water plus a small gas/electricity charge; a kettle +- In plain terms: Beijing's first-tier water price works out to 0.005 yuan per liter; bottled water at 1 yuan per 500 ml comes to 2 yuan per liter — a 400-fold difference. Tap water is governed by a mandatory national standard, so boiling it before drinking is enough day to day; if a water source really fails and the water turns smelly or cloudy, that isn't solved by boiling a few more minutes — stop using it and report it. +- Benefit: Beijing's first-tier residential water price is 5 yuan/cubic meter, i.e. 0.005 yuan/liter; bottled water at 1 yuan/500 ml is 2 yuan per liter, 400 times that of tap water. Drinking water is governed by the mandatory national standard GB 5749-2022 (issued March 15, 2022, in force from April 1, 2023; regulator: the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration) (China, 2015 water pricing and 2022 standard) +- Evidence grade: C (contested) +- Sources: 北京市发展和改革委员会. 居民用水价格表. ；国家市场监督管理总局 国家标准全文公开系统. GB 5749-2022 生活饮用水卫生标准. ；杭州市联合调查组 (2025). 关于杭州市余杭区部分小区供水异常调查情况通报（2025 年 7 月 23 日），新华网转载 ；杭州市余杭区人民政府. 余杭区 2025 年 4 月／5 月／6 月水源水水质监测数据（杭州余杭水务控股集团公开，检测单位杭州嘉澍环境监测有限公司，附件 PDF 表 1 第 24 项「粪大肠菌群」） 、、；公安部网络安全保卫局 (2025). 编造虚假「警情通报」，捏造「粪水」谣言，邵某豪被刑事拘留 +- Notes: the dispute: "compliance" governs water leaving the plant and water at the taps, and when a source or the pipe network fails, that can briefly lapse. On July 16, 2025, raw water at the Renhe plant in Yuhang, Hangzhou developed abnormal odor; tap water turned foul-smelling in parts of Renhe and Liangzhu. The official conclusion was sulfur-ether compounds from anaerobic algae degradation; after switching the water source, total coliform and E. coli in the plant's output were both not detected and the full analysis met GB 5749-2022; 7 officials were held accountable, July water fees were waived in full and filter cartridges replaced free. Yet fecal coliform levels at the same source had been climbing for months (at the Yongsheng intake on the Tiao River: 10 per liter in April, 7,300 in May, 16,000 in June — over the GB 3838 Class III limit of 10,000 per liter; in the same month, Siling Reservoir at 28,000 per liter and Mantoushan Reservoir at 24,000 per liter also exceeded it). So: boiling kills microorganisms but does not remove odor compounds or dissolved chemicals; if the water smells off or looks yellow or cloudy, stop using it, report it to the water utility and via 12345, and temporarily switch to bottled water rather than hoping a few extra minutes of boiling will cover it. Still, that was a localized one-off accident with per-incident compensation locally, so it does not justify buying bottled water year-round. The rumor about a "fecal pipe hooked up wrong" was a forged police bulletin, and its publisher has been criminally detained (see Section 9). The 1 yuan/500 ml bottled-water price is an assumption set up for the calculation — recalculate with your own city's actual price; for old residential compounds whose secondary water supply facilities fail standards, adding filtration or buying water only in that scenario is an option. Water prices differ across cities; Beijing's figures are only an order-of-magnitude reference. + +### 15. Don't trade stocks frequently + +- Cost: zero; it takes restraint against the urge to act the moment you see news +- In plain terms: in data on 66,000 US accounts, the most actively trading group earned only 11.4% annualized while the market did 17.9%. The six-plus points of difference were almost entirely eaten by trading costs — the two groups' gross returns were actually similar; every time the hand moves, the money shrinks. +- Benefit: a study of 66,465 US discount-brokerage household accounts (1991 to 1996): the most actively trading households earned 11.4% annualized against 17.9% for the market and 16.4% for the average household; the average household's annual turnover was 75%. The difference in gross returns between frequent and infrequent traders was small — the gap came mainly from trading costs (United States, 1991 to 1996) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Barber BM, Odean T (2000). Trading Is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. The Journal of Finance 55(2):773-806. +- Notes: the data is US, from the 1990s; A-share commission and stamp-duty structures differ, but the mechanism — the higher the turnover, the lower the net return — is the same. Not investment advice. + +### 16. Don't invest with borrowed money, don't use leverage, don't buy what you don't understand + +- Cost: zero; it takes resisting the "borrow a bit and earn more" impulse when markets are good +- In plain terms: if you buy stocks with borrowed money and the price falls through the line and you can't top up the collateral, you're force-liquidated — paper losses become real losses on the spot, and even the chance to "wait for it to come back" is gone. Regulators bar people with under six months of trading experience or daily average assets below 500,000 yuan from opening margin accounts — the threshold itself says this tool isn't meant for ordinary people. +- Benefit: leverage magnifies losses: after a margin purchase, if the collateral's market value falls below the maintenance guarantee ratio line and no additional collateral is posted, the position is force-liquidated — paper losses become real losses on the spot, with no chance to "wait for it to come back." Regulators stipulate that clients with "less than half a year of securities trading experience, insufficient risk-bearing capacity, or average daily securities assets below 500,000 yuan over the most recent 20 trading days" may not open credit accounts — the threshold itself shows this is not a tool for ordinary people (China, 2015) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 中国证监会 (2015). 证券公司融资融券业务管理办法（证监会令第 117 号，第十二条）. ；上海证券交易所. 《上海证券交易所融资融券交易实施细则》解读（投资者教育材料）. +- Notes: "don't buy what you don't understand" has no direct literature and rests on consensus (C); investing with consumer loans or credit-card cash advances is leverage in disguise — for the rates see item 7 of this section. Not investment advice. + +### 17. Use broad-based index funds instead of actively managed funds as the long-term core holding + +- Cost: giving up the possibility of "picking the star fund manager"; you must accept drawdowns identical to the index +- In plain terms: actively managed funds in aggregate already hold positions very close to the whole market, but the extra management fee they charge comes straight out of your net return; simulations show very few funds earn back their own cost. +- Benefit: the aggregate portfolio of US active equity funds is close to the market portfolio, but the high cost of active management passes through unchanged into lower net returns for investors; bootstrap simulations show few funds generate excess returns large enough to cover their costs (United States, published 2010) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Fama EF, French KR (2010). Luck versus Skill in the Cross-Section of Mutual Fund Returns. The Journal of Finance 65(5):1915-1947. ；TODO（待核实：S&P Dow Jones Indices, SPIVA U.S. Scorecard Year-End 2024，网站拒绝自动抓取，其中「长期多数主动大盘基金跑输标普 500」的具体百分比未能核对）；TODO（待核实：中国市场同类研究，未找到可引用的原始文献） +- Notes: the controversy: Harvey CR, Liu Y (2022). Luck versus Skill in the Cross Section of Mutual Fund Returns: Reexamining the Evidence. The Journal of Finance 77(3). points out that Fama-French's bootstrap undersamples, so even when some funds have significant excess returns the null hypothesis may fail to be rejected — the conclusion that "almost no funds have skill" may be too strong. Whether Chinese active funds in aggregate underperform the index has no primary literature citable in this section. Not investment advice. + +### 18. Among funds in the same category, prefer the one with lower fees + +- Cost: zero; one extra glance at "management fee + custody fee + sales service fee" before subscribing +- In plain terms: every extra percentage point of annual fee means roughly 18% less in hand after 20 years and about 26% less after 30 years. Picking the lower-fee fund among similar ones is the only variable here you can pin down in advance. +- Benefit: fee differences erode through compounding: 1 extra percentage point of annual fee means the terminal value is 0.99^20 ≈ 18.2% lower after 20 years and about 26% lower after 30 years. China began public-fund fee reform in 2023, lowering the caps on management and custody fees for active equity funds (exact cap figures to be verified) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 中国证监会 (2023). 证监会有关部门负责人就公募基金费率改革答记者问. ；Fama EF, French KR (2010). 见第 11 条. +- Notes: the compounding formula is pure arithmetic and assumes both funds have identical pre-fee returns; in practice you must also count subscription fees, redemption fees, and the sales service fee on Class C shares. Not investment advice. + +### 19. Don't stake your money on one stock, one platform or one property + +- Cost: zero; accept that you "won't happen to hit the single best-performing one" +- In plain terms: as long as several assets don't rise and fall in perfect lockstep, spreading money across them lowers volatility without changing expected returns. Conversely, if all your money sits in one stock, one platform or one property, whatever happens to it happens to all of you. +- Benefit: as long as several assets are not perfectly correlated, spreading the money across them keeps expected returns unchanged while reducing volatility — the basic conclusion of portfolio selection proposed by Markowitz in 1952 and used ever since; conversely, with all your money in one stock or platform, its variance is your entire variance, and when it fails there is no hedge at all +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Markowitz, H. (1952). Portfolio Selection. The Journal of Finance, 7(1), 77–91. +- Notes: grade B because the classic literature is a theoretical derivation and gives no empirical figure for "how much less you lose by diversifying"; diversification only reduces volatility and guarantees nothing about losses. Buying a broad-based index fund (item 17 of this section) is itself the easiest form of diversification. Not investment advice. + +### 20. If you pay individual income tax, open a personal pension account — 12,000 yuan a year is deductible pre-tax; if you don't pay income tax, opening one doesn't pay + +- Cost: 0 yuan to open; the price is that the money is locked up until retirement and cannot be withdrawn midway +- In plain terms: the savings equal "your marginal tax rate minus 3%" times the amount actually contributed: someone in the 10% bracket saves at most 840 yuan a year, 20% saves 2,040, 30% saves 3,240. Someone who pays no income tax anyway saves nothing by contributing and, on withdrawal, actually pays 3% — a net loss. The money is locked until retirement and cannot be taken out midway. +- Benefit: contributions up to the 12,000 yuan per year limit are deducted in full from comprehensive income or business income; investment returns credited to the account are temporarily exempt from individual income tax; on withdrawal they are not combined with comprehensive income but taxed separately at 3%. So the saving is "your marginal tax rate minus 3%" times the amount actually contributed: a marginal rate of 10% saves at most 840 yuan a year, 20% saves 2,040, 30% saves 3,240; someone who pays no income tax anyway (annual comprehensive income below the threshold after deductions) saves nothing at contribution and instead pays 3% at withdrawal — a net loss. The contribution limit accumulates by calendar year and resets the next year; an under-used limit cannot be carried over. Implemented nationwide from December 15, 2024 (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 财政部、税务总局 (2024). 关于在全国范围实施个人养老金个人所得税优惠政策的公告（财政部 税务总局公告 2024 年第 21 号，2024 年 12 月 12 日）. ；人力资源社会保障部等五部门 (2022). 个人养老金实施办法（第七、八、九、十二、十三条）. +- Notes: the account "operates on a closed basis," and withdrawal is possible only in four situations: reaching the age for basic pension, total loss of working capacity, emigrating abroad, or other circumstances specified by the state. So this is not an investment product but a tax arrangement with an extremely long lock-up — confirm your marginal tax rate first, then decide how much to contribute, and don't lock your emergency fund in for the sake of "harvesting the perk" (emergency fund: item 26). The money in the account still needs you to choose products to invest in, and it can lose value — the selection rules are the same as items 17 and 18 of this section. The deduction certificate is issued by the personal pension information management service platform; for wage income you can choose to deduct at withholding during the year or at the annual reconciliation the next year (reconciliation: item 2). + +### 21. Pay per visit or short-term for the gym, unless you have a steady track record of over a year + +- Cost: the per-visit price is higher than the amortized annual-card price; it requires honestly assessing how often you actually go +- In plain terms: in that three-year US dataset, members on monthly contracts above 70 dollars averaged only 4.3 visits a month — over 17 dollars per visit — while a 10-visit pass cost just 10 dollars a visit; over the life of their membership they paid 600 dollars more on average. Unless you already have a steady record of going for over a year, per-visit or short-term is cheaper. +- Benefit: a study of 3 years of data on 7,752 members of 3 US health clubs: members choosing monthly contracts above 70 dollars averaged only 4.3 visits a month, over 17 dollars per visit, while a 10-visit pass cost only 10 dollars per visit; these users paid on average 600 dollars more over their membership. Monthly-paying members who still hadn't cancelled after more than a year ran 17% higher than annual-card members (United States, three-year panel data) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: DellaVigna S, Malmendier U (2006). Paying Not to Go to the Gym. American Economic Review 96(3):694-719. +- Notes: a single study with US data, but the mechanism (overestimating one's future self-control) is general. For someone with a full year of going at least twice a week, an annual card really is cheaper. + +### 22. Sign a written contract when paying in advance; if the merchant becomes risky, stop prepaying — and before they run off you have the right to recover the unconsumed balance + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the hard part is insisting on the contract on the spot and not accepting "just top up first" +- In plain terms: anyone taking prepayments must sign a written contract stating how refunds work. A merchant facing major business risk should stop collecting prepayments; before closing or relocating they must tell you in advance, and you have the right to demand they continue performing or refund the unconsumed balance. Violations are fined 1 to 10 times the illegal gains, or up to 500,000 yuan where there are none. +- Benefit: the regulation stipulates that merchants collecting prepayments must conclude a written contract and agree on a refund method; upon major business risk they shall stop collecting prepayments; before deciding to close or relocate they must notify consumers in advance, and consumers have the right to demand continued performance or a refund of the unconsumed balance. Violations are punishable by a fine of 1 to 10 times the illegal gains, or up to 500,000 yuan where there are no illegal gains +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2024). 中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法实施条例（国务院令第 778 号，2024 年 7 月 1 日施行）. 第二十二条：「经营者以收取预付款方式提供商品或者服务的，应当与消费者订立书面合同，约定商品或者服务的具体内容、价款或者费用、预付款退还方式、违约责任等事项。」「经营者未按照约定提供商品或者服务的，应当按照消费者的要求履行约定或者退还预付款。」「经营者出现重大经营风险，有可能影响经营者按照合同约定或者交易习惯正常提供商品或者服务的，应当停止收取预付款。经营者决定停业或者迁移服务场所的，应当提前告知消费者……消费者……有权要求经营者继续履行提供商品或者服务的义务，或者要求退还未消费的预付款余额。」；第五十条罚则 +- Notes: this gives you the legal basis for after the fact, not security before it — if the merchant really runs off, the money is mostly already gone from the account. So the order remains: prepay less in the first place per the entry "Pay per visit or short-term for the gym, unless you have a steady track record of over a year," then use this entry to defend your rights. Article 27 of the same regulation also provides that deposits must have their refund method, procedure and deadline agreed in advance, and unreasonable conditions may not be attached to the refund. + +### 23. Impose a 24-hour cooling-off period on large non-essential purchases, and make good use of the 7-day no-questions-asked return for online shopping + +- Cost: delaying satisfaction by a day; return shipping is usually on you +- In plain terms: what you save is the things you no longer want by the next day. For online purchases you can return without giving a reason within 7 days of receipt, except custom-made goods, fresh and perishable items, opened digital products, and newspapers and periodicals. +- Benefit: the saving is the portion of impulse purchases you "no longer want the next day," for which no uniform percentage can be given; goods bought online can be returned without reason within 7 days of receipt, except custom-made, fresh and perishable, opened digital products, and newspapers and periodicals (China, in force since 2017) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国家市场监督管理总局 (2020 修订). 网络购买商品七日无理由退货暂行办法（总局令第 31 号）. +- Notes: the "cooling-off period" itself is a rule of thumb with no direct literature; the 7-day return is the institutional backstop for it. Before returning, first confirm whether the item is on the exclusion list and whether the packaging is intact. + +### 24. Don't stockpile over "strikethrough prices" and big promotions + +- Cost: giving up some genuinely good discounts; it requires remembering the everyday prices of what you regularly buy +- In plain terms: people judge whether something is expensive by the first number they see, and later adjustments never fully compensate — so "was 999, now 499" systematically makes you overestimate how cheap it is. And by regulation, the baseline for a discount is only the store's lowest actual transaction price within the seven days before the promotion — the strikethrough price wasn't necessarily ever really charged. +- Benefit: judgment anchors on the first number seen, and later adjustments are typically insufficient, so "was 999, now 499" systematically inflates your estimate of how much you're saving; regulators stipulate that the discount baseline must be the same store's lowest transaction price within the seven days before the promotion — meaning the strikethrough price is not necessarily a price ever actually charged (China, in force since 2020) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: Tversky A, Kahneman D (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science 185(4157):1124-1131. ；国家市场监督管理总局 (2020). 规范促销行为暂行规定（总局令第 32 号，第二十一条）. +- Notes: the anchoring effect is a laboratory finding with no direct monetary quantification of stockpiling losses; the hidden costs of stockpiling also include expiry, space taken, and "well, we have it anyway, use more." Only stockpile things with a long shelf life that you will certainly use up and whose unit price really is below the historical price. + +### 25. Prefer pure-protection (term) insurance; treat "returned premiums" and "dividends" as the non-guaranteed part + +- Cost: pure-protection policies pay nothing back at expiry, which feels like "money wasted"; you must arrange your own savings +- In plain terms: the dividends and returned-premium portions are not guaranteed — regulators require the brochure to state in bold that "future policy dividends are non-guaranteed benefits." The extra premium you pay is essentially having the insurance company hold money in savings for you: the returns aren't guaranteed, and it's hard to get out. +- Benefit: regulatory rules require participating-product brochures to state in bold type that "future policy dividends are non-guaranteed benefits, and their distribution is uncertain," with the interest-spread cap for dividend demonstrations being 4.5% minus the product's assumed interest rate; the extra premium of return-of-premium/participating products is essentially savings entrusted to the insurance company — returns not guaranteed and liquidity poor (China, in force since 2023) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 中国银保监会 (2022). 一年期以上人身保险产品信息披露规则（银保监规〔2022〕24 号）. +- Notes: the controversy: for people who genuinely cannot save at all, the forced-savings function of return-of-premium products has real value; this entry targets ordinary people with self-discipline. The quantified gap by which "pure protection + investing on your own" beats "return of premium" in actuarial terms varies by product, and this section has no citable systematic data. Not investment advice. + +### 26. Buy enough third-party liability coverage: compulsory insurance limits are uniform nationwide and not high, and anything beyond comes out of your own household + +- Cost: commercial third-party liability insurance runs a few hundred to over a thousand yuan a year, and the higher the coverage, the cheaper each unit of it +- In plain terms: the compulsory insurance payout limits are uniform nationwide, and death/disability, medical expenses and property damage are counted separately — if you really hit someone, the amounts easily exceed them. The excess comes out of your own pocket, so buy enough commercial third-party coverage — the higher the coverage limit, the cheaper each 10,000 yuan of it. +- Benefit: compulsory insurance applies uniform liability limits nationwide, calculated separately across four categories: death and disability, medical expenses, property damage, and no-fault; any amount beyond the limits is borne by the tortfeasor personally. Drivers without compulsory insurance have the vehicle detained and face a fine of 2 times the premium due +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2006, 2012 修订). 机动车交通事故责任强制保险条例（国务院令第 462 号，第 618 号令修改）第二十三条：「机动车交通事故责任强制保险在全国范围内实行统一的责任限额。责任限额分为死亡伤残赔偿限额、医疗费用赔偿限额、财产损失赔偿限额以及被保险人在道路交通事故中无责任的赔偿限额。」「责任限额由保监会会同国务院公安部门、国务院卫生主管部门、国务院农业主管部门规定。」第二十一条限额内赔偿；第三十九条未投保的「由公安机关交通管理部门扣留机动车……处依照规定投保最低责任限额应缴纳的保险费的2倍罚款」. +- Notes: TODO (to be verified: the specific amounts of the current compulsory insurance liability limits are set by the financial regulator; no original text suitable for verbatim verification was obtained this time). The point is the structure, not the numbers: compulsory insurance pays by category, with uniform and not-generous limits, and compensation for injuring someone can far exceed it — the difference has no backstop at all. The book gives no figure for how much third-party coverage to buy, but it is one of the few places where "a few hundred yuan more to swap away a tail risk that could crush a family" applies. + +### 27. First save up an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of living expenses, kept somewhere you can withdraw anytime + +- Cost: no money, but this sum gives up higher returns and must sit only in demand deposits, money market funds or instantly withdrawable savings +- In plain terms: with 3 to 6 months of living expenses kept somewhere instantly accessible, you won't need to borrow at an 18% annualized rate when you lose your job or fall ill, and you won't have to sell investments at a loss. Bank deposits carry deposit insurance — up to 500,000 yuan paid out per bank. +- Benefit: with an emergency fund you don't have to borrow when unemployed or ill (for the annualized rates on consumer loans and minimum payments see item 7 of this section) or sell investments at a loss; bank deposits are protected by deposit insurance, with a maximum payout of 500,000 yuan per bank (China, 2015) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国务院 (2015). 存款保险条例（国务院令第 660 号，第五条）. +- Notes: "3 to 6 months" is a common rule of thumb with no official or academic original source found, hence grade C; size it by your own fixed expenses, not by income. Not investment advice. + +### 28. Before prepaying your mortgage, run one comparison first — don't go on feel + +- Cost: half an hour of arithmetic; it requires an honest estimate of the stable after-tax return you can actually get +- In plain terms: prepaying earns you a certain return, and its value equals your mortgage rate. So you only need to answer one question: is the after-tax return you can reliably achieve over the long term higher than your mortgage rate? If yes, don't prepay; if no, or you're unsure, prepay. With equal installment payments, interest takes up a large share early on, so the earlier you repay the more you save — use your bank app's prepayment calculator and just look at the numbers. +- Benefit: the algorithm: let the mortgage's annual rate be r (per the contract; the 5-year-plus LPR was 3.5% on August 20, 2026, and the actual rate is the LPR plus or minus points), and the stable after-tax annualized return of the alternative investment be g. Prepayment's certain rate of return is r; if g is stably greater than r, keeping the money invested is the better deal; if g is less than r or uncertain, prepaying amounts to locking in a risk-free r. With equal installments, interest dominates early on and the earlier you repay the more interest you save — see the numbers directly in your bank app's "prepayment calculation" (China, 2026 rates) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 全国银行间同业拆借中心受中国人民银行授权 (2026). 2026 年 8 月 20 日贷款市场报价利率（LPR）公告. +- Notes: only the algorithm is given, no conclusion: that g rarely stays above r for long is the norm, but keeping enough emergency cash takes priority over either side. Watch for prepayment penalty clauses in the contract. Not investment advice. + +### 29. Online, trust platform rules and statutes, not streamers and "good reviews" + +- Cost: no money; one extra look at after-sales terms and deposit rules before ordering, and keep the order records, livestream replay screenshots and chat logs after delivery +- In plain terms: merchant fraud is compensated at three times the price paid, or 500 yuan when that falls short; platforms that knowingly let sellers infringe and do nothing are jointly liable. Fake orders, fake reviews and false information in livestreams all carry liability, and organizing fake orders draws fines up to 2 million yuan with possible license revocation. A deposit can be at most 20% of the contract amount — forfeited if you breach, doubled if the seller breaches. Big-data price discrimination against existing customers is expressly prohibited. +- Benefit: operators engaging in fraud compensate at three times the price paid, or 500 yuan when the price is below that; platforms that know or should know a seller is infringing and fail to act bear joint liability; livestream rooms and hosts must not fabricate transactions, follows, views, likes or other traffic, and must not publish false information — where damage results they bear civil liability; organizing fake transactions or fake reviews to help others promote draws fines up to 1 million yuan, or 1 million to 2 million yuan plus possible license revocation in serious cases; a deposit may not exceed 20% of the contract's subject amount — it is not returned if you fail to perform and doubled by the seller if they fail to perform; automated decision-making on personal information must not impose unreasonable differential treatment on transaction prices and other terms (big-data price discrimination against existing customers) (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2013 修正). 消费者权益保护法（第四十四、五十五条）. （市场监管总局转载）；国家网信办等七部门 (2021). 网络直播营销管理办法（试行）（第十八、二十八条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025 修订). 反不正当竞争法（第九、二十五条）. （全国社保基金理事会转载）；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第五百八十六、五百八十七条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2021). 个人信息保护法（第二十四条）. （国家统计局转载）；山东省市场监管局 (2025). 六起网络不正当竞争典型案例. +- Notes: for "which platform has the best value and is least likely to sell you shoddy goods" there is no citable official comparison, and this book does not rank platforms — what can be found are aggregate spot checks (see the next entry). After the 2025 revision of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, false advertising moved from old Article 8 to Article 9 and the penalty provisions from Article 20 to Article 25, in force from October 15, 2025 — don't copy the old article numbers. In the Shandong case, a company organized "paid order-fakers" to conduct 75 fake transactions with principal of over 680,000 yuan and was investigated; the amount of the fine was not stated in the bulletin. For the 7-day no-questions-asked return see item 23 of this section. + +### 30. When something bought in a livestream goes wrong, first demand the seller's and host's information from the platform — the platform must provide it + +- Cost: 0 yuan; simply make the demand to the platform +- In plain terms: the most common dead end in livestream disputes is not knowing whom to sue. Once a dispute arises, you can directly require the platform to provide the livestream operator's and the host's information and business records, and the platform must comply. +- Benefit: when a consumer dispute arises, the operator of the livestream marketing platform shall, at the consumer's request, provide relevant information about the livestream room operator and the livestream marketing personnel as well as records of the related business activities — this resolves the most common dead end in livestream rights protection: not knowing whom to hold accountable +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2024). 中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法实施条例（国务院令第 778 号，2024 年 7 月 1 日施行）. ：「经营者通过网络直播等方式提供商品或者服务的，应当依法履行消费者权益保护相关义务。直播营销平台经营者应当建立健全消费者权益保护制度，明确消费争议解决机制。发生消费争议的，直播营销平台经营者应当根据消费者的要求提供直播间运营者、直播营销人员相关信息以及相关经营活动记录等必要信息。」「直播间运营者、直播营销人员发布的直播内容构成商业广告的，应当依照《中华人民共和国广告法》的有关规定履行广告发布者、广告经营者或者广告代言人的义务。」 +- Notes: record the livestream screen and the promises made before ordering; when a problem appears, first demand the entity information from the platform, then decide between complaint and lawsuit. The same regulation also provides: the scope of goods excluded from 7-day no-questions-asked returns must not be expanded without authorization, "not eligible for no-questions-asked return" must not be set as the default option, and returns must not be refused without your confirmation. + +### 31. Before buying big-ticket items, check national spot-check bulletins, CCC certification and energy-efficiency labels + +- Cost: no money; a few minutes checking the State Administration for Market Regulation and Certification and Accreditation Administration websites +- In plain terms: in 2024 national spot checks covered 25,250 product batches, with 14.3% failing; e-commerce channels were worse — 23.5% of 7,297 batches failed, versus 15.1% in physical stores. Spend a few minutes before a big purchase checking the spot-check bulletins and verifying the CCC certificate, and make sure the energy-efficiency label is there where it's required. +- Benefit: 2024 national supervision spot checks covered 25,250 product batches with a failure rate of 14.3%; e-commerce channels accounted for 7,297 batches with a 23.5% failure rate, up 1.8 percentage points from the previous year, while physical stores had 8,055 batches with a 15.1% failure rate; the authenticity of Compulsory Product Certification (CCC) certificates can be checked in the "Certification Results" section of the Certification and Accreditation Administration website; energy-efficiency labels are mandatorily managed by product catalog, and labels must include the efficiency grade, efficiency indicators and an efficiency information code — forging, misusing or omitting a required label is punished under the Energy Conservation Law (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 市场监管总局 (2025). 关于 2024 年产品质量国家监督抽查情况的通报. ；国家认监委. 官网「认证结果」查询入口. ；国家发展改革委、国家质检总局 (2016). 能源效率标识管理办法（令第 35 号，第三、七、二十七条）. +- Notes: spot checks are regulatory sampling, not the market-wide pass rate, and cannot be used to rank platforms; there is no research on "how much fewer shoddy goods you buy by checking," hence the B. The CNCA query platform cx.cnca.cn would not open during verification for this section; use the entrance on the cnca.gov.cn homepage. Spot-check bulletin figures are updated yearly — check the latest issue when using them. From 82e69667ba05b2fa4f5e3d3a7e2c722bdaf33ef5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:18 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 10/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch06:=20The=20Anti=20List=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/06-The-Anti-List.md | 148 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 148 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/06-The-Anti-List.md diff --git a/book/en/06-The-Anti-List.md b/book/en/06-The-Anti-List.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..70e042870 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/06-The-Anti-List.md @@ -0,0 +1,148 @@ +[← Back to main contents](../README.md) + +# 6. The Negative List + +This section collects things that "look cheap and effective" but whose original evidence shows a benefit that is close to zero, zero, or negative. Items are ordered by a combination of how much people spend on them and how hard the evidence is: the higher an item sits on the list, the more worth stopping first. +### 1. Do not take a multivitamin to live longer or prevent cardiovascular disease + +- Cost: about 0.5–2 yuan/day, 200–700 yuan/year; plus the psychological dependence of long-term pill-taking +- In plain terms: 14,000-odd male physicians took it for eleven years and showed no difference in cardiovascular events or deaths; pooled across 9 trials and over 50,000 people, no effect on mortality shows up either. What you save is 200 to 700 yuan a year. People with a diagnosed nutrient deficiency and pregnant women taking folic acid are not covered by this. +- Benefit: PHS II (14,641 male physicians, median follow-up 11.2 years) major cardiovascular events HR 1.01 (95% CI 0.91–1.10), all-cause mortality HR 0.94 (0.88–1.02); USPSTF 2022 pooled 9 RCTs, 51,550 people — multivitamins showed no association with all-cause mortality, graded I (insufficient evidence); it looks like a good deal because of the "one pill covers all nutrients" intuition and the low unit price +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Sesso HD et al. (2012). Multivitamins in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in men: the Physicians' Health Study II randomized controlled trial. JAMA. ；US Preventive Services Task Force (2022). Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplementation to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer. JAMA. +- Notes: Controversy: the cancer analysis in the same PHS II cohort showed total cancer incidence HR 0.92 (0.86–0.998, P=0.04), cancer death HR 0.88 (0.77–1.01) not reaching significance (Gaziano JM et al. 2012, JAMA, ); the effect is tiny and seen only in a male-physician population. People with diagnosed nutrient deficiency, pregnant women (folic acid), and those with highly unbalanced diets are not covered — supplement as medically advised. + +### 2. Do not take ordinary fish oil to prevent cardiovascular disease + +- Cost: about 1–3 yuan/day, 400–1,000 yuan/year +- In plain terms: in two trials (26,000-odd people and 15,000-odd people with diabetes), 1 gram of fish oil a day made no difference to cardiovascular events or deaths. "Eating fish is good for you" does not equal "swallowing fish oil capsules is good for you"; what you save is 400 to 1,000 yuan a year. +- Benefit: VITAL (25,871 people, 1 g/day, median follow-up 5.3 years) major cardiovascular events HR 0.92 (95% CI 0.80–1.06), all-cause mortality HR 1.02 (0.90–1.15); ASCEND (15,480 people with diabetes, 1 g/day, mean follow-up 7.4 years) serious vascular events RR 0.97 (0.87–1.08), all-cause mortality RR 0.95 (0.86–1.05); it looks like a good deal because "eating fish is beneficial" gets directly equated with "fish oil capsules are beneficial" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Manson JE et al. (2019). Marine n-3 Fatty Acids and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer. NEJM. ；ASCEND Study Collaborative Group (2018). Effects of n-3 Fatty Acid Supplements in Diabetes Mellitus. NEJM. +- Notes: Controversy: REDUCE-IT (8,179 people with existing cardiovascular disease or diabetes, on statins, triglycerides 135–499 mg/dL) used 4 g/day of pure EPA as a prescription drug: primary endpoint 17.2% vs 22.0%, HR 0.75 (0.68–0.83) (Bhatt DL et al. 2019, NEJM, ). That is high-dose prescription EPA in a high-risk population, not supplement-grade fish oil in ordinary people; eating fish itself is outside the scope of this item. + +### 3. Do not give vitamin D supplements to people who are not deficient, for the sake of longevity + +- Cost: about 0.2–0.5 yuan/day, 100–200 yuan/year; the money is minor — the main cost is the illusion of "believing prevention is already done" +- In plain terms: in two trials (26,000-odd people for 5 years, and 21,000-odd older adults for 5 years), supplementing people who were not deficient to begin with changed nothing for cancer, cardiovascular disease, or death — mortality 5.3% vs 5.1%. People with diagnosed deficiency, osteoporosis, or little sun exposure are not covered; supplement as medically advised. +- Benefit: VITAL (25,871 people, 2000 IU/day, median follow-up 5.3 years) invasive cancer HR 0.96 (95% CI 0.88–1.06), major cardiovascular events HR 0.97 (0.85–1.12), all-cause mortality HR 0.99 (0.87–1.12); D-Health (21,315 Australians over 60, 60,000 IU/month, 5 years) all-cause mortality HR 1.04 (0.93–1.18), mortality 5.3% vs 5.1%; it looks like a good deal because observational studies show people with low vitamin D levels have higher mortality, which gets misread as "supplementing works" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Manson JE et al. (2019). Vitamin D Supplements and Prevention of Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease. NEJM. ；Neale RE et al. (2022). The D-Health Trial: a randomised controlled trial of the effect of vitamin D on mortality. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. +- Notes: Controversy: neither trial specifically enrolled people who were truly deficient, so the conclusions apply only to "people who are not deficient"; those with diagnosed deficiency, osteoporosis, little sun exposure, infants, and other specific groups should still supplement as medically advised. This item covers only all-cause mortality and cancer/cardiovascular endpoints. + +### 4. Do not take antioxidant supplements (beta-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin A) to prevent cancer + +- Cost: about 0.5–2 yuan/day; for smokers the cost is a higher lung cancer risk +- In plain terms: this one is not merely useless: pooled across 78 trials and nearly 300,000 people, antioxidant supplements actually pushed mortality up slightly; in two large trials of smokers, beta-carotene raised lung cancer incidence by 18% to 28% and total deaths by 8% to 17%. Smokers and people exposed to asbestos should especially not take these. +- Benefit: Cochrane review (78 RCTs, 296,707 people) antioxidant supplements all-cause mortality RR 1.02 (95% CI 0.98–1.05), low risk-of-bias trials RR 1.04 (1.01–1.07), beta-carotene RR 1.05 (1.01–1.09), vitamin E RR 1.03 (1.00–1.05); ATBC (29,133 male smokers, 20 mg/day) lung cancer incidence up 18% (3%–36%), total deaths up 8% (1%–16%); CARET (18,314 smokers/asbestos-exposed people) lung cancer RR 1.28 (1.04–1.57), all-cause mortality RR 1.17 (1.03–1.33); it looks like a good deal because every step of the chain "antioxidant = anti-aging = cancer prevention" sounds like common sense +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Bjelakovic G et al. (2012). Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. ；The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta Carotene Cancer Prevention Study Group (1994). The effect of vitamin E and beta carotene on the incidence of lung cancer and other cancers in male smokers. NEJM. ；Omenn GS et al. (1996). Effects of a combination of beta carotene and vitamin A on lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. NEJM. +- Notes: USPSTF 2022 issued a D grade (recommend against) for beta-carotene and vitamin E; smokers and asbestos-exposed people are the clearly harmed groups; getting antioxidants from vegetables and fruit is outside the scope of this item. + +### 5. Do not expect glucosamine/chondroitin to treat knee osteoarthritis + +- Cost: about 2–5 yuan/day, 700–1,800 yuan/year +- In plain terms: 1,583 people took it for 24 weeks: in the placebo group 60.1% of people reported pain relief to begin with, and glucosamine beat that by only 3.9 percentage points, chondroitin by 5.3 — neither reaching statistical significance. Seven hundred to eighteen hundred yuan a year, and what you are mostly buying is that sixty-percent placebo effect. +- Benefit: GAIT (1,583 patients with knee osteoarthritis, 24 weeks) pain-response rate placebo 60.1%; glucosamine 3.9 percentage points above placebo (P=0.30), chondroitin 5.3 percentage points (P=0.17), combination 6.5 percentage points (P=0.09) — none significant; the comparator drug celecoxib 10.0 percentage points above (P=0.008); it looks like a good deal because "supplying the raw material for cartilage" sounds like it targets the problem directly, and the placebo itself already yields a sixty-percent response +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Clegg DO et al. (2006). Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and the two in combination for painful knee osteoarthritis. NEJM. +- Notes: Controversy: in the same trial, the subgroup with baseline moderate-to-severe pain had a combination response rate of 79.2% vs 54.3% (P=0.002), but the authors explicitly called it an "exploratory analysis." Weight loss and strength training for knee osteoarthritis are evidence-backed alternatives — see Section 2. + +### 6. Do not rely on vitamin C to prevent colds + +- Cost: effervescent tablets about 1–2 yuan/tablet, 300–700 yuan/year +- In plain terms: 29 controlled comparisons, 11,306 people: taking vitamin C every day barely reduces the number of colds you catch; starting it only after a cold begins shows no consistent effect either. It does shorten a cold by about 8% — roughly half a day less misery per cold; do the math yourself on whether that is worth 300–500 yuan a year. Marathon runners and soldiers on winter marches are the exceptions: their odds of catching a cold can drop by half. +- Benefit: Cochrane review (29 controlled comparisons, 11,306 people) cold incidence with regular vitamin C supplementation in the general population RR 0.97 (95% CI 0.94–1.00), i.e. essentially no reduction in the number of colds; starting after a cold begins "no consistent effect seen in therapeutic trials"; it looks like a good deal because it is cheap, sweet-and-sour and pleasant to drink, and "vitamin C prevents colds" has been circulating for half a century +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Hemilä H, Chalker E (2013). Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. +- Notes: Controversy: the same review shows regular long-term supplementation shortens cold duration by about 8% in adults (3%–12%) and 14% in children (7%–21%) — roughly half a day less per cold; marathon runners, skiers, and soldiers on winter marches (5 trials, 598 people) incidence RR 0.48 (0.35–0.64). The vast majority of people do not fall into either of these groups. + +### 7. Do not get a "whole-body PET-CT" or a "tumor marker panel" if you have no symptoms + +- Cost: whole-body PET-CT about 7,000–10,000 yuan per scan plus ionizing radiation; tumor marker panels a few hundred yuan; the real cost is the repeat testing, biopsies, and surgery that follow a false positive +- In plain terms: screened in people without symptoms, the main output is false positives: of 1,192 symptom-free people given a whole-body CT, 86% had at least one "abnormality" flagged, 37% were called back for further work-up, and the vast majority were benign. In the big trial of ovarian cancer marker screening, the screened group's death rate was actually slightly higher, 0.2% to 3.25% of people went under the knife because of a false positive, and up to 15% of those had serious surgical complications. Seven to ten thousand yuan a scan, plus radiation. The few screenings with actual evidence are a different matter. +- Benefit: USPSTF gives a D grade (recommend against) for ovarian cancer screening in asymptomatic women using CA-125 and ultrasound: in the PLCO trial ovarian cancer mortality was 0.34% in the screened group vs 0.29% in usual care (RR 1.18, 95% CI 0.82–1.71), no benefit; the share undergoing surgery for false positives ranged from 0.2%–3.25% across trials, with up to 15% of those having serious surgical complications; whole-body CT screening of 1,192 asymptomatic people found 86% with at least one "abnormality" and 37% referred for further testing, while "most findings were benign by description"; it looks like a good deal because "one scan checks everything, find it early treat it early" fits intuition +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: US Preventive Services Task Force (2018). Screening for Ovarian Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. （官方页 ）；Furtado CD et al. (2005). Whole-body CT screening: spectrum of findings and recommendations in 1192 patients. Radiology. +- Notes: the tumor marker part rests on RCT evidence; the whole-body CT/PET-CT part has only descriptive studies (equivalent to grade B). Screenings with evidence (colorectal, cervical, breast, and low-dose chest CT for high-risk people) are a different matter — see Section 1; PET-CT for people with existing symptoms or a confirmed cancer diagnosis is a diagnostic and treatment tool, outside the scope of this item. + +### 8. Do not expect a fitness band or smartwatch's activity tracking to lose weight for you + +- Cost: 200–2,000 yuan for the device, plus the daily attention spent watching the data +- In plain terms: 471 overweight adults did the same lifestyle intervention; the group wearing devices lost 3.5 kg over two years, while the group without them lost 5.9 kg. The device does not help with weight loss — the exercise itself is what works. +- Benefit: IDEA trial (471 overweight/obese adults, 24 months) on top of the same lifestyle intervention, the wearable-device group lost 3.5 kg (95% CI 2.6–4.5) while the non-wearer group lost 5.9 kg (5.0–6.8), a difference of 2.4 kg (1.0–3.7, P=0.002); it looks like a good deal because of the "you can only manage what you quantify" line and the one-time device payment +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Jakicic JM et al. (2016). Effect of Wearable Technology Combined With a Lifestyle Intervention on Long-term Weight Loss: The IDEA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. +- Notes: a single trial, using early-2010s armband devices; the conclusion cannot be generalized to "all wearables are useless"; exercise itself works — see Section 2. This item only says the device is not a necessary expense for weight loss. + +### 9. Do not pay a premium for organic food "for your health" + +- Cost: usually 1–3 times the price of ordinary food +- In plain terms: put together, 17 human studies and 223 food-composition studies offer no strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious; only 3 studies looked at actual health outcomes, and they showed no difference either. Organic produce does test positive for pesticide residues 30 percentage points less often, but a detection is not the same as exceeding the limit. Eating more vegetables and fruit is what helps, and whether they are organic does not change that. +- Benefit: systematic review (17 human studies, 223 food-composition studies) "strong evidence is lacking that organic food is significantly more nutritious than conventional food"; only 3 human studies looked at clinical outcomes (allergies, symptomatic infections), with no significant difference between groups; organic produce carries a 30-percentage-point lower risk of detectable pesticide residues, but detection is not the same as exceeding the limit; it looks like a good deal because every step of "no pesticides = safer = healthier" sounds like common sense +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Smith-Spangler C et al. (2012). Are organic foods safer or healthier than conventional alternatives?: a systematic review. Ann Intern Med. +- Notes: human studies on health outcomes are very few; this is "no evidence of benefit" rather than "proof of no benefit"; environment, animal welfare, and taste are outside this item's scope. Eating more vegetables and fruit works in itself, and organic or not does not affect that point. + +### 10. Do not spend big money on health supplements, gao fang herbal pastes, or tonics to "condition your body" + +- Cost: anywhere from a few hundred to over ten thousand yuan, often doubling once it becomes a gift item +- In plain terms: Chinese regulations require that health food packaging devote no less than 20% of its area to the statement "health food is not medicine and cannot replace drugs in treating disease" — the regulator itself does not accept that it cures illness. The most common ingredients (multivitamins, fish oil, vitamin D, antioxidants, glucosamine, vitamin C) have already been checked one by one in the first six items of this section, and in every case no difference showed up. +- Benefit: regulations of China's State Administration for Market Regulation require that the principal display panel of health food packaging carry the statement "health food is not medicine and cannot replace drugs in treating disease" on no less than 20% of the area, and define the purpose of health food as "supplementing dietary nutrients, maintaining or improving the body's health status, or reducing risk factors for disease" — i.e. the regulator itself does not recognize any therapeutic effect; the first 6 items of this section list the RCT results for its most common ingredients (multivitamins, fish oil, vitamin D, antioxidants, glucosamine, vitamin C); it looks like a good deal because the claim "doesn't cure disease but conditions the body" is unfalsifiable, and in gift-giving scenarios the purchase decision is driven by social obligation rather than evidence +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国家市场监督管理总局 (2019). 市场监管总局就《保健食品标注警示用语指南》和《保健食品原料目录与保健功能目录管理办法》有关情况举办专题新闻发布会. +- Notes: this is "no evidence of benefit" rather than "proven ineffective," hence grade C. For products with a clearly identified ingredient, check the corresponding literature in the earlier items; those with diagnosed nutrient deficiency or under treatment should follow medical advice. + +### 11. Do not take probiotics long-term without a gut problem + +- Cost: about 2–5 yuan/day, 700–1,800 yuan/year +- In plain terms: pooled over 45 trials in healthy adults: probiotics do not produce a lasting change in the gut microbiome — once you stop, it reverts — and blood lipids do not improve either. Specific situations such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea have their own separate evidence and are not covered by this item. +- Benefit: a review of 45 trials in healthy adults, "failed to support that probiotics can induce a lasting change in the gut microbiome or improve blood lipids in healthy adults"; the microbiome changes are transient and disappear on discontinuation; it looks like a good deal because "gut health" is a concept broad enough to mean anything, and the unit price of a bottle a day is low +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Khalesi S et al. (2019). A review of probiotic supplementation in healthy adults: helpful or hype? Eur J Clin Nutr. +- Notes: the same review reports small improvements in healthy people on measures such as stool consistency and vaginal lactobacilli in women. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea and specific strains for specific indications have independent evidence and are outside this item's scope; this item targets only "daily use by healthy people." + +### 12. Do not force yourself to take cold showers "to boost your immunity" + +- Cost: zero money; 30–90 seconds of discomfort daily, and willpower to keep it up through winter; people with cardiovascular disease face risks from cold exposure +- In plain terms: in a trial of 3,018 people, cold shower takers called in sick 29% less often, but the total number of sick days was no different — it looks more like "going to work anyway while sick" than getting sick less. A 2025 pooled analysis of 11 trials: after a cold rinse, inflammation markers briefly rise instead, and immune markers are unchanged. If you enjoy it, fine — just don't treat it as a health investment. +- Benefit: Dutch RCT (3,018 people, 30/60/90 seconds of cold water at the end of a hot shower) sick-leave episodes down 29% (IRR 0.71), but "no significant between-group difference in sick-leave days," with no clinically relevant differences in quality of life, work productivity, or anxiety; 2025 systematic review (11 RCTs, 3,177 people) shows inflammation markers rise rather than fall immediately and 1 hour after cold-water immersion, immune markers are unchanged, stress is reduced only at the 12-hour time point, and the authors call the evidence "limited by few RCTs and small samples"; it looks like a good deal because it is free, plus the intuition "suffering = effective" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Buijze GA et al. (2016). The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PLOS ONE. ；Cain T et al. (2025). Effects of cold-water immersion on health and wellbeing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE. +- Notes: Controversy: the 29% fewer sick-leave episodes is a real, significant result, but since sick days do not decrease it looks more like "going to work as usual while sick" than getting sick less; recovery after athletic training is a separate question. Cold showers are harmless in themselves for healthy people; this item only says not to treat them as a health investment. + +### 13. Do not buy detox, colon-cleansing, enzyme, or alkaline-water products + +- Cost: several hundred to several thousand yuan; fasting-style "detoxes" can also bring low blood sugar and undernutrition +- In plain terms: the review's own words: the detox industry is this large, yet the clinical evidence supporting it is very scarce, and there are no randomized controlled trials of commercial detox diets at all. As for the "acidic constitution causes cancer" claim, screening 8,278 papers left only 1 that qualified, and it showed no association. Fasting-style detoxes can also bring low blood sugar and undernutrition. +- Benefit: review conclusion: "despite the detox industry's vigorous growth, there is very little clinical evidence to support these diets," and "no randomized controlled trials of commercial detox diets"; the systematic review of alkaline diets/alkaline water and cancer screened 8,278 papers, only 1 met the inclusion criteria and showed no association, and the authors state that "promotion of alkaline diets and alkaline water to the public for cancer prevention or treatment is not justified"; it looks like a good deal because the two premises — "there are toxins in your body that must be flushed out" and "an acidic constitution causes cancer" — sound like physiology +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: Klein AV, Kiat H (2015). Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence. J Hum Nutr Diet. ；Fenton TR, Huang T (2016). Systematic review of the association between dietary acid load, alkaline water and cancer. BMJ Open. +- Notes: this is "no evidence of support," hence grade C. The liver and kidneys already handle the clearance of metabolic waste; without a corresponding disease there is no need for extra "detoxing." + +### 14. Do not force yourself to drink water to hit "8 glasses a day" + +- Cost: zero money; a little time and effort, more nighttime bathroom trips +- In plain terms: trace the origin of "8 glasses a day" and you will not find a single study supporting it; on the contrary, surveys of several thousand people's food and fluid intake suggest that much is not needed, because food and other drinks already bring in a lot of water. Drink when thirsty and check your urine color — that is enough. People working in high heat, exercising hard, with a history of kidney stones, or older adults whose thirst response has dulled need to drink proactively. +- Benefit: a literature review of "8×8" (eight 8-oz glasses of water a day) "found no scientific research supporting the 8×8" and instead found that "surveys of food and fluid intake in thousands of adults strongly suggest that such large amounts are not necessary," because food and other beverages already provide plenty of fluid; it looks like a good deal because water is free, the number is neat, and "drink more water" seems harmless in any setting +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: Valtin H (2002). "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." Really? Is there scientific evidence for "8 x 8"? Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. +- Notes: this is "no evidence for a fixed number" rather than "drinking more water is harmful"; drink when thirsty and watch urine color. Those working in high heat, exercising intensely, with a history of kidney stones, or with reduced thirst sensation in older age need to drink proactively and are outside this item's scope. + +### 15. Do not pay for fortune-telling, tarot, or astrology to make decisions + +- Cost: zero money if you skip it; you give up a shortcut to making up your mind +- In plain terms: in the classic classroom experiment, every student received the exact same "personality analysis" — one copy shared by all — and most found it strikingly accurate; that is why fortune-telling always seems accurate. The real cost goes beyond a few dozen yuan: the online fortune-telling ring in Xixian, Henan first offered free palm readings to draw people in, then collected "incense money" and "offering packages" of up to 3,888 yuan, with more than 50 victims and over 2 million yuan in illicit gains recovered; the ringleader was sentenced to eleven years. Spending a few dozen yuan as entertainment is one thing; using it to decide on quitting your job, marrying, or investing is where the money gets lost. +- Benefit: the classic classroom experiment: the "personal analysis" students received after a personality test was identical for everyone, yet was widely judged highly accurate; the author's conclusion was that "being accepted by the subject or the interpreter does not prove the interpretation correct," which explains why fortune-telling always seems accurate (the Barnum effect); a double-blind test of astrology: two sets of double-blind tests of "whether natal charts can accurately describe subjects' personalities," published in Nature; official case: a network fortune-telling fraud ring reported by the Xixian (Henan) procuratorate, which drew people in with free palm readings and then collected "incense money" and "offering packages" of up to 3,888 yuan; more than 50 victims, over 2 million yuan in illicit gains recovered, the ringleader sentenced to eleven years imprisonment and fined 100,000 yuan +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Forer BR (1949). The fallacy of personal validation: A classroom demonstration of gullibility. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. ；Carlson S (1985). A double-blind test of astrology. Nature. ；最高人民检察院 (2026). 河南息县：历经三年持续追踪打掉一批网络算命诈骗团伙. +- Notes: both are single studies, and this section verified only the abstracts: specific numbers such as Forer's mean accuracy ratings and Carlson's astrologer hit rates are TODO (to be verified: the APA and Nature pages are paywalled and could not be found on open pages). The scope here is "no predictive validity," not a judgment on belief; spending a few dozen yuan as entertainment is outside this item's scope — using it to decide on quitting a job, marrying, or investing is where the loss happens. + +### 16. Do not buy blue-light-blocking glasses "to protect your vision," and do not believe that "a few months of screen time ruins your eyes" + +- Cost: 0 yuan; you save the premium of several hundred to over a thousand yuan on the lenses +- In plain terms: Cochrane's pooled conclusion across 17 trials is that, compared with ordinary lenses, blue-light-filtering lenses show "probably no difference" in short-term eye strain, essentially no effect on corrected visual acuity, and no evidence of protecting the macula was found; what you save is the premium of several hundred to over a thousand yuan on the lenses. The other half matters just as much: the soreness and dryness screens cause is reversible fatigue, not the same as having ruined your eyes; what actually causes irreversible damage in the short term is welding arc light, ultraviolet light, and lasers. +- Benefit: the 2023 Cochrane systematic review included 17 randomized controlled trials (samples 5 to 156 people, follow-up from under 1 day to 5 weeks), with no pooled analysis due to insufficient data, heterogeneous populations, and differing follow-up periods. Compared with lenses without blue-light filtering: subjective eye-strain scores at follow-up under one week "probably no difference" (low-certainty evidence), including one 120-person trial with a mean difference of 9.76 units (95% CI −33.95 to 53.47); critical flicker-fusion frequency "probably little or no difference" (low certainty); best-corrected visual acuity "probably no effect" (mean difference 0.00 logMAR, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.02, 1 study, 156 people, moderate certainty); effect on daytime alertness unclear (2 trials, 42 people, very low certainty). The review also found no evidence supporting macular protection +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Singh S, Downie LE, Anderson AJ, Keller PR, White SJ, Ang M, Wolffsohn JS (2023). Blue-light filtering spectacle lenses for visual performance, sleep, and macular health in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 8, CD013244. +- Notes: what screens bring is digital eye strain and dry eye — soreness, dryness, blurring after prolonged viewing, relieved by breaks and blinking more; it is reversible and not the same as "ruining your eyes" (this sentence is ophthalmology consensus, not the conclusion of the review above, and is grade C). What actually causes irreversible eye damage in the short term is intense light sources such as welding arc light, ultraviolet light, and lasers; "arc eye" (photokeratitis) is a statutorily recognized occupational disease, and what blocks it is goggles and face shields, not blue-light lenses — see Section 19, item 11. If your eyes stay uncomfortable or your vision is genuinely declining, see an ophthalmologist to find the cause rather than just swapping lenses. Myopia control in children and adolescents is covered in Section 30, items 4, 10, and 7. From 4bfb494e3bb25bf14778cdd7dd9084c07fd48944 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:13:59 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 11/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch07:=20Living=20With=20No=20Money?= =?UTF-8?q?=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md | 202 +++++++++++ book/en/08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside.md | 354 ++++++++++++++++++++ book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md | 184 ++++++++++ book/en/10-Is-Love-And-Marriage-Worth-It.md | 157 +++++++++ book/en/11-Red-Lines-For-Techies.md | 154 +++++++++ 5 files changed, 1051 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md create mode 100644 book/en/08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside.md create mode 100644 book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md create mode 100644 book/en/10-Is-Love-And-Marriage-Worth-It.md create mode 100644 book/en/11-Red-Lines-For-Techies.md diff --git a/book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md b/book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..a7cd69d0e --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md @@ -0,0 +1,202 @@ +[← Back to the master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 7. How to Live When You Have No Money + +This chapter covers money and coverage: how much you can claim, how much can be waived, what services you can get, and what the conditions are — it does not convert anything into lifespan. Policies change year by year and differ by locality, so all amounts and thresholds follow what is published locally for the current year. Items are ordered by "costs nothing, least paperwork, fastest effect" first; items requiring long-term eligibility or with large regional differences come later, and experience-based entries come last. +### 1. If You Lose Your Job, First Claim Unemployment Insurance Benefits Online + +- Cost: 0 yuan; submit via the "Zhangshang 12333" app, the electronic social security card mini-program (WeChat/Alipay), or the National Social Insurance Public Service Platform, using just your social security card or ID card — in most areas no in-person visit is needed; the prerequisite is that unemployment registration has been completed +- In plain terms: If your employer and you paid in for a full year and you did not quit voluntarily, once unemployment registration is done you can claim: a full 1 year but less than 5 years of contributions gets at most 12 months, 5 to 10 years at most 18 months, over 10 years at most 24 months. Each province sets its own amount — lower than the local minimum wage, higher than dibao. While you collect, employee medical insurance is paid for you by the unemployment insurance fund. Quitting voluntarily does not count. +- Benefit: Conditions are cumulative unemployment insurance contributions of at least 1 year by employer and employee, interruption of employment not of one's own will, completed unemployment registration, and a willingness to seek work; at least 1 year but under 5 years of contributions gets at most 12 months, at least 5 but under 10 years at most 18 months, over 10 years at most 24 months; the amount is set by provincial governments, below the local minimum wage and above urban dibao, with the national goal of gradually raising it to 90% of the minimum wage standard (nationwide, regulation in force since 1999) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (1999). 失业保险条例（国务院令第 258 号，第十四、十七、十八条）. ；人力资源社会保障部. 全国人社政务服务平台·失业保险待遇申领办事指南. ；国家发展改革委就业司 (2022). 失业保险金标准，将逐步提高至最低工资的 90%. +- Notes: Voluntary resignation does not count as "not of one's own will"; during the benefit period the unemployment insurance fund pays employee medical insurance on your behalf. Amounts vary widely by province — go by what is published where you are insured. The "90% of minimum wage" figure comes from a 2017 guidance opinion of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security; neither the MOHRSS original page nor the government website's could be opened, document number pending verification. + +### 2. For Unpaid Wages, Complain to Labor Inspection First, Then Apply for Labor Arbitration — Both Routes Are Free, and Most Cases Get a Result Within a Few Months + +- Cost: 0 yuan; neither the complaint nor arbitration costs anything; have your labor contract, pay slips, attendance records, transfer records, and chat logs ready, and make 1 to 3 trips to the human resources and social security bureau or the arbitration commission; the statute of limitations is 1 year — wage arrears during employment are not subject to the 1-year limit, but you must file within 1 year of leaving the job +- In plain terms: Neither route costs money. First call 12333 or go to the labor inspection office of the human resources and social security bureau to complain; after a case is filed they must finish checking within 60 working days and can order payment within a set deadline, with an extra 50% to 100% in compensation if the deadline is missed — in 2024 this route recovered 8.65 billion yuan nationwide for 654,000 people. If that fails, apply for labor arbitration: a decision within 45 days, and awards up to 12 times the local monthly minimum wage are final in one ruling — the company cannot sue. But distinguish "case closed" from "money in your account": if the company has no assets or the boss has run off, you can win and still not collect. The deadline is 1 year — you must file within a year of leaving. +- Benefit: Step one: call 12333 or complain to the local human resources and social security bureau's labor inspection office; by law the check must be completed within 60 working days of filing (complex cases may be extended 30 working days), payment can be ordered by a set deadline with 50% to 100% of the amount due added as compensation if the deadline passes, and in 2024 inspection bodies nationwide handled 137,000 cases and recovered 8.65 billion yuan in wages for 654,000 people; where there is an IOU or wage table and the arrears are clear, you can apply directly to a basic-level court for a payment order, issued within 15 days of acceptance; step two: apply for arbitration, with a legally required decision within 45 days of acceptance (extendable by 15 days), advance enforcement available for wage claims, and awards up to 12 times the local monthly minimum wage final in one ruling with no right of the company to sue — in 2024, 4.257 million cases were handled nationwide, 4.156 million concluded, with 93.47 billion yuan in concluded amounts, a mediation success rate of 79.6%, an arbitration closure rate of 98.2%, and an arbitration finality rate of 73.7%; the "six months to a year" comes from the subset of cases that go from arbitration to court: first instance 6 months (simplified procedure 3 months) plus second instance 3 months — in 2024 courts concluded 88,000 wage-recovery cases recovering 28.54 billion yuan, and 998 people were sentenced for the crime of refusing to pay wages (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 人力资源社会保障部 (2025). 2024 年度人力资源和社会保障事业发展统计公报. ；最高人民法院 (2025). 最高人民法院工作报告. ；国务院 (2004). 劳动保障监察条例（国务院令第 423 号，第九、十七、二十六条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动争议调解仲裁法（主席令第八十号，第二十七、四十三、四十四、四十七、五十、五十三条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2012 修正). 劳动合同法（第三十、八十五条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2023 修正). 民事诉讼法（第一百零九、一百五十二、一百六十四、一百八十三、二百二十五、二百二十七条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2011). 刑法修正案（八）第四十一条，即刑法第二百七十六条之一. ；最高人民法院 (2013). 关于审理拒不支付劳动报酬刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2013〕3 号，第三条）. ；国务院 (2019). 保障农民工工资支付条例（国务院令第 724 号，第十、二十六、三十、三十一、三十二、四十一条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2021). 法律援助法（第三十一、四十二条）. +- Notes: Useful, but distinguish "case closed" from "money in your account": the 98.2% closure rate means the procedure is finished — if the company has no assets or the boss has run off, you can win the award and still fail to enforce it; the Supreme People's Court publishes only total enforced amounts (2.3 trillion yuan in 2024) and a claim that "the completion rate of enforcement remains high" — the actual collection rate for wage arrears cases is not published, so this link has no official data. The arbitration finality rate is not defined in the communiqué; this entry reads it as "no further court proceedings after the award". Owing one person 3 months or more of wages of 5,000 to 20,000 yuan or more, or owing 10 or more people a cumulative 30,000 to 100,000 yuan or more, and still not paying after being ordered to, meets the criminal filing threshold — raise it directly in your complaint. Rural construction workers have separate wage-specific accounts and general contractor first liability for payment; going after the general contractor works better than going after the crew boss. For migrant workers applying for legal aid for wage claims, means testing is waived. The Labor Contract Law and Civil Procedure Law texts are quoted from reposting pages of the State Taxation Administration and the Guizhou Provincial Market Regulation Bureau (both gov.cn); the NPC website page could not be opened; for Criminal Law Amendment (VIII) the NPC website WebFetch handshake failed, so curl was used to open and verify it. + +### 3. If You Cannot Afford a Lawsuit, Apply for Legal Aid — Wage Recovery, Alimony, and Workplace Injury Cases Are Already Within Scope + +- Cost: 0 yuan; legal aid charges the aid recipient nothing +- In plain terms: Recovering wages, claiming alimony or child support, claiming social insurance or dibao benefits, or compensation for injuries from a brave act — these are all already inside the free legal aid scope. Call 12348 or go to your local legal aid center. Since 2022 you no longer need to go back to your home region for a certificate of financial hardship; stating your situation truthfully yourself is enough. For defendants facing a possible death sentence, and for blind, deaf, or mute defendants and minors, a lawyer is appointed regardless of financial status. +- Benefit: The administrative regulation lists the civil aid scope as "claims for state compensation under law; claims for social insurance benefits or minimum subsistence allowance benefits; claims for pension payments and relief funds; claims for alimony, child support, or support payments; claims for payment of labor remuneration; and assertion of civil rights arising from brave-and-courageous acts"; in criminal cases, for those facing a possible death sentence, and for blind, deaf, or mute defendants and minors, a lawyer is appointed regardless of economic status +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2003). 法律援助条例（国令第 385 号，第十条、第十一条、第十二条）. ；司法部有关负责人 (2021). 就贯彻实施法律援助法答记者问. +- Notes: The Legal Aid Law, in force from January 1, 2022, changed "submit a certificate of financial hardship" to a truthful self-statement of financial status — no more going back to your home region for paperwork. Entry points are local legal aid centers, public legal service centers, or the 12348 hotline. + +### 4. When You Are Out of Options, Go to a Relief Station — Food, Lodging, and a Ticket Home + +- Cost: 0 yuan; go to the local relief and management station to ask for help (or tell a police officer or the civil affairs department), and register your name and belongings truthfully +- In plain terms: They provide food, a bed, hospital transport if you fall ill, help contacting family, and a ticket home if you have no money to travel. Generally no more than 10 days; you come voluntarily and leave voluntarily — it is not detention, and no cash is given. The ticket is issued to your household registration place or place of residence, so decide where you want to return to before you go. +- Benefit: Relief stations provide food meeting hygiene requirements, lodging, hospital transfer for sudden acute illness within the station, and help contacting relatives and employers; those without travel money to return to their household registration place or place of residence are issued travel (boat) vouchers; the relief period is generally no more than 10 days, extendable for those awaiting pickup, treatment, or placement; police and other administrative personnel who find vagrants and beggars in the course of duty must tell them how to seek help, and must guide and escort persons with disabilities, minors, the elderly, and those with limited mobility (nationwide, since 2003) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2003). 城市生活无着的流浪乞讨人员救助管理办法（国务院令第 381 号，第五、六、七条）. ；民政部 (2003). 城市生活无着的流浪乞讨人员救助管理办法实施细则（民政部令第 24 号，第十一、十二条）. +- Notes: Help is voluntary and leaving is voluntary — this is not internment. What is provided is basic food and lodging, not cash. The travel voucher is issued to your household registration place or place of residence, so think through where you want to go before asking for help. + +### 5. For Acute and Critical Emergencies, Treatment Comes Before Payment — Call 120 Even If You Have No Money + +- Cost: 0 yuan for the call; treatment costs after the emergency response are separate +- In plain terms: Emergency centers and hospitals may not refuse, pass off, or delay treatment of acute, severe, or critical injuries over payment; violators are ordered to correct and responsible persons disciplined. Ambulance costs for unidentified persons or those truly unable to pay are covered by the disease emergency relief fund. So call 120 even with no money. The fund only covers the emergency stretch — subsequent inpatient treatment costs are separate. +- Benefit: Emergency centers (stations) and emergency network hospitals may not refuse or delay pre-hospital emergency care over payment; violators are ordered to correct and responsible persons are disciplined; medical institutions of all levels and types may not refuse, pass off, or delay treatment of acute, severe, or critical patients on any grounds; emergency costs for unidentified persons or those unable to pay are covered by the disease emergency relief fund (nationwide, since 2013 and 2014) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2013). 关于建立疾病应急救助制度的指导意见（国办发〔2013〕15 号）. ；国家卫生计生委 (2013). 院前医疗急救管理办法（国家卫生计生委令第 3 号，第二十五、三十七条）. +- Notes: The fund covers only the emergency stage; later hospitalization and treatment costs are still self-paid or go through medical insurance or medical assistance (see item 8). Do not delay an emergency out of fear of the bill. + +### 6. Use Free Public Employment Services and Gig-Work Markets to Find Work, Not Fee-Charging Agencies + +- Cost: 0 yuan; register at a county-level or above public employment service agency (employment service center, human resources market) or a local gig-work market, or call 12333 to ask for addresses +- In plain terms: Public employment service agencies (employment service centers, human resources markets) provide job referrals, career guidance, policy consultation, and employment/unemployment registration free of charge by law, and the law explicitly bars them from operating for profit; registration and posting of gig-work information is free too. While you are there, get your unemployment registration done — claiming unemployment benefits and getting certified as a person with employment difficulties both require it. +- Benefit: Free provision by law of employment policy consultation, job supply and demand information, career guidance and job referrals, employment and unemployment registration, and employment assistance for persons with employment difficulties; agencies may not engage in for-profit activities; registration and publishing of gig-work job-seeking and recruiting information is provided free to the public and falls within public employment information services, with strengthened support for gig workers in difficulty such as long waiting times and low-income households (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007, 2015 修正). 就业促进法（第三十五条）. ；人力资源社会保障部等五部门 (2022). 关于加强零工市场建设 完善求职招聘服务的意见（人社部发〔2022〕38 号）. +- Notes: Unemployment registration is the prerequisite procedure for claiming unemployment insurance benefits and being certified as a person with employment difficulties — get it done while you are there. For gig jobs paid daily, verify the pay on the spot and keep contact details and records. + +### 7. After a Sudden Setback, Apply for Temporary Assistance First + +- Cost: 0 yuan; apply to the township government or sub-district office, describe the setback (fire, traffic accident, a family member's sudden major illness, a sudden spike in essential living expenses); after review and public notice, approval is by the county-level civil affairs department; documents follow the local checklist, usually 1 to 2 trips +- In plain terms: If something suddenly happens to your household (fire, car accident, a family member's sudden major illness) causing temporary severe difficulty in basic living, you can apply to the township government or sub-district office for temporary assistance — you do not have to already be a dibao recipient. It is mostly paid as a one-time grant, and amounts vary a lot by locality. +- Benefit: Households facing temporary severe difficulty in basic living due to accidents, a family member's sudden major illness, and the like, and dibao households whose essential living expenses suddenly rise beyond what they can bear, can receive temporary assistance; specific items and standards are determined and published by local governments at the county level or above (national system, amounts set locally, since 2014) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国务院 (2014, 2019 修订). 社会救助暂行办法（国务院令第 649 号，第四十七、四十八、四十九条）. +- Notes: You do not need to already be a dibao recipient; it is mostly paid as a one-time grant, amounts vary widely by locality, and current-year local publication is authoritative. + +### 8. If Household Income Is Below the Local Dibao Line, Apply for Dibao + +- Cost: 0 yuan; members of the household living together submit a written application to the township government or sub-district office of the household registration place; if applying is difficult, the village or residents' committee can be entrusted to do it; you must accept household income and asset checks, usually 2 to 3 trips, and need an ID card, household register, and proof of income and assets +- In plain terms: Households whose per-capita income is below the local dibao line and whose assets meet the rules can apply. At the end of 2024 the national average was 798.1 yuan per person per month for urban dibao and 593.9 yuan for rural, covering 6.25 million and 33.615 million people respectively. You apply where your household is registered; owning a house, a car, savings, or having children able to support you may disqualify you. Dibao status is also linked to subsidized medical insurance enrollment, medical assistance, and means-test-free legal aid. +- Benefit: Households with per-capita income below the local dibao standard and assets meeting the rules can receive the guarantee; at the end of 2024 the national average urban dibao standard was 798.1 yuan/person·month and rural 593.9 yuan/person·month, covering 6.250 million and 33.615 million people respectively; standards are set as the previous year's local per-capita consumer spending of residents multiplied by a quantified ratio and adjusted as needed (national averages, varying by locality) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2014, 2019 修订). 社会救助暂行办法（国务院令第 649 号，第九、十、十一条）. ；国家统计局 (2025). 社会事业向好发展 民生福祉不断增进——「十四五」以来社会民生统计报告. ；民政部等四部门 (2024). 关于进一步做好最低生活保障标准确定调整工作的指导意见（民发〔2024〕16 号）. +- Notes: Dibao is the safety net of last resort; you apply at your household registration place, and household assets (housing, car, savings) above the limit or children with the ability to support you may disqualify you; dibao status also links to subsidized medical insurance enrollment, medical assistance, means-test-free legal aid, and more (see items 2 and 8). + +### 9. Holders of a Disability Certificate Should Apply for the Two Disability Subsidies + +- Cost: 0 yuan; take the certificate to the sub-district or township office and submit one application +- In plain terms: Disabled people in dibao households can receive the living subsidy; those graded level 1 or 2 who need long-term care can receive the nursing subsidy; both can be collected together. Provinces set their own standards, ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred yuan a month. Bring your second-generation disability certificate and it takes one visit to the sub-district or township office. +- Benefit: Two systems established by the State Council: the living subsidy for disabled persons in difficulty is "targeted at disabled persons in dibao households, with localities in a position to do so gradually expanding to low-income disabled persons and other disabled persons in difficulty"; the nursing subsidy for severely disabled persons is "targeted at severely disabled persons graded level 1 or level 2 who need long-term care". The two can be received together +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2015). 关于全面建立困难残疾人生活补贴和重度残疾人护理补贴制度的意见（国发〔2015〕52 号）. +- Notes: Standards are set by provincial governments and vary greatly by locality, from a few dozen to a few hundred yuan a month. Applications require the second-generation disability certificate; if the person cannot go in person, a family member can be entrusted with the application. + +### 10. Do Not Let the 400-Yuan-a-Year Urban-Rural Resident Medical Insurance Lapse; Those in Difficulty Can Get It Waived or Reduced + +- Cost: Individual contribution of at least 400 yuan per person per year (national standard for 2024 and 2025; localities may exceed it), paid during the centralized enrollment period; persons in extreme difficulty are fully subsidized, dibao recipients get a fixed-amount subsidy +- In plain terms: Individuals pay from 400 yuan a year, with the government adding roughly 700 yuan per head; persons in extreme difficulty are fully subsidized and dibao recipients get a fixed-amount subsidy. The cost of lapsing is real: those who do not enroll during the centralized period or who have not enrolled continuously face a 3-month fixed waiting period after enrolling, with in principle 1 more month added for each additional year lapsed. +- Benefit: Government subsidy of at least 670 yuan per person per year (2024), 700 yuan (2025 — the national standard as relayed by a Hebei provincial document), with the 2026 government work report raising it another 24 yuan; for dibao recipients and persons in extreme difficulty, eligible medical expenses after medical insurance reimbursement can receive medical assistance at a rate of at least 70%. Cost of lapsing: those who did not enroll during the centralized period or did not enroll continuously have a fixed benefit waiting period of 3 months after enrollment, with in principle 1 month added for each additional year lapsed (from 2025, nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家医保局 (2024). 《关于做好 2024 年城乡居民基本医疗保障有关工作的通知》政策解读（医保发〔2024〕19 号）. ；河北省医疗保障局等 (2025). 关于做好 2025 年城乡居民基本医疗保障有关工作的通知（冀医保发〔2025〕6 号，地方文件）. ；国务院办公厅 (2021). 关于健全重特大疾病医疗保险和救助制度的意见（国办发〔2021〕42 号）. ；国务院办公厅 (2024). 关于健全基本医疗保险参保长效机制的指导意见（国办发〔2024〕38 号）. ；国家医保局 (2026). 2026 年政府工作报告提到这些医保工作. +- Notes: The original page of the National Healthcare Security Administration's 2025 notice (Yibao Fa 〔2025〕 No. 22) could not be opened; the 700 yuan figure is taken from a local document's relay and awaits verification. While receiving unemployment insurance benefits, employee medical insurance is paid on your behalf by the unemployment insurance fund, so do not enroll twice. + +### 11. With a Serious Illness, Go Through Medical Insurance, Catastrophic Illness Insurance, Medical Assistance, and Cross-Region Filing First — Never Touch Online Microloans + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the order is: before a cross-province hospitalization, file through the "National Cross-Region Medical Treatment Filing" mini-program inside the "National Healthcare Security Administration" WeChat official account → settle directly at discharge → if out-of-pocket costs after reimbursement are still too heavy, apply to the township government or sub-district office for medical assistance → if employed, take sick leave under the medical treatment period, and for workplace injuries go through work injury insurance → if you cannot pay your credit card, proactively negotiate installment with the bank → only if that is still not enough, turn to the individual assistance platforms designated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs; documents are mainly the diagnosis certificate, expense itemization, and settlement statements, 2 to 4 trips +- In plain terms: The order is fixed: before a cross-province hospitalization, file through the "National Healthcare Security Administration" official account, then settle directly at discharge without fronting the full amount; if out-of-pocket costs after reimbursement are still too heavy, apply to the township or sub-district for medical assistance (dibao recipients and persons in extreme difficulty get assistance at no less than 70%); if employed, you get a medical treatment period of 3 to 24 months by seniority, during which your contract cannot be terminated and sick-leave pay cannot be below 80% of the local minimum wage; for work injuries there is the suspension-of-work-with-pay period and your original wage keeps being paid; if you cannot pay your credit card, proactively negotiate with the bank — up to 5 years of installments is possible, and once the agreement is signed the bank must stop collections. Do not touch online microloans or high-interest private loans: courts do not support interest above 4 times the one-year LPR, but the principal is still owed, and from a sickbed you have no energy to fight that kind of lawsuit. +- Benefit: The state combines basic medical insurance, catastrophic illness insurance, and medical assistance as the "three-tier system" of comprehensive coverage; dibao recipients and persons in extreme difficulty get assistance of at least 70% on eligible medical expenses, and seriously ill patients impoverished by illness can apply for assistance; after cross-region filing, settlement is direct with no need to front the full amount and then claim back at the enrollment place; a sick worker has a medical treatment period of 3 to 24 months (set by seniority), during which the labor contract may not be terminated and sick-leave pay may not be below 80% of the local minimum wage; injured workers on the suspension-of-work-with-pay period keep their original wage and benefits, paid monthly by the employer, generally no more than 12 months; cardholders whose credit card debt exceeds their repayment capacity but who are willing to repay can negotiate personalized installments with the bank, up to 5 years, and once the agreement is signed the bank must stop collections; individual assistance platforms must be designated by the civil affairs department of the State Council, platforms must verify the truthfulness of assistance requests, and donated funds may only be paid to the person making the request or an account they provide (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2021). 关于健全重特大疾病医疗保险和救助制度的意见（国办发〔2021〕42 号）. ；国家医保局 (2025). 跨省异地就医如何直接报销？. ；劳动部 (1994). 企业职工患病或非因工负伤医疗期规定（劳部发〔1994〕479 号，第二、三条）. ；劳动部 (1995). 关于贯彻执行《劳动法》若干问题的意见（劳部发〔1995〕309 号，第 59 条）. （吉林省人社厅转载）；国务院 (2010 修订). 工伤保险条例（国务院令第 586 号，第三十、三十三条）. ；银监会 (2011). 商业银行信用卡业务监督管理办法（银监会令 2011 年第 2 号，第七十条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2023). 关于修改慈善法的决定（第一百二十四条）. ；民政部等五部门 (2024). 个人求助网络服务平台管理办法（令第 75 号，第三、十一、十三、十七条）. +- Notes: The specific rates and annual limits of medical assistance are set by each pooling area; the medical treatment period has six tiers based on "total years actually worked" and "years with the current employer", and after it expires termination may become legal — check which tier you are in ahead of time. Emergency rescue personnel are also listed among those needing filing, but the healthcare security administration page does not say whether emergencies count as filing by default; ask your enrollment place about retroactive filing. Do not touch online microloans or high-interest private loans: the judicially protected cap is 4 times the one-year LPR (see item 13) — the excess is unprotected but the principal is still owed, and from a sickbed you have no energy for that fight. The original page of Lao Bu Fa 〔1995〕 No. 309 could not be opened on the MOHRSS website; the text is taken from a provincial department repost. + +### 12. If Your ID Card Is Lost, Replace It Immediately; Get a Temporary ID Card First If You Need One Urgently + +- Cost: Certificate production fee (a statutory charge, standard set by the State Council's pricing authority together with the finance department — go by the local publicized amount); apply at the police station of your place of permanent household registration, 1 trip +- In plain terms: A replacement card is issued within 60 days of the day you submit the application; if you need one urgently, apply on the spot for a temporary ID card, issued within 3 days and valid for 3 months. Without an ID card you cannot find a job, book lodging, open a bank account, or collect subsidies — it is the prerequisite for every procedure. +- Benefit: Public security organs issue the card within 60 days of the date the Resident ID Card Application Registration Form is submitted; those needing one urgently while applying for, renewing, or replacing a card can apply for a temporary resident ID card, issued within 3 days of the public security organ receiving the application and valid for 3 months (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2003). 居民身份证法（主席令第四号，第十二、二十条）. ；公安部 (2005). 临时居民身份证管理办法（公安部令第 78 号，第二、七、九、十二、十七条）. +- Notes: Without an ID card you cannot get a job, lodging, a bank account, or subsidies — this is the prerequisite for everything else. The ID Card Law was amended in 2011; the cited text is the 2003 version, so go by current provisions; whether off-site processing is available follows local public security announcements. + +### 13. After Unemployment Registration, Seek Certification as a Person with Employment Difficulties to Get Social Insurance Subsidies or a Public-Interest Job + +- Cost: 0 yuan; apply for certification at the public employment service agency of your sub-district or community; certification conditions differ by locality (older age, long-term unemployment, dibao household, disability, zero-employment household, etc.), and unemployment registration must come first +- In plain terms: Once certified, you get a subsidy for the social insurance you pay yourself — in principle no more than two-thirds of what you actually paid, for at most 3 years; if an employer hires you or a public-interest job takes you on, the employer's share of social insurance is subsidized too, and public-interest job wages reference the local minimum wage. These jobs pay little but come with social insurance, making them suited as a stopgap. Note that social insurance subsidies are mostly pay-first-reimbursed-later, so you have to front the money. +- Benefit: After certification, flexible workers paying their own social insurance can get a subsidy of in principle no more than 2/3 of actual contributions, for at most 3 years; those hired by employers or placed in public-interest jobs — the employer gets a subsidy for actual pension, medical, and unemployment insurance contributions, and the public-interest job subsidy references the local minimum wage, with government-developed public-interest jobs giving priority to persons with employment difficulties; graduating students from dibao households, zero-employment households, and persons in extreme difficulty, as well as graduates with disabilities or national student loans, get a one-time job-seeking subsidy in their final school year (national framework, certification conditions and amounts set locally) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 财政部、人力资源社会保障部 (2023 修订). 就业补助资金管理办法（财社〔2017〕164 号，2023 年 12 月修订印发）. ；全国人大常委会 (2007, 2015 修正). 就业促进法（第五十二、五十三条）. +- Notes: Public-interest jobs pay little but include social insurance and suit a transition; social insurance subsidies are mostly pay-first-reimbursed-later, requiring money up front. Ask 12333 or the sub-district for the specific conditions. + +### 14. While Unemployed, Claim Vocational Training Subsidies, Employment Trainee Subsidies, and Social Insurance Subsidies — Do Not Pay for Training Courses Yourself + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the training itself takes time +- In plain terms: Training does not have to come out of your pocket: attend training and obtain the required certificate and you get the vocational training subsidy, up to 3 times per person; flexible workers get social insurance subsidies for up to 3 years; college graduates unemployed within two years of graduation and unemployed 16-to-24-year-olds can take part in employment traineeships and receive a basic living allowance. First check the "vocational training subsidy catalog" on your local human resources and social security bureau's website — do not sign up for paid courses on your own. +- Benefit: Employment subsidy fund programs under Ministry of Finance and MOHRSS regulations: those who attend training and obtain qualifying certificates receive the vocational training subsidy, up to 3 times per person; social insurance subsidies for flexible workers with employment difficulties run up to 3 years, extendable to retirement for those less than 5 years from statutory retirement age; social insurance subsidies for flexible college graduates run up to 2 years and up to 1 year for enterprises that hire them; college graduates unemployed within 2 years of graduation and unemployed 16-to-24-year-olds can take part in employment traineeships and receive a basic living allowance +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 财政部、人力资源社会保障部 (2023). 就业补助资金管理办法（第五条、第七条、第十条）. +- Notes: The specific subsidy catalog and amounts are set by each province — check the "vocational training subsidy catalog" on the local human resources and social security bureau website first. Graduates in their final year from dibao households, zero-employment households, with student loans, or with disabilities also get a one-time job-seeking and entrepreneurship subsidy. + +### 15. Do Not Just Send Out Resumes When Job Hunting — Use a Systematic Method: Learn Techniques, Set Goals, Find People to Help + +- Cost: 1 to 2 hours a day, sustained for several weeks; the free career guidance from public employment service agencies can replace paid courses +- In plain terms: A pooled analysis of 47 studies: people who took part in structured job-search coaching were 2.67 times as likely to find work as those who did not. The working ingredients are learning concrete job-search skills, presenting yourself clearly, setting explicit goals, taking initiative, and asking people to make introductions — that last one, in practice, means asking acquaintances for internal referrals; do not be shy about it. Career guidance at public employment service agencies is free. +- Benefit: A meta-analysis of job-search interventions across 47 experimental or quasi-experimental evaluations found that participants' odds of gaining employment were 2.67 times those of the control group (OR 2.67); the effective ingredients are teaching job-search skills, improving self-presentation, raising self-efficacy, encouraging proactivity, goal setting, and seeking social support, with interventions combining skills training and motivation enhancement showing the largest effects +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Liu S, Huang JL, Wang M (2014). Effectiveness of job search interventions: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin 140(4): 1009–1041. +- Notes: The included studies mostly come from Europe and the Americas, and the interventions were mostly structured group courses, so the Chinese context is an extrapolation; "seeking social support" in practice means asking acquaintances for introductions and internal referrals — do not be shy about asking. + +### 16. Pay No Deposits, Hand Over No Documents, Sign No "Training Loans", Join No Pyramid Schemes, Borrow No Usurious Loans + +- Cost: 0 yuan; when you meet "pay first, then start work", "train first, then placement", or "recruit people to earn", refuse on the spot and keep chat logs and transfer receipts +- In plain terms: Employers may not hold your ID card, may not take deposits or collect money or property under other guises — violators are ordered to return it and fined 500 to 2,000 yuan per person; agencies must refund the placement fee when the introduction fails. Training loans where "you pay tuition before starting work" and pyramid schemes that pay for recruiting people are officially named scams. Private lending interest above 4 times the one-year LPR is not supported by courts — but the principal is still owed, so do not think you can just walk away from a loan. The more urgently you need money, the more these schemes target you. +- Benefit: Employers may not withhold ID cards or other documents, may not require guarantees or collect money or property under other names — violators are ordered to return them and fined 500 to 2,000 yuan per person; employment agencies may not withhold documents or take deposits, and must refund agency fees when introductions fail; luring people into paid training or loans under the guise of recruitment is the "recruit-to-train" and "training loan" scam explicitly flagged by MOHRSS and four other departments; pyramid schemes pay based on recruiting and charge for the right to join — participants can be fined up to 2,000 yuan; for private lending, the portion of interest exceeding 4 times the one-year LPR at contract formation is not supported by courts, replacing the former 24%/36% two-line-three-zone rule (nationwide, from August 2020) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动合同法（主席令第六十五号，第九、八十四条）. ；劳动保障部 (2007). 就业服务与就业管理规定（劳动保障部令第 28 号，第十四、五十五、五十八条）. ；人力资源社会保障部等五部门 (2026). 警惕「招转培」「培训贷」等风险提示. ；国务院 (2005). 禁止传销条例（国务院令第 444 号，第二、七、二十四条）. ；最高人民法院 (2020). 关于修改《关于审理民间借贷案件适用法律若干问题的规定》的决定（法释〔2020〕6 号，第二十六条）. ；最高人民法院 (2020). 民间借贷利率司法保护上限调整为「一年期 LPR 的 4 倍」. +- Notes: The 4x LPR cap is the judicially protected ceiling, not a license to not repay principal; the judicial interpretation was amended again in December 2020 with renumbered articles, so go by the current text. The more urgently you need money, the more these schemes target you — use the legitimate channels in items 1 through 7 first. + +### 17. With Housing Difficulty, Queue for Public Rental Housing First + +- Cost: 0 yuan application fee; submit documents to the municipal or county housing security department with written consent to verify declared information; if documents are incomplete you are told all corrections at once; the waiting period generally does not exceed 5 years +- In plain terms: The conditions are three: no local housing or floor space below the standard, income and assets below the standard, and migrant workers must also have stable local employment for the required number of years. The waiting period generally does not exceed 5 years — a distant remedy does not quench present thirst, but queuing costs nothing, and the earlier you sign up, the sooner your turn comes. +- Benefit: Those meeting three conditions may apply: no local housing or housing floor space below the prescribed standard, income and assets below the prescribed standard, and migrant workers with stable local employment for the prescribed number of years; specific conditions are set and published by housing security departments of municipalities directly under the central government, cities, and counties, and those registered as waiting-list candidates should be allocated units within the waiting period (national framework, thresholds and rents set locally, since 2012) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 住房和城乡建设部 (2012). 公共租赁住房管理办法（住房和城乡建设部令第 11 号，第七、八、十条）. +- Notes: A distant remedy does not quench present thirst, but queuing costs nothing and the earlier you sign up the sooner your turn comes; localities also have other types such as affordable rental housing with different rules — check the local housing and construction department's website. + +### 18. Squeeze Housing and Food to the Minimum: Monthly Shared Rent Instead of Daily Rental, Home Cooking and Subsidized Canteens Instead of Takeout + +- Cost: 1 to 3 days to find a place, deposit usually 1 month (author's rough estimate); 30 to 60 minutes a day for cooking yourself +- In plain terms: In 2025 national per-capita consumption, food was 29.3% and housing 21.7% — the two together exceed half, which is why squeezing these two is most effective. Daily rental and hourly rooms, converted to a monthly rate, cost far more than a shared flat; cooking yourself is cheaper than takeout. When job hunting, ask whether the job covers room and board — a job that does wipes out both big items outright. +- Benefit: In 2025 national per-capita consumer spending was 29,476 yuan, of which food, tobacco, and alcohol was 8,631 yuan or 29.3% and housing 6,397 yuan or 21.7% — the two exceed half, so squeezing these two is most effective; elderly meal assistance services (elderly canteens, elderly dining tables, meal assistance points) are open to all older people, with differentiated subsidies for older people in difficulty; for reference, as of January 1, 2026, provincial first-tier monthly minimum wages ranged from 2,080 yuan (Qinghai) to 2,740 yuan (Shanghai) (nationwide, 2025 to 2026) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国家统计局 (2026). 2025 年居民收入和消费支出情况. ；民政部等十一部门 (2023). 积极发展老年助餐服务行动方案（民发〔2023〕58 号）. ；四川省人力资源和社会保障厅 (2026). 全国各省、自治区、直辖市最低工资标准情况（截至 2026 年 1 月 1 日，转载人社部官网表）. +- Notes: That daily and hourly rooms converted monthly cost far more than shared rent is a judgment from experience, with no official figures; whether elderly meal assistance points are open to non-elderly people and at what price differ by locality; when job hunting, ask clearly whether room and board are covered — jobs that cover them erase both big items directly. The MOHRSS original table page could not be opened; figures are taken from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security repost. + +### 19. Do Not Panic Over a Lapse in Social Insurance Contributions: Pension Counts Cumulatively, Medical Insurance Can Be Made Up by the Rules + +- Cost: 0 yuan; resident pension and resident medical insurance can be paid yearly by yourself, and during an employee-insurance lapse there is no need to pay a third party to fake affiliation just to "keep it continuous" +- In plain terms: Pension counts cumulative years, not continuous years — a lapse does not reset to zero: reach retirement age with 15 cumulative years and you draw monthly; if short, you can keep paying until you reach 15. Employee medical insurance, once cumulative contributions reach the nationally required years, needs no more payment after retirement. What is really affected is eligibility tied to continuous contribution in various localities (buying a home, hukou transfer, points systems) — those are local rules, so check them yourself. Paying a third party to fake affiliation carries financial and legal risks; not worth it. +- Benefit: Basic pension insurance is calculated on cumulative contribution years; reaching statutory retirement age with 15 cumulative years qualifies for a monthly pension, and those short can continue paying until reaching 15 years; when moving between pooling areas, pension relationships transfer with the person and contribution years accumulate; employee medical insurance requires no further contributions after retirement once cumulative contributions reach the nationally prescribed years; the cost of lapsing on resident medical insurance is the waiting period (see item 8) (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2010, 2018 修正). 社会保险法（第十六、十九、二十七条）. ；国务院办公厅 (2024). 关于健全基本医疗保险参保长效机制的指导意见（国办发〔2024〕38 号）. +- Notes: What a lapse mainly affects is eligibility tied to continuous contribution in various localities (home purchase, hukou transfer, points, etc.) — those are local rules and must be checked yourself; paying a third party to "affiliate" and pay social insurance carries financial and legal risks and is not recommended. + +### 20. If You Have Served Prison Time, Gone Through Bankruptcy, or Been Listed as Dishonest, the Law Has a Path Back — First Finish the Paperwork + +- Cost: 0 yuan in fees; after release, report to the judicial office or sub-district of your household registration or residence and apply for resettlement and assistance; dishonest persons subject to enforcement apply to the enforcement court for removal after fulfilling their obligations; individuals with 3 or more years of insured contributions in Shenzhen can apply for personal bankruptcy; every step involves documents, interviews, and 1 to 3 years of observation periods +- In plain terms: People released after serving their sentence enjoy equal rights with other citizens by law — no discrimination in employment, schooling, or social insurance — and those with living difficulties get government help with resettlement; those under 18 at the time of the crime and sentenced to 5 years or less have their records sealed and need not disclose them when enlisting or seeking employment. The inclusion period for the list of dishonest persons subject to enforcement is 2 years, and courts must delete entries within 3 working days of obligations being fulfilled. Personal bankruptcy currently exists only in Shenzhen; after the declaration, once the 3-year observation period ends, unpaid debts can be discharged. And no sugarcoating: adults' criminal records are not sealed, the law requires truthful disclosure when enlisting or seeking employment, and careers like civil servant, judge, lawyer, and teacher have hard restrictions. +- Benefit: Released prisoners enjoy rights equal to those of other citizens by law and face no discrimination in employment, schooling, or social insurance; those with living difficulties are helped with resettlement by the government of their household registration or residence and given assistance under law (Prison Law revised 2026, effective November 1); a 2010 central document requires strengthened vocational training for them, inclusion in dibao for those eligible, and establishment of transitional resettlement bases; those under 18 at the time of the crime and sentenced to 5 years or less have their criminal records sealed, are exempt from the duty to disclose when enlisting or seeking employment, and get a no-criminal-record certificate issued within 3 working days of applying; the dishonesty list inclusion period is 2 years, and courts must delete entries within 3 working days upon fulfillment of obligations, settlement reached, and similar circumstances; the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Personal Bankruptcy Regulation is currently the only personal bankruptcy statute — after a bankruptcy declaration, unpaid debts can be discharged once the 3-year observation period ends; corporate legal persons unable to pay debts due and insolvent can apply for reorganization, settlement, or bankruptcy liquidation, with debts extinguished with the legal person (nationwide, personal bankruptcy only in Shenzhen) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2026). 监狱法（2026 年修订，第五十九、六十、六十二条）. ；中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅 (2010). 转发《中央社会治安综合治理委员会关于进一步加强刑满释放解除劳教人员安置帮教工作的意见》的通知（中办发〔2010〕5 号）. （益阳市资阳区政府转载）；全国人大常委会 (2018). 刑事诉讼法（2018 年修正，第二百八十六条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部、司法部 (2022). 关于未成年人犯罪记录封存的实施办法（第九、十五条）. （湖南省公安厅转载）；最高人民法院 (2017 修正). 关于公布失信被执行人名单信息的若干规定（第二、十条）. ；深圳市人大常委会 (2020). 深圳经济特区个人破产条例（第二、二十三、九十五、九十七、一百零三条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2006). 企业破产法（主席令第五十四号，第二、七条）. +- Notes: No sugarcoating: adults' criminal records are not sealed — Article 100 of the Criminal Law requires truthful disclosure of prior criminal punishment when enlisting or seeking employment, and careers such as civil servant, judge, lawyer, and teacher, as well as political vetting, have statutory restrictions; this entry does not change that. The current text of the Prison Law before November 1, 2026 corresponds to Articles 37 and 38 — article numbers go by the effective text; the original page of Zhong Ban Fa 〔2010〕 No. 5 was not found on the central government website and is taken from a district government repost; during the personal bankruptcy observation period there are restrictions on first-class air travel, high consumption, buying property, and the like; 8 categories of debt are not discharged, including compensation for intentional harm to persons, and a discharge obtained by fraud can be revoked. Deletion from the dishonesty list is not credit repair — they are two separate systems. + +### 21. Before a Major Illness, Add a One-Year Medical Insurance Policy or Critical Illness Policy on Top of Basic Medical Insurance — and Read the Words "Guaranteed Renewal" Carefully + +- Cost: For young people, a one-year expense-reimbursement medical policy runs a few hundred yuan a year, critical illness insurance from a few thousand yuan a year (author's rough estimate, no official figures); truthfully disclose your health status before enrolling — a one-time half hour +- In plain terms: These policies cover the part you must pay yourself after medical insurance has reimbursed, plus lost income from stopping work. Before buying, look for the exact words "guaranteed renewal": without them, the product may be discontinued or repriced next year; with them, the company must keep covering you on the original terms at renewal. Two expense-reimbursement medical policies cannot both reimburse the same expense — do not stack them. Disclose your health status truthfully; concealment means a denied claim. Pay into basic medical insurance first, then consider this item. +- Benefit: In the official classification, medical insurance compensates actual medical expenses, while disease insurance pays a fixed sum upon diagnosis of a covered illness — both cover out-of-pocket costs after medical insurance reimbursement and lost income from stopping work; health insurance with a term of one year or less and without a guaranteed-renewal clause is short-term health insurance, while anything over one year or containing a guaranteed-renewal clause is long-term health insurance — "guaranteed renewal" means that at renewal the company must underwrite on the original terms and agreed rates; insurers may not induce duplicate purchase of expense-reimbursement medical policies with identical or similar coverage for the same insured person; critical illness definitions have a unified industry standard — 28 major diseases and 3 minor diseases, with malignant tumors, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke sequelae as the core conditions (nationwide, from 2019 and 2020) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 银保监会 (2019). 健康保险管理办法（银保监会令 2019 年第 3 号，第二、四、四十一条）. ；中国保险行业协会、中国医师协会 (2020). 重大疾病保险的疾病定义使用规范（2020 年修订版）答记者问. ；银保监会 (2020). 关于使用《中国人身保险业重大疾病经验发生率表（2020）》有关事项的通知（银保监发〔2020〕51 号）. +- Notes: Grade B because officials provide only definitions and rules, with no numbers on "how much buying saves". "Million-yuan medical insurance" is a market label; the legal category is short-term health insurance, and products without guaranteed renewal may be discontinued or repriced next year — check the terms for "guaranteed renewal" before buying; two expense-reimbursement medical policies cannot both reimburse the same expense, so do not stack them. Enrolling with a pre-existing condition and without truthful disclosure means a denied claim — pay into basic medical insurance (item 8) first, then consider this item. The disease definition standard was issued by the industry association under the guidance of the banking and insurance regulator, not a government document. + +### 22. If You Truly Have Nowhere to Sleep, 24-Hour Premises Are for One Emergency Night Only — Go to a Relief Station First + +- Cost: Airport and train station waiting areas usually 0 yuan; fast food restaurants and internet cafes require a small purchase; sleep quality is poor and belongings risk theft +- In plain terms: Airport and train station waiting areas can get you through a night, with toilets and power outlets, but there is no official data saying this is safe. Keep your belongings on your body, do not accept food or drink from strangers, stay away from isolated corners — under bridges, by rivers, and at construction sites you must not sleep at night, and sleeping outdoors in extreme weather can kill. The relief station provides free food and lodging; go there first. +- Benefit: Enough to get through one night, with toilets and charging; no official figures +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无官方文件 +- Notes: The safety risks are real: keep belongings on your body, do not accept drinks or food from strangers, avoid isolated corners, and do not sleep outdoors at night under bridges, by rivers, or at construction sites; sleeping outdoors in extreme weather can kill. The relief station in item 3 provides free food and lodging — go there first. Some premises clear people out; do not get into conflict with security. diff --git a/book/en/08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside.md b/book/en/08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..54f5691ae --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside.md @@ -0,0 +1,354 @@ +[← Back to the main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 8. Don't Get Yourself Locked Up: Law and Property Safety + +The scope of this chapter is money and personal freedom: what liability the law actually imposes, how much loss can be avoided, and what procedural rights you have — it is not converted into life expectancy. Article numbers follow verified official source texts. Items are ordered by "largest loss in a single incident, easiest to act on", from high to low; items that require advance arrangement sit in the middle, and experience-based items go last. +### 1. Stop, rescue, and call the police after a traffic accident — never flee + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; stopping, turning on hazard lights, rescuing people, and phoning the police costs at most an hour or two waiting for traffic police. For a minor accident with no injuries and no dispute over the facts, photograph the scene, record the other party's name, phone number, license plate, driver's license number, insurance certificate number, and the damaged parts, and once both parties sign you may leave the scene and settle privately. +- In plain terms: if you flee, you are presumed fully at fault by default, your license is revoked and you may never reapply for one. If it constitutes the crime of traffic accident, fleeing means 3 to 7 years, and fleeing causing death means more than 7 years. There is a more practical layer too: property damage and third-party liability insurance pays nothing for hit-and-run, so hundreds of thousands in compensation come entirely out of your own pocket. Staying to rescue and call the police costs at most an hour or two. +- Benefit: the fleeing party bears full responsibility for the accident, reduced only if the other party is proven also at fault; fleeing revokes the driver's license with lifetime ban on reobtaining one; if it constitutes the crime of traffic accident, fleeing means 3 to 7 years, and fleeing causing death means more than 7 years; commercial auto insurance — both property damage and third-party liability — pays nothing for "hit-and-run" or "deliberately destroying or faking the scene, destroying evidence", so hundreds of thousands in compensation are paid entirely out of pocket (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 道路交通安全法（2021 年修订，第七十、一百零一条）. （北京市公安交通管理局转载）；国务院 (2017). 道路交通安全法实施条例（国务院令第 405 号，2017 年修订，第八十六、九十二条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第一百三十三条）. ；中国保险行业协会 (2020). 机动车商业保险示范条款（2020 版）（第九、二十二条）. +- Notes: When someone is injured, rescue first, then call the police; if you move the scene to rescue people, mark the original positions. "Hit and drove off without noticing" can also be deemed fleeing in a later determination — if unsure, call the police. The model clauses are an industry model text; each insurer's terms are governed by its own policy. + +### 2. The moment you realize you've been scammed, call 110 or 96110 to demand a payment freeze — don't investigate on your own first + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one phone call, clearly stating the transfer time, amount, and the other party's account number, and keep the transfer screenshots and chat records. +- In plain terms: the few dozen minutes right after the money leaves your account is the only window: the police can urgently stop payments and freeze quickly, and banks must cooperate. Once the money has been passed along and split up, it is basically unrecoverable. So call 110 or 96110 first — don't go checking or asking around on your own first. When 96110 calls you, it is the police trying to talk you out of a scam; always pick up. +- Benefit: public security organs have the authority to conduct immediate queries, emergency payment stops, and rapid freezes on case-involved funds; banks and payment institutions must cooperate, and frozen funds are returned to victims through the proper procedure. Once money is transferred away and dispersed, the recovery probability drops sharply — the earlier the payment stop, the more effective. 96110 is the nationwide unified anti-fraud warning hotline; a call from it is the police intervening to stop you, so always answer (nationwide, from December 2022). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2022). 反电信网络诈骗法（第二十、三十四条）. ；福建省公安厅 (2023). 96110 来电，请务必接听. （省级公安机关页面） +- Notes: The law only stipulates "establishing a payment-stop and freeze system"; how much can be recovered depends on whether the money is still in the account when you report. Descriptions of the "National Anti-Fraud Center" app and 96110 are drawn from a Fujian Provincial Public Security Department page; the original page on the Ministry of Public Security website could not be opened. Anyone claiming to be police, prosecutors, or a court and asking you to transfer money to a "safe account" is a scammer. + +### 3. Memorize the hard anti-fraud rules: don't trust unexpected callers, don't disclose information, don't click links, verify before transferring + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; memorize "three don'ts and one more" (三不一多). Anyone asking you to transfer money, share your screen, download an unfamiliar app, click a link, or read out a verification code — hang up first, then call back on the official number to verify. Install the "National Anti-Fraud Center" app. +- In plain terms: whenever someone asks you to transfer money, share your screen, download an unfamiliar app, click a link, or read out a verification code, hang up first and call back on the official number to verify. Callers posing as police, prosecutors, or courts, customer service, your boss, or platform risk control — asking you to "cooperate with an investigation", "cancel a membership", "place orders for rebates", or use "insider investments" — are all the same playbook in different clothes. Spotting it beforehand is far cheaper than chasing the money afterward. +- Benefit: the law requires governments and relevant departments to publicize the various forms of telecom and online fraud, and public security organs — together with finance, telecom, and cyberspace authorities — must build a warning and intervention system to dissuade potential victims identified by alerts. 96110 is exactly this nationwide unified warning-and-intervention hotline, so answer when it calls. Recognizing fraud beforehand is far cheaper than stopping payments afterward, and how much a payment stop recovers depends on whether the money is still in the account when you report (see item 2) (nationwide, from December 2022). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2022). 反电信网络诈骗法（第八、二十、三十四条）. ；福建省公安厅 (2023). 96110 来电，请务必接听. （省级公安机关页面，含「来电不轻信，信息不透露，链接不点击，转账多核实」口诀及「警惕 192 开头的诈骗电话」提示） +- Notes: Graded B because the maxim is official publicity language with no figure for "how much less you get scammed after memorizing it". The Ministry of Public Security website (mps.gov.cn) could not be opened during verification; the maxim was taken from provincial public security department pages, TODO (to verify: original page of the Ministry of Public Security or the National Anti-Fraud Center). Anyone posing as police, prosecutors, or courts, customer service, your boss, or platform risk control and asking you to "cooperate with an investigation", "cancel a membership", "place orders for rebates", or use "insider investments" is running the same playbook in different clothes. + +### 4. Seeing a face on video or hearing a voice on the phone is not verification — hang up and call back on the old number stored in your own contacts + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one extra phone call, a few extra minutes; post fewer front-facing videos and long voice clips on public accounts. +- In plain terms: seeing a face or hearing a voice is not verification. The method from the Ministry of Public Security's cybersecurity bureau: ask the person to make one continuous head-turn, or cover their face completely with a palm and then quickly move it away — current face-swapping stumbles and distorts at these occlusions and lighting changes. But the most reliable move is to hang up and call back the old number stored in your own contacts, or quietly ask someone you both know. If they refuse a live video call or the requested action citing "bad signal" or "in a meeting", treat it as a scam outright. Also: compliant platforms must label AI content, scammers won't — so "no AI label" cannot be taken in reverse as proof the other side is a real person. +- Benefit: three methods from the Ministry of Public Security's cybersecurity bureau. Motion verification (ask the person to make one continuous head-turn, or cover their face completely with a palm and quickly move it away; "with current AI technology, simulating these complex facial occlusions and lighting changes tends to produce stuttering, blurring, or distortion"). Voice details ("AI-generated speech sometimes lacks natural breathing pauses and emotional inflection, or carries a slight mechanical quality or abnormal background noise"). Multi-channel verification is "the most core method": "after hanging up, directly dial the other party's regular number that you know well (do not call back the suspicious incoming number), or verify indirectly through a third person you both know"; the maxim is "don't lightly trust video or voice, verify with motion checks". Face-swapping and voice-cloning are long banned by law for fraud. Platforms providing face generation, face replacement, synthetic voices, and voice imitation must apply conspicuous labels, and no organization or individual may maliciously delete, alter, forge, or conceal labels — but platforms follow the rules while scammers don't add labels, so "no AI label" cannot be taken in reverse as proof the other side is a real person. In one case published by the Ministry of Public Security's criminal investigation bureau, a 14-person ring was caught with more than 50,000 synthesized dynamic facial videos and more than 500,000 items of citizens' personal information, with 60 cloud servers seized (nationwide; the labeling obligation applies from September 1, 2025). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 公安部网安局 (2025). 眼见≠为实，警惕 AI 新型诈骗！（福建省公安厅转载）；国家互联网信息办公室、工业和信息化部、公安部 (2022). 互联网信息服务深度合成管理规定（第六、十六、十七条，2023 年 1 月 10 日施行）. ；国家互联网信息办公室、工业和信息化部、公安部、国家广播电视总局 (2025). 人工智能生成合成内容标识办法（第十条，2025 年 9 月 1 日施行）. ；公安部刑侦局、央视新闻 (2026). 警方查获 5 万多条合成动态人脸视频 谁在「复制」你的脸？（福建省公安厅转载） +- Notes: Graded B because the official material is identification guidance and cases, with no figure for "how much the scam rate drops after verifying this way". Call back using the old number stored in your own contacts — not the number on the caller display, and not a new number the other party sent in chat; if they refuse a live video call or the requested action citing "bad signal" or "in a meeting", treat it as a scam outright. Motion verification is only an aid; models keep improving, and the only stable method is the third one — callback verification. If money has already been transferred, see item 2 of this chapter; to prevent your face and voice from being harvested, see section 14. The Ministry of Public Security website (mps.gov.cn) again returned 521 site-wide during this verification; the cybersecurity and criminal investigation bureau texts were taken from pages republished by the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department. + +### 5. If accused or summoned, get a lawyer first — no private settlements, no deleting records + + +- Cost: Legal fees start from several thousand yuan; if in financial hardship you can apply for a free lawyer through a legal aid institution. During interrogation, answer only questions related to the case and leave the rest to your lawyer. +- In plain terms: from the first interrogation or from the moment coercive measures are taken against you, you have the right to a lawyer; when a lawyer requests a meeting, the detention center must arrange it within 48 hours at the latest, and the meeting is not monitored. You have the right not to answer questions unrelated to the case, and no one can force you to prove your own guilt. A single summons lasts at most 12 hours (24 for especially major and complex cases), and successive summonses cannot be used as disguised detention. Don't make private contact with the other party — any "private settlement" may be treated as an admission of guilt. Chat logs, calls, and travel records are your materials for proving your innocence; deleting them only robs you of evidence. +- Benefit: from the first interrogation or from the moment coercive measures are taken, you have the right to retain a lawyer; at the investigation stage only a lawyer may be retained. When a lawyer requests a meeting, the detention center arranges it within 48 hours at the latest, and the meeting is not monitored. No one may be forced to prove their own guilt, and you have the right to refuse questions unrelated to the case. A summons or compulsory summons lasts at most 12 hours per instance, at most 24 for especially major and complex cases, and successive summonses may not amount to disguised detention. Fabricating facts to falsely accuse another person and subject them to criminal pursuit carries up to 3 years; with serious consequences, 3 to 10 years. If a case is withdrawn, not prosecuted, or ends in acquittal after detention or arrest, you may apply for state compensation, calculated daily at the previous year's national average daily wage of employees (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2018). 刑事诉讼法（2018 年修正，第三十四、三十五、三十九、五十二、一百一十九、一百二十条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百四十三条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2012). 国家赔偿法（2012 年修正，第十七、三十三条）. （国家统计局转载） +- Notes: Do not make private contact with the other party or their family; any "private settlement" may be read as an admission. Chat records, call logs, and travel records are your materials for self-exoneration — deleting them only loses you evidence. The crime of false accusation does not apply to mistaken reporting or inaccurate whistleblowing. This item makes no distinction by the accused person's sex. For three expanded items see item 31 of this chapter (pursuing the party that fabricated facts), item 32 (insufficient evidence must lead to acquittal, plus appeals and retrials), and item 33 (state compensation after custody is counted by the day). + +### 6. Never touch the steering wheel after drinking — including e-bikes and "just moving the car a bit" + + +- Cost: A designated driver or taxi costs tens of yuan; agree before a gathering with friends on who will not drink. +- In plain terms: driving after drinking means a 6-month license suspension plus a fine of one to two thousand yuan; a second offense means detention and revocation. Drunk driving means immediate revocation, no reapplication for 5 years, criminal liability for dangerous driving on top, and a criminal record that affects political vetting and some professions. For commercial vehicle operators it is heavier: drunk driving means a 10-year driving ban and a lifetime ban from commercial driving. Commercial auto insurance pays nothing for driving after drinking or taking drugs. "Just moving the car a bit" still counts as driving. +- Benefit: driving after drinking brings a 6-month license suspension and a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 yuan; a repeat offense brings detention of up to 10 days and revocation. Drunk driving brings immediate license revocation, no reapplication for 5 years, and criminal liability for dangerous driving (short-term detention plus a fine). For commercial operators, driving after drinking brings 15 days of detention, a 5,000-yuan fine, and a 5-year driving ban; drunk driving brings a 10-year ban and a lifetime ban from commercial driving. Causing a major accident while impaired or drunk, if it constitutes a crime, brings a lifetime driving ban. Commercial auto insurance pays nothing for driving after drinking or drug use (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 道路交通安全法（2021 年修订，第九十一条）. （北京市公安交通管理局转载）；全国人大常委会 (2015). 刑法修正案（九）（第八条，即刑法第一百三十三条之一）. ；中国保险行业协会 (2020). 机动车商业保险示范条款（2020 版）（第九、二十二条）. +- Notes: Drunk driving is a criminal offense and leaves a criminal record, affecting the person's political vetting and some professional qualifications. The blood alcohol thresholds for "drinking" and "drunkenness" are set by national standards; this chapter has not verified the specific values — do not estimate by feel. + +### 7. Never lend your bank card, SIM card, or payment accounts to anyone — "paofen" is not a side job + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; refuse requests like "just let your card run a payment through, I'll give you a few hundred". +- In plain terms: renting out or selling bank cards, SIM cards, or payment accounts to others is illegal in itself: a fine of 1 to 10 times the illegal gains, up to 200,000 yuan if there are no gains, detention of 15 days in serious cases, plus entries in your credit record and restrictions on account functions. If you knowingly provide payment settlement help for someone else's crime, that is the crime of assisting information network criminal activities, punishable by up to 3 years. In practice "knowingly" is often inferred from objective circumstances — taking a cut of the proceeds or clearly abnormal transaction volumes can both count. +- Benefit: renting out, lending, or buying and selling phone cards, bank accounts, payment accounts, or internet accounts is itself illegal: confiscation of illegal gains plus a fine of 1 to 10 times the gains, up to 200,000 yuan where there are no gains, detention of up to 15 days in serious cases, plus possible credit-record entries, account function restrictions, and suspension of non-counter banking services. Knowingly providing payment settlement or similar help for another person's online crime, if serious, constitutes the crime of assisting information network criminal activities, punishable by up to 3 years plus a fine (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2022). 反电信网络诈骗法（第三十一、四十四条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2015). 刑法修正案（九）（第二十九条，即刑法第二百八十七条之二）. +- Notes: "Knowingly" is in practice often inferred from objective circumstances; taking a cut of proceeds or transaction volumes clearly contrary to common sense can both be deemed knowing. If your card is used by others to receive stolen money, even if no crime is established, the account will be frozen and you will be disciplined. + +### 8. Check your credit report twice a year for free, looking for loans and cards you never opened + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; ten minutes online. +- In plain terms: the regulations give you the right to two free checks of your own credit report each year — ten minutes online. When your ID is misused for online loans or card applications, you usually only find out when your mortgage is rejected, by which time years have already passed. Negative records stay for 5 years from the end of the underlying conduct and must be deleted after that; you can raise a dispute and must receive a written reply within 20 days. Check through the People's Bank of China Credit Reference Center website or your mobile banking app — not third-party "credit check" apps, which are themselves collecting your information. +- Benefit: administrative regulations state that "a personal information subject has the right to obtain their own credit report free of charge twice each year"; negative information "is retained for 5 years from the date the negative act or event ends; beyond 5 years it must be deleted"; if you dispute the report, the credit reference institution or information provider must reply in writing within 20 days of receiving the dispute. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2013). 征信业管理条例（国令第 631 号，第十六条、第十七条、第二十五条）. +- Notes: When an ID is misused for online loans or cards, the person usually discovers it only when a mortgage application is rejected — by then several years have passed. The entry point is the People's Bank of China Credit Reference Center website or mobile banking; do not use third-party "credit check" apps, which are themselves collecting your information. + +### 9. In a conflict, call the police before doing anything else — whoever strikes first almost always loses out + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; hold back from talking back or shoving, retreat to where there are people and call the police, and let the other party's actions stay on camera. +- In plain terms: hitting someone means 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of 500 to 1,000 yuan; beating someone as a group, beating the elderly, pregnant women, children, or people with disabilities, repeat beatings, or beating several people at once means 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of one to two thousand yuan. Injuring someone to the level of "minor injury" makes it a criminal case with up to 3 years; serious injury, 3 to 10 years. Mutual fighting does not count as legitimate self-defense — so whoever strikes first almost always loses out. Retreating to a crowded place, calling the police, and leaving the other party's moves on camera works better than fighting back. If they are already down or have run away and you keep hitting, it is no longer defense. +- Benefit: beating a person or intentionally injuring them means 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of 500 to 1,000 yuan; acting as a group, beating the elderly, pregnant women, children, or people with disabilities, repeat beatings, or beating several people at once means 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 yuan; group brawls under the provision on picking quarrels and provoking trouble mean up to 15 days of detention plus a 2,000-yuan fine. Intentional injury constituting a crime carries up to 3 years; serious injury, 3 to 10 years. Mutual fighting does not count as legitimate self-defense, but a counterstrike is generally recognized as defense when the other party struck first with clearly excessive means, or when you tried hard to avoid the conflict and they persisted in the attack. Excessive defense requires both "clearly exceeding the necessary limits" and "causing major harm", and even excessive defense should receive mitigated or waived punishment (nationwide; the Public Security Administration Punishments Law takes effect January 1, 2026). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第三十、五十一条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二十、二百三十四条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部 (2020). 关于依法适用正当防卫制度的指导意见（法发〔2020〕31 号，第 6、9、11、14 条）. +- Notes: The Public Security Administration Punishments Law was revised in 2025 with all article numbers changed — beating others moved from Article 43 of the old law to Article 51 — so materials citing old article numbers are outdated. The injury standard behind "minor injury means criminal liability" is set by forensic assessment standards; this chapter has not verified them. Striking someone who is already down or has fled means the unlawful attack has ended and it is no longer defense. + +### 10. Whoever you hold a grudge against — unpaid wages, fired, cheated of money — go through complaints, arbitration, or the courts; don't go after them yourself + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; complaints and arbitration are both free of charge. It takes one or two trips and a few months of waiting — the hard part is holding back from violence during those months. +- In plain terms: the worst outcome of the legal route is that the money isn't recovered; the outcome of revenge is that the money still isn't recovered, plus you pay with your own life. Take the Wuxi case: Xu Moujin, denied his diploma and unhappy with his internship pay, went on a knife attack that killed 8 and wounded 17; he was sentenced to death, and the sentence has been carried out — he was angry at his school and over that money, he stabbed his classmates, and he never got a cent of the money. For unpaid wages, go through complaints and arbitration; in 2024, nationwide, this route recovered 8.65 billion yuan for 654,000 people. +- Benefit: the legal route has official numbers: in 2024, labor inspection nationwide handled 137,000 cases, recovering 8.65 billion yuan in wages for 654,000 people, and 998 people were sentenced for the crime of refusing to pay labor remuneration; for the procedure see item 2 of section 7. The price list of the revenge route is written in Article 232 of the Criminal Law: "whoever intentionally kills shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years; if the circumstances are relatively minor, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years". Official case: Xu Moujin, after failing an exam and not receiving his diploma, and dissatisfied with his internship remuneration, returned to Wuxi Institute of Arts and Technology on November 16, 2024 and attacked people with a knife, killing 8 and injuring 17; at first instance he was sentenced to death for intentional homicide with deprivation of political rights for life, and with Supreme People's Court approval the sentence was carried out on January 20, 2025 — he was angry at his school and over that pay, he stabbed his classmates, and he never got a cent of that money (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百三十二条）. ；新华社 (2024). 江苏宜兴一校园发生持刀伤人事件致 8 死 17 伤. （转宜兴警方通报，含伤亡人数与动机原话）；最高人民检察院 (2025). 无锡校园持刀伤人案罪犯徐加金被执行死刑. ；人力资源社会保障部 (2025). 2024 年度人力资源和社会保障事业发展统计公报. ；最高人民法院 (2025). 最高人民法院工作报告（「对驾车冲撞行人的樊维秋、校园持刀行凶的徐加金等判处死刑」）. +- Notes: Internships by enrolled students are generally not recognized as labor relationships; internship pay disputes go through school coordination or civil litigation, not the labor arbitration route. For the concrete steps on unpaid wages see item 2 of section 7; for the red lines of debt collection see item 19 of section 9. The worst outcome of the legal route is not getting the money back (case closed does not mean money received); the outcome of revenge is not getting the money back all the same, plus paying with your own life. + +### 11. However deep the hatred, never strike at uninvolved people: driving into crowds or attacking people in public places is charged as endangering public safety by dangerous means — three years minimum, and death if people die + + +- Cost: 0 yuan. +- In plain terms: driving into a crowd or attacking people in a public place is charged as endangering public safety by dangerous means: even if no one is hurt, it starts at three years; if people die, it is more than 10 years, life imprisonment, or the death penalty. Take the Zhuhai case: Fan Weiqiu, unhappy with the property division in his divorce, drove into a crowd exercising at a sports center, killing 35 and wounding 43; he was sentenced to death, and the sentence has been carried out — he was angry at his divorce ruling, and he ran over strangers who were out jogging. "I don't want to live anyway" is not a discount at sentencing. Even verbal threats are already illegal: threatening arson or explosions to disrupt public order means 5 to 10 days of detention plus a possible fine. +- Benefit: Article 114 of the Criminal Law: "arson, breaching dikes, explosion, and the releasing of poisonous, radioactive, or infectious-disease-pathogen substances, or endangering public safety by other dangerous means, where serious consequences have not yet occurred, carries fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years" — even without hurting anyone it starts at three years. Article 115: causing serious injury or death, or major loss of public or private property, carries fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment, or the death penalty. Official case: Fan Weiqiu, after marital breakdown, a failed life, and dissatisfaction with the property division in his divorce, "resolved to vent his private grievances by driving into a crowd"; on the evening of November 11, 2024 he drove into people exercising at the Zhuhai Sports Center, killing 35 and injuring 43; at first instance he was sentenced to death for endangering public safety by dangerous means with deprivation of political rights for life, and with Supreme People's Court approval the sentence was carried out on January 20, 2025 — he was angry at his divorce ruling, and he ran over strangers who were out jogging (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第一百一十四、一百一十五条）. ；新华社 (2024). 广东珠海驾车撞人事件造成 35 人死亡 43 人受伤. （转珠海市公安局通报）；最高人民检察院 (2024). 樊维秋以危险方法危害公共安全案一审宣判，判处死刑，剥夺政治权利终身. ；最高人民检察院 (2025). 珠海驾车撞人案罪犯樊维秋被执行死刑. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第二十九、五十条）. +- Notes: "I don't want to live anyway" is not a discount at sentencing; the Supreme People's Court's 2025 work report set the tone for such cases as "for the egregious who challenge the bottom lines of law and morality, punish resolutely, more severely, and more swiftly in accordance with the law". Even threatening is illegal: stating an intent to commit arson, explosion, or releasing dangerous substances or other acts endangering public safety to disrupt public order means 5 to 10 days of detention and possibly a fine of up to 1,000 yuan; sending threatening letters or otherwise threatening another person's personal safety means up to 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan (Public Security Administration Punishments Law, effective January 1, 2026). If your thoughts have already reached this point, read the next item. + +### 12. Treat thoughts like "I'll take someone down with me" as a medical emergency: leave the scene, hand your car keys and knives to someone else, call 12356 + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the hard part is admitting you are not in a normal state right now, and putting things into someone else's hands. +- In plain terms: the window from such a thought arising to acting on it is short — among 82 suicide attempters, 47.6% said no more than 10 minutes passed from the first thought to the act. So the task is not to "think it through" but to first put one step of distance between yourself and the steering wheel, the knife, the gas valve, and the rope, and ride out those ten minutes: after analgesics were brought under control, related suicides fell 43%; after protective barriers were installed at jumping hotspots, they fell 86%. Then call 12356. When you are in a bad state, don't drive and don't take shifts where you are responsible for other people's safety. +- Benefit: the window from such a thought to acting on it is short — in interviews within three days of admission among 82 suicide attempters, 47.6% said no more than 10 minutes passed from the first thought to the act. A 10-year systematic review finds the evidence for means restriction continuously strengthening: suicides related to analgesic control fell 43%, and jumping hotspots fell 86% (79% to 91%) after barriers were added. Putting one step between yourself and the steering wheel, knives, the gas valve, and the rope is exactly about waiting out those ten minutes. 12356 is the nationwide unified psychological assistance hotline, answering calls no fewer than 18 hours a day (nationwide, from May 1, 2025). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Deisenhammer EA 等 (2009). The duration of the suicidal process: how much time is left for intervention between consideration and accomplishment of a suicide attempt? Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. ；Zalsman G 等 (2016). Suicide prevention strategies revisited: 10-year systematic review. Lancet Psychiatry. ；国家卫生健康委 (2024). 关于应用「12356」全国统一心理援助热线电话号码的通知（国卫医政函〔2024〕259 号）. +- Notes: Graded B because both pieces of evidence come from suicide research, and extrapolating them to "impulses to harm others" has no direct literature; the Deisenhammer study also had only 82 people at a single center. When in a bad state, don't drive and don't take shifts responsible for others' safety — hand over the shift first. For the side of wanting to harm yourself, see item 25 of section 1; for what to do first when feeling low, see item 19 of section 3. + +### 13. When someone close to you says "no one gets to live well" or "I'm taking the kids with me", don't brush it off as venting: close relatives can send them for diagnosis directly, and the police must act on a report + + +- Cost: Registration and consultation fees run tens to several hundred yuan; accompanying them on one hospital trip takes half a day to a day. +- In plain terms: close relatives, employers, and the police, upon discovering that someone may harm themselves or endanger others, must immediately stop them and send them to a medical institution; a hospital receiving such a referral may not refuse to diagnose, must keep the person in the hospital, and must immediately assign a psychiatrist and issue conclusions promptly. For people with severe mental disorders who have already harmed others or present such a danger, hospitalization does not require their consent. This clause targets real danger signals — not angry words in a quarrel, and it must not be used to deal with disobedient family members; if the diagnosis does not hold, the hospital may not keep them. If you can't tell, call 12356 first, or call 110 to have the police come. The Germanwings 9525 investigation report puts it bluntly: no one — not doctors, not colleagues, not family — ever told the authorities, and all 150 people on board died. Covering for him is not helping him. +- Benefit: Article 28, paragraph 2 of the Mental Health Law: "where a person suspected of having a mental disorder has engaged in acts of harming themselves or endangering the safety of others, or presents such a danger, their close relatives, employer, or the local public security organ shall immediately take measures to stop them and send them to a medical institution for diagnosis of the mental disorder"; the same article also provides that "a medical institution receiving a person suspected of having a mental disorder sent for diagnosis may not refuse to diagnose them". Article 29 requires the hospital to keep such referrals in the hospital, immediately assign a licensed psychiatrist to diagnose, and issue conclusions promptly. Article 30 sets hospitalization on a voluntary principle, but where the diagnostic conclusion shows a severe mental disorder and the person "has already engaged in acts endangering the safety of others, or presents a danger to the safety of others", inpatient treatment shall be applied — for this category the person's consent is not a precondition. Threats to harm people can be reported directly to 110; the penalties are in the previous item (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2012，2018 修正). 精神卫生法（第二十八、二十九、三十、三十五条）. ；法国航空事故调查局 BEA (2016). Final Report BEA2015-0125.en: Accident on 24 March 2015 at Prads-Haute-Bléone to the Airbus A320-211 registered D-AIPX operated by Germanwings. +- Notes: By the beneficiary criterion, this item counts the spouse, parents, and children living with the person — "no one gets to live well" usually includes you, and the law gives the referral right precisely to close relatives; outsiders who want to intervene can only call the police. This clause targets real danger signals, not angry words in a quarrel, and even less may it be used to send a disobedient family member to the hospital — the same law provides that where re-diagnosis or assessment cannot establish a severe mental disorder, a medical institution may not apply inpatient treatment (Article 35). If you can't tell, call 12356 to ask first, or call 110 to have the police come. The Germanwings 9525 investigation concluded that the authorities and the employer could take no measures to stop the co-pilot from flying that day, because "neither he himself nor anyone else — not doctors, not colleagues, not family — told them", and all 150 people on board (2 pilots, 4 cabin crew, 144 passengers) died. Covering for him is not helping him. + +### 14. Online: don't insult, don't spread rumors, don't repost unverified claims; if you're cyberbullied, preserve evidence first, then report to the police + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; think for ten extra seconds before posting; when attacked, screenshot, record your screen, save the links and account IDs, complain to the platform, then report to the police. +- In plain terms: publicly insulting someone or fabricating rumors to defame them means up to 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 5 to 10 days in more serious cases; spreading rumors that disrupt public order means 5 to 10 days of detention; in serious cases it constitutes the crimes of insult or defamation, punishable by up to 3 years. Reposting does not exempt you — spreading something you know is false counts the same. The reverse matters too: when you are cyberbullied, know that insult and defamation are in principle "handled only upon complaint", the police generally do not open a case on their own, and you have to sue in court yourself — so screenshots, screen recordings, links, and account IDs can only be saved by you. +- Benefit: publicly insulting another person or fabricating facts to defame them means up to 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 5 to 10 days of detention in more serious cases; the same punishment applies to repeatedly sending insulting or threatening messages, harassment, stalking, or covert photography and spreading private material; deliberately spreading rumors that disrupt public order means 5 to 10 days of detention; in serious cases it constitutes the crimes of insult or defamation, punishable by up to 3 years, and for online defamation where the victim has difficulty gathering evidence, the court may ask the public security organ to assist (nationwide; the Public Security Administration Punishments Law takes effect January 1, 2026). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第二十九、五十条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百四十六条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2015). 刑法修正案（九）（第十六条，增加刑法第二百四十六条第三款）. ；全国人大常委会 (2015). 刑法修正案（九）（第二百四十六条新增第三款）. 国家信访局转载全文 +- Notes: The crimes of insult and defamation are in principle "handled only upon complaint", meaning you must sue in court yourself; the police generally do not open a case on their own, so evidence can only be preserved by yourself. But don't miss two openings: "except where social order or state interests are seriously harmed", which the police can handle directly (Article 246, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law), and for online defamation where the victim genuinely cannot produce evidence, the court may require the public security organ to provide assistance (same article, paragraph 3, added by Criminal Law Amendment IX). Reposting is not an exemption; "fabricating facts" includes spreading what you know is false. For what to do after being cyberbullied, see item 35 of this chapter. The provision on insult and defamation moved from Article 42 of the old law to Article 50 of the new one. + +### 15. Read the paper through before signing; never sign for someone else; never sign a blank sheet + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; spend a few extra minutes reading contracts, IOUs, guarantee letters, and onboarding documents from start to finish, asking on the spot about anything unclear and photographing them for your records. +- In plain terms: once signed, it counts; "I didn't read it carefully" or "I thought it said something else" basically won't stand up in court. So spend a few extra minutes reading it from start to finish, ask on the spot about anything unclear, and photograph it for your records. Don't sign for others, don't sign blank sheets, and write the stated purpose on copies of your ID card. An electronic signature and a facial-recognition confirmation count as signing all the same. +- Benefit: a lawfully formed contract is protected by law and binding on the parties; once signed it must be performed in full as agreed, and "I didn't read it carefully" or "I thought it said something else" is very hard to establish in court. Not signing means you won't carry debts and responsibilities that are not yours (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第四百六十五、五百零九条）. +- Notes: "Don't sign for others, don't sign blank sheets, annotate the purpose on ID copies" is experienced practice with no single official document behind it, but the purpose in each case is to avoid being forged into a "lawfully formed contract". Electronic signatures and facial-recognition confirmations count as signing all the same. + +### 16. Write a full IOU when lending money; before guaranteeing for someone, decide whether you are willing to repay in their place + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one sheet of paper stating the lender, the borrower, the amount, the interest rate, the term, and the repayment method, signed by both parties; leave a transfer record, never hand over cash. +- In plain terms: the IOU must state the lender, the borrower, the amount, the interest rate, the term, and the repayment method, with both signatures, and the money should move by transfer, not cash — a complete document is what makes a lawsuit winnable. When guaranteeing for someone, look hard at the two characters meaning "joint and several": a general guarantee means the creditor must first sue the borrower and fail to recover through enforcement before it's your turn; if the guarantee says joint and several liability, the creditor can come straight to you. Before signing, ask yourself one question: am I willing to repay in their place? +- Benefit: a loan contract should be in written form and generally includes the type of loan, currency, purpose, amount, interest rate, term, and repayment method; a complete document is what makes a lawsuit winnable. Where a guarantee contract does not stipulate the type of guarantee or stipulates it unclearly, liability is borne as a general guarantee, and a general guarantor has the right to refuse to repay until the creditor has first sued or arbitrated and enforced against the debtor's property without full recovery. Conversely, if you signed a "joint and several liability guarantee", that protection is gone and the creditor can come straight to you (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第六百六十八、六百八十一、六百八十六、六百八十七条）. +- Notes: Courts do not protect the portion of interest on lent money exceeding 4 times the LPR — see section 7. Writing the ID number on the IOU and noting "loan" is experienced practice. The two characters meaning "joint and several" on the guarantee determine whether you are second in line or standing beside the borrower — read them carefully before signing. + +### 17. Rights claims have deadlines: 3 years for civil litigation, 1 year for labor arbitration — once past, the other side saying "the statute of limitations has run" is enough + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; don't just chase payment in your head — leave a trail with WeChat, SMS, email, or a registered letter. +- In plain terms: this is probably the cheapest item in the whole book. The civil litigation limitation period is 3 years, counted from the day you knew your rights were harmed; past the deadline the court won't raise it on its own, but the other side saying "the limitation period has run" is enough — the money still exists, you just can't get it back. And one payment demand that leaves a trace (WeChat, SMS, registered letter) restarts the 3 years from the beginning. Labor disputes run on a separate track: the arbitration limitation is 1 year; wage arrears during employment are not bound by that year, but once the labor relationship ends, you must file within one year. +- Benefit: the Civil Code provides that "the limitation period for requesting the people's court to protect civil rights is three years", counted from "the date the rights holder knew or should have known that their rights were harmed and who the obligor is", capped at 20 years from the date the rights were harmed. Once the period expires, "the obligor may raise the defense of non-performance" — the court does not apply the limitation on its own, but it becomes effective the moment the other side raises it; the money still exists, it just can't be recovered. There are four grounds for interruption, and each interruption restarts the 3 years from scratch: the rights holder demanding performance from the obligor, the obligor agreeing to perform, the rights holder filing suit or applying for arbitration, and other circumstances of equivalent effect. Where performance is agreed in installments, the period runs from the day the final installment falls due. Four categories of claims are not subject to the limitation: demands to stop infringement, remove obstruction, or eliminate danger; return of real property and of registered movable property; child support, support for parents, and support between spouses; and others provided by law. Labor disputes run on a separate track: the arbitration limitation is 1 year from the day you knew or should have known of the infringement of your rights, but "for disputes over wage arrears during the existence of the labor relationship, a worker's application for arbitration is not subject to the arbitration limitation period in the first paragraph of this article; however, where the labor relationship has terminated, the application must be filed within one year from the date of termination" (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一百八十八、一百八十九、一百九十二、一百九十三、一百九十五、一百九十六、一百九十七条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动争议调解仲裁法（第二十七条）. （安康市人力资源和社会保障局转载） +- Notes: This is probably the cheapest item in the whole book: one payment-demand message that leaves a trace restarts the 3 years, while doing nothing can forfeit your right to win for nothing. Waiving the benefit of the limitation in advance is invalid, and so is an agreement between the parties to change the limitation period. Conversely, an obligor who agrees to perform after the period has run may no longer raise the limitation defense, and performance already made voluntarily cannot be demanded back. For IOUs and guarantees see item 12; for the enforcement stage see item 14; overtime pay and unused annual leave pay go through the labor arbitration track — see items 1 and 2 of section 19. + +### 18. If sued or subject to enforcement, report your assets truthfully and repay what you can — don't move your house or money to relatives, friends, or a company + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; report to the court your current assets and those held in the year before the enforcement notice, repay what you can first, and where you cannot repay, negotiate a settlement or installment plan with the applicant for enforcement. +- In plain terms: putting the house under a company's name or transferring money to relatives and friends is not some clever "move" — it falls exactly within the enumerated circumstances of the crime of refusing to comply with judgments: up to 3 years, and 3 to 7 years for especially serious circumstances. The relatives, friends, and companies who help hide money or transfer titles are treated as accomplices, and the assets are recovered all the same. Refusing to report assets or falsely reporting them can mean a fine of up to 100,000 yuan for an individual and up to 15 days of detention. Conversely, genuinely having no money is not this crime — determining "capacity to perform" first deducts the living necessities of the person and their dependent family members; those who perform before prosecution with minor circumstances may not be prosecuted, and those who perform before the first-instance judgment may receive lighter or waived punishment. +- Benefit: transferring assets is not a "move" — it is itself a circumstance for criminal liability: the NPC Standing Committee's interpretation of Article 313 of the Criminal Law directly lists "the person subject to enforcement hiding, transferring, or deliberately destroying assets, or transferring assets gratuitously or at a plainly unreasonable low price, making the judgment or ruling impossible to enforce" as "having capacity to perform but refusing, with serious circumstances". The 2024 interpretation by the two Supreme bodies added ten more items, including disposing of property rights through sham settlements or sham transfers, acquiring another person's assets at a plainly unreasonable high price, and providing guarantees for another person's debts — acts that maliciously diminish the assets available to satisfy liability. The crime of refusing to comply carries up to 3 years; especially serious circumstances (sham litigation, sham arbitration, or sham notarization obstructing enforcement, mobbing the enforcement site, besieging, detaining, or beating enforcement personnel, or driving the applicant to suicide or self-harm through refusal to comply) carry 3 to 7 years plus a fine. Third parties who knowingly conspire to help hide money or transfer titles are treated as accomplices to the crime; assets disposed of unlawfully shall be recovered or returned by order. Transfers made after the defendant receives the notice of response but before the judgment takes effect count the same. On the civil side, the creditor may ask the court to revoke gratuitous transfers and transfers at a plainly unreasonable low price; refusal to report assets or false reporting can bring a court fine (up to 100,000 yuan for individuals) and detention (up to 15 days) (nationwide; the interpretation by the two Supreme bodies from December 2024). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2002). 关于《中华人民共和国刑法》第三百一十三条的解释. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2024). 关于办理拒不执行判决、裁定刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2024〕13 号，第三、四、五、六、八、十一、十二条）. （最高法发布页；全文核对自广东省广州监狱转载 ）；全国人大常委会 (2015). 刑法修正案（九）（第三十九条，修改刑法第三百一十三条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第五百三十八、五百三十九、五百四十条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2023 修正). 民事诉讼法（第一百一十四、一百一十八、二百五十二条）. （贵州省市场监管局转载） +- Notes: The online claim of "putting the house under the company name as staff housing and transferring all money to relatives" is not a loophole — it falls exactly within the gratuitous disposal and sham transfers enumerated in the interpretation; the relatives, friends, and companies who help carry it out are treated as accomplices, and the assets are recovered all the same. Conversely, genuinely having no money is not this crime: determining "capacity to perform" deducts the living necessities of the person and their dependent family members; where all or part of the obligations are performed before prosecution and circumstances are minor, prosecution may not proceed, and performance before the first-instance judgment can bring lighter or waived punishment. What to do after being listed or subject to consumption restrictions is in the next item; how to recover after performing is in item 20 of section 7. + +### 19. If placed under consumption restrictions or listed as dishonest, first find out under which provision you were listed, and apply for correction where correction is possible + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; check with the enforcement court under which item you were listed, prepare proof of performance or guarantee materials; each consumption necessary for living or business requires one application at a time. +- In plain terms: first work out whether you are under consumption restrictions or on the dishonest-persons list — these are two different things, you may hit only one, and neither equals a credit record. The dishonest list can only be entered under six circumstances, for a term of 2 years; where any of seven circumstances applies, such as full performance, the court must delete the entry within 3 working days, and proactive performance can get it deleted earlier. Consumption restrictions bar eight categories of spending with the judgment debtor's money (flights, soft sleeper, star-rated hotels, buying property, tourism, children at high-fee private schools, etc.); for an item necessary for living or business you may apply one at a time; with reliable and valid guarantees or the applicant's consent, the court can lift the restrictions. +- Benefit: entry on the dishonest list is limited to six circumstances — having capacity to perform but refusing; obstructing or resisting enforcement by forging evidence or violence and threats; evading enforcement through sham litigation, sham arbitration, or hiding or transferring assets; violating the asset reporting system; violating the consumption restriction order; or refusing without justification to perform an enforcement settlement agreement. Where sufficient and valid guarantees have been provided, or the seized, distrained, or frozen assets suffice to satisfy the debt, the court must not enter the debtor under the first item, and minors subject to enforcement must not be entered at all. The listing term is 2 years, extendable by 1 to 3 years for seriously obstructing or resisting enforcement with violence and threats, or for multiple dishonest acts; for seven circumstances — full performance, full performance of a settlement agreement, court ruling terminating enforcement, and others — the court must delete the entry within 3 working days, and proactive performance or proactive correction allows earlier deletion. The consumption restriction order bars eight categories of spending with the debtor's own assets: flights, soft sleeper train berths, second-class or higher cabin class on ships; high spending at star-rated hotels, nightclubs, or golf courses; buying real estate or building, extending, or finely decorating high-end housing; renting high-end office buildings, hotels, or apartments; buying vehicles not necessary for business; tourism and vacations; children attending high-fee private schools; and paying high premiums for insurance or wealth-management products. For an item necessary for living or business, you must apply to the court and may proceed only after approval; with reliable and valid guarantees or the applicant's consent, the court may lift the restrictions (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 最高人民法院 (2017 修正). 关于公布失信被执行人名单信息的若干规定（第一、二、三、四、十条）. ；最高人民法院 (2010). 关于限制被执行人高消费的若干规定（第三、八、九条）. +- Notes: The consumption restriction provisions were amended in 2015 by Fa Shi [2015] No. 17, with the title changed to "Several Provisions on … and Related Consumption"; this item cites the 2010 text verifiable verbatim on the Supreme People's Court website, amended text TODO (to verify: the SPC Gazette page returned 502 on this machine). The dishonest list and consumption restrictions are two different things, and you may hit only one; neither equals a credit record either — deleting the list entry does not change the credit record; see item 20 of section 7. What is restricted is spending the judgment debtor's money; a spouse or children spending their own money is not covered, but using the debtor's money to send children to high-fee private schools is prohibited. + +### 20. Scammed in online shopping or second-hand deals: complain to the platform first, then report to the police, then weigh whether suing is worth it + + +- Cost: Platform complaints and police reports are 0 yuan; court acceptance fees are 50 yuan for claims up to 10,000 yuan, halved again under simplified procedure, mediation, or withdrawal. Filing, hearings, and enforcement take at least half a day to a day each; online filing saves the trips. Keep the order, chat logs, transfer records, and shipping documents. +- In plain terms: go to the platform first — platforms hold deposits and have penalty rules, so they act fastest. Then report to the police: 3,000 yuan or more scammed already meets the filing threshold for fraud (each province sets its own standard between 3,000 and 10,000 yuan); below the criminal threshold it is handled as a public security violation with 5 to 10 days of detention. If you want to sue, online-shopping disputes can be filed in the court of the place of receipt — no need to travel to the seller's location; small amounts go through small-claims procedure, final at first instance and decided within 2 months, with filing and hearings available online. Whether it's worth it: multiply your after-tax hourly wage by the expected time, add the acceptance fee, and compare with the claim amount. +- Benefit: fraud of 3,000 to 10,000 yuan or more (each province sets its local standard within this range) constitutes the crime of fraud at "a relatively large amount", punishable by up to 3 years with a fine imposed concurrently or separately; below the criminal threshold it is handled under public security administration punishments: 5 to 10 days of detention or a fine of up to 2,000 yuan, or 10 to 15 days of detention with a possible fine of up to 3,000 yuan in more serious cases. Civilly, online-shopping contract disputes may be filed in the court of the place of receipt, not the seller's location; claims at or below 50% of the previous year's provincial average annual wage of employed persons go through small-claims procedure, final at first instance and decided within 2 months of filing, with simplified procedure at 3 months; civil litigation may be conducted online through information network platforms with the same effect as in-person proceedings (nationwide; Civil Procedure Law from January 2024, Public Security Administration Punishments Law from January 2026). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2011). 关于办理诈骗刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2011〕7 号，第一条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百六十六条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第五十八条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2023 修正). 民事诉讼法（第十六、一百六十四、一百六十五、一百六十八条）. （上海市发展改革委转载）；最高人民法院 (2022 修正). 关于适用《民事诉讼法》的解释（第二十条）. ；国务院 (2006). 诉讼费用交纳办法（国务院令第 481 号，第十三、十五、十六条）. +- Notes: The worth-it calculation: your after-tax hourly wage × expected time (filing, hearing, possible enforcement — count half a day to a day each) + acceptance fee, compared against the claim amount, then discounted for whether the money can actually be enforced after winning; this gives a method, not a conclusion. The Public Security Administration Punishments Law was revised in 2025 with all article numbers changed — theft and fraud moved from Article 49 of the old law to Article 58; small-claims procedure is in Article 165 of the Civil Procedure Law after the 2023 amendment — don't copy either from outdated materials. "Platform complaint first" is experienced practice: platforms hold deposits and have penalty rules, so they act fastest. On the procuratorate website, Fa Shi [2011] No. 7 appears without its document number; the number is pending verification against the Supreme People's Court's original page. + +### 21. Large gifts in dating and marriage: think it through before the transfer — once delivered, it generally cannot be taken back + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before a large transfer, ask whether it is a loan or a gift — if a loan, write an IOU and note "loan" in the transfer. +- In plain terms: once the money is handed over, it generally cannot be recovered: a gift can be freely revoked only before the property rights are transferred; after transfer, revocation is possible only in three situations — the recipient seriously harms you or your close relatives, fails to support you when obligated, or fails to fulfill the agreed obligations. So before a large transfer, settle whether it is a loan or a gift — if a loan, write an IOU and note "loan" on the transfer; one line in the chat saying "this money is a loan to you first" is far more useful than arguing afterward. +- Benefit: a gift may be revoked before the property rights are transferred; after transfer, revocation is possible only in three situations — the recipient seriously infringes the donor or their close relatives, fails to perform support obligations, or fails to perform obligations agreed in the gift contract. Gifts and cash of modest value given at meaningful moments such as festivals and birthdays, and everyday spending to express or deepen feelings, do not count as betrothal gifts (caili) and are not returned as such on breakup (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第六百五十八、六百六十三条）. ；最高人民法院 (2024). 关于审理涉彩礼纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的规定（法释〔2024〕1 号，第三条）. +- Notes: "Special amounts like 520 or 1314 are usually recognized as gifts" is a common claim in practice; this chapter found no official Supreme People's Court text for it and treats it as non-conclusive. A notarized gift cannot be revoked at will. Whether a transfer is a loan or a gift ultimately turns on evidence — one line in the chat saying "this money is a loan to you first" is far more useful than arguing afterward. + +### 22. Move betrothal money by transfer with a note, and keep the chat records; money extracted under the guise of marriage can be recovered + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; send betrothal gifts, the three golds, and the name-changing gift by transfer with the purpose noted; confirm verbal agreements through chat records or with family present. +- In plain terms: extracting property under the guise of marriage is prohibited by law, and courts support restitution. If no marriage was registered, or registration happened but the couple genuinely never lived together, or the premarital payment left the payer in hardship, you can demand it back; where the marriage is registered and the couple lived together, it is generally not returned — but if the cohabitation was short and the betrothal sum was excessively high, the court sets the return proportion based on how the money was actually spent, whether there was a dowry, whether children were conceived, and each side's fault. So move betrothal gifts, the three golds, and the name-changing gift by transfer with the purpose noted — whoever gives the money keeps the evidence, for both men and women. +- Benefit: extracting property under the guise of marriage is prohibited; where one party demands property under the name of betrothal gifts, the court supports the other party's demand for return. Return can be demanded where no marriage was registered, where registration occurred but the couple genuinely never lived together, or where the premarital payment left the payer in financial hardship. Where registered and cohabiting, it is generally not returned, but where cohabitation was short and the betrothal sum excessively high, the court determines the return proportion based on actual use, dowry, pregnancy and childbirth, and both parties' fault; unregistered couples who cohabited are handled proportionally the same way (nationwide, from February 2024). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千零四十二条）. ；最高人民法院 (2024). 关于审理涉彩礼纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的规定（法释〔2024〕1 号，第二、五、六条）. ；最高人民法院 (2020). 关于适用《民法典》婚姻家庭编的解释（一）（法释〔2020〕22 号，第五条）. +- Notes: "Excessively high" is judged against per-capita disposable income and family circumstances at the payer's location, with no unified national figure; the return proportion is set by the judge case by case. This item treats payer and recipient alike — whoever gives the money keeps the evidence. + +### 23. Premarital property is safe — but put house title additions and parental contributions in writing first + + +- Cost: A written property agreement costs 0 yuan; notarization costs extra. A one-line written note when parents contribute money; a few hours at once. +- In plain terms: premarital property stays yours personally and does not become community property just because the marriage lasts long. Spouses may agree in writing on how premarital and marital property is owned, and that agreement binds both sides. Money from parents before marriage to buy a house counts as a gift to their own child unless it is clearly stated to be for both; contributions after marriage without agreement are treated as community property. One thing to note: if you agree to add the other party's name to the house, you can still back out before the ownership registration is changed — after registration it is theirs. In divorce, the side that hides money, transfers it, squanders it, or fakes debts may receive a smaller share or nothing. +- Benefit: premarital property is personal property and does not become community property with the passage of marriage; spouses may agree in writing that premarital property and marital acquisitions belong to each separately, jointly, or partly jointly, and the agreement binds both; parental contributions to a home purchase before marriage are deemed a gift to their own child unless clearly expressed as being for both; contributions after marriage are handled per agreement, and absent agreement, under the community-property principle; where before or during marriage one party's property is agreed to be gifted to the other or held jointly, the donor may revoke before the ownership registration is changed — after registration it belongs to the other; in divorce, the side that hid, transferred, sold off, or squandered community property or fabricated debts may receive a smaller share or none (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千零六十三、一千零六十五、一千零九十二条）. ；最高人民法院 (2020). 关于适用《民法典》婚姻家庭编的解释（一）（法释〔2020〕22 号，第二十九、三十一、三十二条）. +- Notes: Property agreements are equally valid for men and women — they are not a "self-defense trick" for one side. An agreement's effect against a spouse's external debts presupposes that the creditor knew of the agreement. Notarization is not a condition for the agreement's validity, but it reduces later disputes over signatures and dates. + +### 24. Verify the other person's marital status before marrying; extracting money under the guise of marriage is prosecuted as fraud + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before registration, check the marital status on the other person's ID card and household register, and keep transfer and chat records for large transfers of money or property. +- In plain terms: a bigamous marriage is void; marrying while having a spouse, or knowingly marrying someone who has a spouse, carries up to 2 years. Cheating money under the guise of marriage is prosecuted as fraud: a relatively large amount carries up to 3 years, a huge amount 3 to 10 years, and an especially huge amount more than 10 years or life imprisonment. Before registration, look at the marital status on the other person's ID card and household register, and keep transfer and chat records for large transfers. Victims can be of any sex — there are cases of scammed betrothal gifts and scammed dowries alike. +- Benefit: a bigamous marriage is void; bigamy by a person with a spouse, or marrying someone while knowingly that person has a spouse, carries up to 2 years. Fraud of public or private property at a relatively large amount carries up to 3 years plus a fine, a huge amount 3 to 10 years, and an especially huge amount more than 10 years or life imprisonment, plus a fine or confiscation of property (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千零五十一条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百五十八、二百六十六条）. +- Notes: "Marriage fraud" is not a standalone crime; whether it is handled as fraud depends on the purpose of unlawful possession and obtaining property by fabricating facts, and requires the police to open a case and investigate. The specific amounts for "relatively large" are set by judicial interpretation and adjustable by region; this chapter has not verified them. Victims of marriage fraud are of all sexes — there are cases of scammed betrothal gifts and scammed dowries for both men and women. + +### 25. For in-home repairs, vehicle inspections, and renovations: ask the price before work starts and watch the whole time + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before work starts, ask about the fee schedule and the parts to be replaced, photograph the quote or have them send it in writing, and after the repair demand a service voucher and invoice and keep the old parts; standing by and watching takes an hour or two. +- In plain terms: appliance repair shops must publicize their fee standards and provide service vouchers and invoices; they may not list or inflate repair items falsely, falsely report faulty parts, or deliberately swap out parts that work fine — serious cases draw fines of up to 30,000 yuan. All businesses must clearly mark prices, may not add charges beyond the marked price, and may not collect fees that were never marked. So ask the price and the parts to be replaced before work starts (have them send it in writing or photograph it), demand the voucher and invoice afterward and keep the old parts, and watch the whole time. If you were overcharged, call 12315 first — the punishment is issued by the market regulator, and you don't have to sue anyone yourself. +- Benefit: appliance repair businesses must publicize fee standards, quality specifications, warranty periods, and complaint phone numbers for services and parts; must provide consumers with repair service vouchers and fee invoices and truthfully record the items and details; may not falsely list, inflate, or fabricate repair items; and may not falsely report faulty parts or deliberately replace parts that work properly — serious cases carry fines of up to 30,000 yuan. All businesses must clearly mark prices, may not add charges beyond the marked price, and may not collect any unmarked fees; luring customers with low prices and settling at high ones and fake discounts constitute price fraud. Businesses must conspicuously display the items, content, prices, and pricing methods of services and must not make false or misleading claims (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 商务部 (2012). 家电维修服务业管理办法（商务部令 2012 年第 7 号，第五、七、九、十四条）. ；市场监管总局 (2022). 明码标价和禁止价格欺诈规定（市场监管总局令第 56 号，第五、八、十九条）. ；国务院 (2024). 消费者权益保护法实施条例（国务院令第 778 号，第九、十条）. +- Notes: Graded B because the rules are official but there is no number for "how much you save by watching", which is mainly experience. Vigilance is not the same as judging by appearances — what you watch is the process, not the person: ask the price, keep the voucher, keep the old parts, with everyone. The appliance rules cover only appliance repair; vehicle inspections and renovations follow the price-marking provisions and their implementation regulations by analogy. The official original page of the Consumer Rights Protection Law itself (Articles 8 and 10, rights to know and to fair trade) could not be opened, TODO (to verify), provisionally replaced by the implementation regulations. If overcharged, call 12315 first; punishments are issued by the commerce and market regulation departments, and you don't have to sue anyone yourself. + +### 26. Never be a "nominal legal representative" and never lend your ID card for someone else's company registration + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; refuse requests like "just lend your name, you won't have to do anything". +- In plain terms: the law presumes the legal representative is the person actually running things — "I only lent my name, I knew nothing" is not a defense. Where a legal representative causes damage to others in performing their duties, the company pays first and can then seek recovery from you if you were at fault; directors and executives with intent or gross negligence pay out of their own pocket too. If you are already a nominal representative, the Company Law allows resignation, and the company must designate a new legal representative within 30 days. +- Benefit: the legal representative must be a director or manager actually executing the company's affairs, and the law presumes you are the person in charge; where the legal representative causes damage to others in performing duties, the company pays first and may then recover from a legal representative at fault; directors and executives owe the company duties of loyalty and diligence, and where they cause damage to others in performing duties with intent or gross negligence, they personally bear liability too; "I didn't know" is not a legal defense (nationwide, from July 2024). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2023). 公司法（2023 年修订，第十、十一、一百八十、一百九十一条）. +- Notes: The Company Law text states only the liability principles; the more common practical consequences for nominal representatives (consumption restrictions on the legal representative when the company is subject to enforcement, tax and administrative penalty entanglement) come from other laws and enforcement rules whose original texts this chapter has not verified — hence grade B. If you are already a nominal representative, the Company Law allows resignation, and the company must designate a new legal representative within 30 days. + +### 27. Don't carry anything for strangers across borders and don't receive parcels of unknown origin + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; just refuse. +- In plain terms: the consular affairs department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises citizens going abroad: never carry luggage or items for others, especially contraband or things you don't understand. If drugs or smuggled goods really are found in your luggage, "I didn't know what was inside" is something you must prove yourself. The same applies to receiving parcels domestically, especially ones where you're asked to pay first and get reimbursed later. +- Benefit: the consular affairs department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises citizens going abroad to "make sure to avoid carrying luggage or items for others, especially contraband or items you don't understand", the aim being to avoid legal liability for unknowingly carrying contraband for someone else; when drugs or smuggled goods are found in your luggage, "I didn't know what it was" must be proven by you yourself. +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 外交部领事司 (2023). 对准备出国的中国公民有哪些建议. +- Notes: The official advice pages of the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Public Security on this matter could not be opened; this item cites only the consular affairs department page, and the original gives principles without citing legal provisions — hence grade B. The same applies to receiving parcels domestically, especially ones where you're asked to pay first and get reimbursed later. + +### 28. Keep your dog on a leash: off-leash liability is no-fault, and you pay in full + + +- Cost: A leash costs tens of yuan; the hard part is using it every single time. +- In plain terms: when a dog injures someone, in principle you pay regardless of whether you were at fault — reduction or exemption is possible only by proving the victim acted deliberately or with gross negligence; and if you violated the rules by not using a leash, only "the victim's deliberate act" can reduce liability — going off-leash seals off your only escape route. For banned fierce breeds, there is no exemption at all. A single compensation claim covering medical costs, lost wages, rabies vaccine, and immunoglobulin can easily run past ten thousand yuan. Abandoning the dog doesn't escape liability either: injuries during the abandonment or escape period still count against the original keeper. +- Benefit: where a kept animal causes harm to another person, the keeper or manager bears tort liability, reducible or excusable only by proving the harm was caused by the victim's deliberate act or gross negligence; where management rules are violated and safety measures not taken, only "the victim's deliberate act" can reduce liability — going off-leash seals off this single mitigation channel; a banned fierce breed injuring someone offers no exemption at all. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典. 最高人民检察院转载全文. 第一千二百四十五条：「饲养的动物造成他人损害的，动物饲养人或者管理人应当承担侵权责任；但是，能够证明损害是因被侵权人故意或者重大过失造成的，可以不承担或者减轻责任。」第一千二百四十六条：「违反管理规定，未对动物采取安全措施造成他人损害的，动物饲养人或者管理人应当承担侵权责任；但是，能够证明损害是因被侵权人故意造成的，可以减轻责任。」第一千二百四十七条：「禁止饲养的烈性犬等危险动物造成他人损害的，动物饲养人或者管理人应当承担侵权责任。」第一千二百四十九条：遗弃、逃逸的动物在此期间造成损害，由原饲养人或者管理人承担责任 +- Notes: Compensation for a dog bite includes medical costs, lost wages, rabies vaccine, and immunoglobulin; a single incident exceeding ten thousand yuan is common, and the magnitude is higher for serious injuries or injuries to children. Abandoning the dog doesn't escape liability: injuries during the abandonment or escape period still count against the original keeper. For what to do after being bitten, see section 13. + +### 29. If the other person is black-out drunk, asleep, or may be under 14, do not have sex + + +- Cost: 0 — the price is stopping things right then. +- In plain terms: the statute says "by violence, coercion, or other means" — it does not take physical force to qualify. If the other person is drunk to the point of unclear consciousness, asleep, drugged, or may be under 14, you will almost never be able to prove "there was consent at the time" afterward — and legally they lacked the capacity to consent in the first place. The base sentence is 3 to 10 years; with a girl under 14 it is deemed rape with heavier punishment, and vile circumstances or multiple victims can run from more than 10 years up to the death penalty. So in these situations the only reliable course is not to have sex: at the end of a drinking session, hand the person over to their own friends or family, and don't take them back to your place alone. +- Benefit: Article 236 of the Criminal Law: raping a woman by violence, coercion, or other means carries 3 to 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment; sexual intercourse with a girl under 14 is deemed rape and punished more heavily; where the circumstances are vile, or there are multiple victims of rape of women or girls, the sentence is more than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment, life imprisonment, or the death penalty (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百三十六条）. +- Notes: Graded B because the statute contains only the words "other means"; "a person who is drunk or in a state of semi-consciousness cannot effectively consent" is prevailing judicial doctrine, and this chapter obtained no currently operative public interpretation that could be verified verbatim. The age-side standard is strict — see item 18 of section 9: under 12 is always deemed "should have known". This item makes no distinction by sex; men can equally be victims. When you yourself drink to the point of blacking out, both risks — being accused and being blackmailed — exist at once; see item 30 of this chapter. + +### 30. If the other person demands money with threats to report you, send your photos, or tell your employer — pay nothing and report to the police directly + + +- Cost: 0; screenshot for evidence and bring your phone to the police station. +- In plain terms: demanding property by threatening "I'll go to the police" or "I'll send the photos to your employer" is extortion, not a private matter. A value of 2,000 to 5,000 yuan or more already counts as "relatively large", with up to 3 years; 30,000 to 100,000 or more is "huge", 3 to 10 years; 300,000 to 500,000 or more is "especially huge", more than 10 years. Three or more extortions within two years count as "multiple" even if each sum is small. The approach is exactly the same as against nude-chat blackmail: pay not a cent and delete not a single record. +- Benefit: Article 274 of the Criminal Law: extortion of public or private property, in a relatively large amount or committed repeatedly, carries up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment, short-term detention, or public surveillance, with a fine imposed concurrently or separately; a huge amount or other serious circumstances carry 3 to 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment plus a fine; an especially huge amount or other especially serious circumstances carry more than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment plus a fine. The interpretation of the two Supreme bodies on several issues concerning the application of law in extortion criminal cases (Fa Shi [2013] No. 10, effective April 27, 2013), Article 1: extortion of public or private property valued at 2,000 to 5,000 yuan or more, 30,000 to 100,000 yuan or more, or 300,000 to 500,000 yuan or more shall be recognized as "relatively large", "huge", and "especially huge" respectively; Article 3: three or more extortions within two years shall be recognized as "repeated extortion" (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020 年修正). 刑法（第二百七十四条）. （北京市公安交管局转载整合文本）；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2013). 关于办理敲诈勒索刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2013〕10 号）. +- Notes: The three tiers are set by each province within the above ranges; the local standard governs. Pay the first sum and a second will follow — the same as the nude-chat blackmail in section 13. Don't delete chat records, close your account, or block them and call it done — that deletes your own evidence too; see item 5 of this chapter. If a case is really opened against you, those records are also your materials for self-exoneration. This item concerns the other party demanding money with leverage over you; conversely, you as the victim seeking compensation from the infringing party is a different matter — a high amount does not make it extortion; see item 34 of this chapter. + +### 31. If someone reports you on fabricated facts, you can demand they be pursued: public security detention from 5 days, and up to 3 years where it is a crime + + +- Cost: 0; report to the public security organ and explain that the other party fabricated the facts. +- In plain terms: fabricating facts to falsely accuse and frame another person in an attempt to have them criminally pursued or administratively punished is itself a public security violation: up to 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 5 to 10 days of detention with a possible fine of up to 1,000 yuan in more serious cases. Where it reaches the criminal level, it is the crime of false accusation: up to 3 years where circumstances are serious, 3 to 10 years where serious consequences follow, with heavier punishment for state functionaries. But the law draws its own line: where it was not deliberate framing but mistaken reporting or an inaccurate tip, neither paragraph applies — that is why many cases end without pursuing the reporter, not because there is no provision. +- Benefit: the Public Security Administration Punishments Law (revised June 27, 2025, effective January 1, 2026), Article 50: fabricating facts to falsely accuse and frame another person in an attempt to subject them to criminal pursuit or public security administration punishment carries up to 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan; in more serious cases, 5 to 10 days of detention with a possible fine of up to 1,000 yuan. Article 243 of the Criminal Law: fabricating facts to falsely accuse another person with intent to subject them to criminal pursuit, where circumstances are serious, carries up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment, short-term detention, or public surveillance; where serious consequences follow, 3 to 10 years; state functionaries committing the crime are punished more heavily; where it was not deliberate framing but mistaken reporting or an inaccurate tip, the preceding two paragraphs do not apply (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第五十条）. （北京市公安局转载全文）；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百四十三条）. +- Notes: To pursue the other party, what must be proven is "fabricating facts" plus "intent to frame", not "I didn't do it" — these two differ greatly in evidentiary difficulty, so don't treat pursuit as a guaranteed outcome. There are no nationwide published statistics on false-accusation case filings and dispositions; this book could not find any, so neither an incidence rate nor a sex distribution is given. For the evidence and remedies on your own side, see items 32 and 33 of this chapter. + +### 32. Insufficient evidence means acquittal by design; extracted confessions must be excluded; after conviction there are still petitions and retrials + + +- Cost: 0; petitions and retrials take time and usually require a lawyer — fees as in item 5 of this chapter. +- In plain terms: the threshold for conviction is written in the Criminal Procedure Law: the evidence deciding the case must be verified as true through statutory procedures, and all the evidence taken together must exclude reasonable doubt; failing that, it falls under "insufficient evidence, the alleged crime cannot be established", and acquittal is required. Confessions obtained by torture or other illegal methods, and witness testimony or victim statements obtained by violence or threats, must be excluded — at whatever stage discovered, investigation, review before prosecution, or trial — and may not serve as the basis for prosecution opinions, prosecution decisions, or judgments. After a judgment takes effect, the party, their legal representative, and close relatives may still petition the court or the procuratorate, and where statutory circumstances are met the court must retry the case. +- Benefit: Article 55 of the Criminal Procedure Law: for evidence to be reliable and sufficient it must meet conditions including that all evidence on which the case is decided is verified as true through statutory procedures, and that all the evidence taken together excludes reasonable doubt on the facts found; Article 56: confessions of suspects or defendants collected by illegal methods such as torture, and witness testimony or victim statements collected by violence, threats, or other illegal methods, must be excluded; where evidence that should be excluded is discovered during investigation, review before prosecution, or trial, it shall be excluded in accordance with law and may not serve as the basis for prosecution opinions, prosecution decisions, and judgments; Article 200, item (3): where the evidence is insufficient to find the defendant guilty, an acquittal shall be pronounced on the ground that the evidence is insufficient and the alleged crime cannot be established; Article 252: the party, their legal representative, and close relatives may petition the people's court or the people's procuratorate against a judgment or ruling that has taken legal effect, but such petition does not stay the execution of the judgment or ruling; Article 253 lists the circumstances in which the people's court shall retry the case (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2018). 刑事诉讼法（2018 年修正，第五十五、五十六、二百、二百五十二、二百五十三条）. +- Notes: These are the bottom lines written into the system, not guarantees of outcome. This book has no verifiable official data on acquittal rates or petition-reversal rates in Chinese criminal cases, so no proportions are given and no individual cases are assessed. Three things you can do yourself: retain a lawyer right after the first interrogation (item 5 of this chapter), read the interrogation transcript word for word before signing, and never admit to something you didn't do in order to "get out sooner" — pleading guilty is a leniency factor, not an exemption. + +### 33. If charges are dropped, not pursued, or you are acquitted after being detained, apply for state compensation — counted by the day + + +- Cost: 0; submit the compensation application to the organ that made the detention, arrest, prosecution, or judgment. +- In plain terms: if the case is withdrawn, not prosecuted, or you are acquitted after detention or arrest, you can apply for state compensation. The personal freedom item is counted by the day: the Supreme People's Procuratorate's notice sets it at 495.94 yuan per day from May 18, 2026 (the previous year was 475.52 yuan), so a year in custody is roughly 180,000 yuan. Beyond that money, you may demand that the influence be eliminated, your reputation restored, and an apology made within the scope affected by the infringement, with mental-distress compensation for serious consequences. One situation where the state does not pay: where you deliberately made false confessions or fabricated evidence of guilt, leading to your detention. +- Benefit: Article 17 of the State Compensation Law: the victim has the right to compensation where, after detention measures were taken against a citizen in violation of the Criminal Procedure Law, or detention was lawful but exceeded the statutory time limit, the case is subsequently withdrawn, prosecution is declined, or acquittal is pronounced terminating criminal liability; where arrest was carried out and the case is subsequently withdrawn, prosecution declined, or acquittal pronounced terminating criminal liability; or where a retrial under the trial supervision procedure overturns the verdict to acquittal and the original sentence has been executed. Article 33: compensation for infringement of a citizen's personal freedom is calculated daily at the state's previous-year average daily wage of employees. Article 35: where mental harm is caused, the influence shall be eliminated, reputation restored, and an apology made within the scope affected by the infringement, and where serious consequences follow, corresponding mental-distress compensation shall be paid. Article 19: the state bears no liability where a citizen was detained or sentenced because they deliberately made false confessions or fabricated other evidence of guilt. Notice of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, May 2026: the National Bureau of Statistics announced on May 15, 2026 that the 2025 average annual wage of employed persons in urban non-private units nationwide was 129,441 yuan, giving an average daily wage of 495.94 yuan; from May 18, 2026, procuratorates at all levels shall calculate compensation for infringement of personal freedom at 495.94 yuan per day when making state compensation decisions (the standard from May 2025 was 475.52 yuan per day) (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2012 年修正). 国家赔偿法（第十七、十九、三十三、三十五条）. （国家统计局转载）；最高人民检察院 (2026). 最高人民检察院公布最新侵犯公民人身自由的赔偿金标准. +- Notes: This daily standard updates each May with the previous year's average annual wage of urban non-private unit employees published by the National Bureau of Statistics — check the current year's figure when using it; don't apply this item's number directly. Mental-distress compensation is set by the handling organ according to the consequences, with no unified formula, and this item gives no amount. The compensation obligor is the organ that made the wrongful detention decision (public security, procuratorate, or court) — file with it first, and if dissatisfied with the outcome, appeal upward through the procedures in the State Compensation Law. For the actual calculation, see the decision letter in the case in item 34 of this chapter: Guo Li was detained for 1,826 days, and personal freedom compensation was calculated at 258.89 yuan per day, the 2016 national average daily wage applicable when the decision was made, totaling 472,733.14 yuan, plus 165,450 yuan in mental-distress compensation — note it used the standard in force when the decision was made, not the standard of the year of detention; his claimed 88.88 million yuan in ten years of mental-distress compensation was rejected beyond the portion awarded. Also know what is not compensated: that decision letter deemed lost wages, compensation for bodily and life rights, property losses, attorney fees, and detention center living-cost subsidies alike outside the statutory scope of state compensation. + +### 34. As a victim seeking compensation, go through 12315, the courts, or a lawyer — don't meet the other party alone, and never bundle "pay me" and "I won't go public" into one sentence + + +- Cost: 0; raise the claim through 12315, by suing in court, or through a lawyer; record the entire negotiation if you meet. +- In plain terms: as a victim seeking compensation from the infringing party — including asking for a very high amount, including going to the media — is in itself legally grounded and does not automatically become extortion just because "the demand is high". The procuratorate's opinion in the Guo Li case states it plainly: the existing evidence was insufficient to establish that he had the purpose of unlawful possession; as his daughter's statutory guardian he had the right to claim compensation from the milk powder manufacturer, and consumers also have the right to expose and criticize through the media. But the case also shows how large the cost can be: he was first sentenced to five years for extortion and detained for 1,826 days, and it was not until April 7, 2017 that the Guangdong Higher People's Court acquitted him on retrial. So do three things: use channels that leave a record; never go alone to a place the other party designates; and never say "pay me" and "then I won't go public, won't report" as one bundled condition. +- Benefit: official case: in 2008, after the authorities announced that some batches of "Shien" brand milk powder contained melamine, the examination result for Guo Li's daughter was "several punctate strong echoes visible in the central collecting systems of both kidneys"; Guo Li repeatedly sought compensation from the seller and Shien and exposed the matter to media. In June 2009 the two sides reached an agreement: Shien paid 400,000 yuan in compensation and Guo Li issued a written statement that he would no longer pursue the matter and waived his compensation claims. The company then reported to the police, and the Chao'an County People's Court convicted Guo Li of extortion and sentenced him to five years of fixed-term imprisonment. The Guangdong Provincial People's Procuratorate's retrial recommendation held that "the existing evidence is insufficient to establish that Guo Li subjectively had the purpose of unlawful possession", that Guo Li as statutory guardian "has the right to claim compensation from the milk powder manufacturer, and his claim is legally grounded", and that "consumers have the right to expose and criticize, through mass media, acts that harm their lawful rights and interests". On April 7, 2017, the Guangdong Higher People's Court acquitted Guo Li on retrial, reasoning that "the original trial's finding that Guo Li, with the purpose of unlawful possession, used threats and coercion to forcibly demand property is unclear in fact and insufficient in evidence, and the nature of Guo Li's conduct did not exceed the scope of a civil dispute". Guo Li was detained from July 23, 2009 to July 22, 2014 — 1,826 days (Guangdong; acquittal on retrial in 2017). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 广东省人民检察院 (2017). 广东省检察院再审建议对郭利案改判无罪. （河源市人民检察院转载）；广东省高级人民法院赔偿委员会 (2018). 郭利以再审无罪为由申请、广东省潮州市中级人民法院赔偿的国家赔偿案件（（2018）粤委赔 11 号）. +- Notes: Graded B because it is a single case, not a generalizable proportion — and it proves two things at once: that claiming compensation is itself lawful, and that a case can still be opened against you. The lowest-risk path is to hand the claim to a lawyer or sue directly, with no one-on-one contact with the other party; be especially careful when they invite you to "talk it out in person" in their own locality — reports and case filings usually happen there. Once a settlement is signed, follow the agreement; making a fresh high demand after signing is the easiest thing to read as "coercion". For what to do if a case is opened against you, see items 5, 32, and 33 of this chapter; the reverse situation — the other party demanding money with leverage over you — is covered in item 30 of this chapter. + +### 35. Being cyberbullied: turn on protections and lock down evidence first, then pick among the three routes — platform, injunction, or police report + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a dozen or so minutes on the spot for protection and evidence preservation; reaching the injunction application or private prosecution means court trips and possibly a lawyer. +- In plain terms: do three things on the spot — turn on all the platform's protection settings (block strangers or specific users, limit the visibility of your own posts, bar reposts or comments, accept private messages only from friends or none at all), use the platform's quick evidence-preservation function to fix the content in place, then report through the prominent quick-report entry. Then three routes: where the attack is ongoing and failing to stop it promptly would cause irreparable harm, you can apply to the court for a personal-rights infringement injunction to make them stop first; insult and defamation must in principle be sued by you yourself, but where gathering evidence is genuinely difficult, the court may require the public security organ to help identify who is behind it and collect evidence of the spread and impact — after such assistance, the court must open the case if conditions are met; once it reaches the "seriously harming social order" tier it transfers to public prosecution and you don't have to carry the burden of proof. Doxxing — publishing your personal information — handled as the crime of infringing citizens' personal information where serious. +- Benefit: Fa Fa [2023] No. 14, Article 15: where the rights holder has evidence that the actor is committing or is about to commit an unlawful act infringing their personal rights, and failure to stop it promptly would cause irreparable damage to their lawful rights and interests, the people's court may issue a personal-rights infringement injunction upon application under Article 997 of the Civil Code. Article 11: in private prosecution cases, "where the victim has genuine difficulty providing evidence, they may request assistance from the public security organ"; the public security organ shall promptly identify the actors and collect evidence materials on the spread, diffusion, and impact, and network service providers shall provide the necessary technical support; "where, with the public security organ's assistance in gathering evidence, the case meets the acceptance conditions for private prosecution, the people's court shall decide to open the case"; where evidence cannot be collected, a written explanation shall be given. Article 12 lists five circumstances that should be recognized as "seriously harming social order" under Article 246, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law: causing the victim or their close relatives mental disorder, suicide, or other serious consequences with vile social impact; arbitrarily targeting ordinary members of the public with information spreading widely and drawing large volumes of vulgar, malicious comments, with vile social impact; insulting or defaming multiple people, or repeated dissemination, with vile social impact; organizing or directing people to spread material in bulk across multiple platforms with vile social impact; and others. Article 4: organizing "human-flesh searches" (doxxing) — unlawfully collecting and publishing citizens' personal information to unspecified large numbers of people — is convicted and punished as the crime of infringing citizens' personal information where serious. The Provisions on the Governance of Online Violence Information, Article 23, requires platforms to provide protective options such as blocking strangers or specific users, limiting the visibility of one's own posts, barring reposts or comments, and accepting private messages only from friends or none at all; Article 25 requires a quick evidence-preservation function; Article 26 requires a quick complaint and report entry in a prominent position; Article 15 requires platforms to report suspected crimes to the public security organ promptly. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部 (2023). 关于依法惩治网络暴力违法犯罪的指导意见（法发〔2023〕14 号，第 4、11、12、15 条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第九百九十七条）. 最高人民检察院转载全文 ；国家互联网信息办公室、公安部、文化和旅游部、国家广播电视总局 (2024). 网络暴力信息治理规定（第十五、二十三、二十五、二十六条，2024 年 8 月 1 日施行）. 国务院公报 +- Notes: The order is ranked by "fast and cheap": the platform is fastest and cheapest — preserve evidence and report first; the courts are slowest and most expensive — decide last whether to go there. The process costs of all three routes are yours to bear — the injunction requires a court application, private prosecution requires you to file and produce evidence yourself, and transferring to public prosecution requires meeting one of the five circumstances in Article 12; if you don't qualify, private prosecution is the only option. Two things not to do: don't trade insults (hitting back turns you into the person punished under item 14 of this chapter), and don't delete the content in your own account (it is evidence). When it becomes unbearable, call 12356 — see item 25 of section 1; demanding platforms delete your personal information — see item 8 of section 14; for the path where you helped a stranger and got photographed and posted online, see [docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md](../docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md). diff --git a/book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md b/book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..d2ebb81e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md @@ -0,0 +1,184 @@ +[← Back to the main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 9. Legal red lines that ordinary people easily trip over + +This chapter's yardstick is personal freedom and money: the things below are ones ordinary people often assume are "no big deal," yet they can actually lead to detention, fines, or a prison sentence. Each entry gives the specific numbers from the statute and cases published through official channels. The Public Security Administration Punishments Law (治安管理处罚法) is cited from the 2025 revision (in force from January 1, 2026; article numbers differ from the old law); the Criminal Law is cited from the consolidated text "as amended by Criminal Law Amendment XI" republished by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau's traffic administration department, with the corresponding amendment noted. Entries are ordered from highest to lowest by "how easy to trip over unknowingly × how severe the consequences." +### 1. Do not forward disaster, epidemic, or police-incident messages of unknown authenticity in group chats; do not photoshop or use AI to fake scene images + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before forwarding, glance at whether it is an official announcement; if unsure, don't repost, don't alter images, don't add "rumor has it" +- In plain terms: forwarding a disaster, epidemic, or police-incident message you haven't verified yourself can get you detained 5 to 10 days and fined 1,000 yuan even if you didn't make it up; if it disrupts social order you get under 3 years, and 3 to 7 years if the consequences are serious. Photoshopped and AI-generated fake scene images count the same as making it up yourself. +- Benefit: deliberately spreading rumors — falsely reporting danger, epidemic, disaster, or police incidents to disrupt public order — means 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or under 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan for lesser cases; fabricating false danger, epidemic, disaster, or police-incident information and spreading it online, or knowingly spreading it while aware it is false, in a way that seriously disrupts social order, means under 3 years, or 3 to 7 years for serious consequences (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第二十九条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2015). 刑法修正案（九）（第三十二条，即刑法第二百九十一条之一第二款）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百九十一条之一）. （北京市公安交通管理局转载） +- Notes: "knowingly forwarding something false" and "making it up yourself" fall under the same provision — forwarding is not an exemption; photoshopped and AI-generated fake scene images likewise count as fabrication. The Ministry of Public Security published several batches of typical online-rumor cases involving disasters and dangerous situations in 2025; its website could not be opened while this section was written, so no specific case is cited. + +### 2. Do not post or forward images, memes, or comments insulting heroes and martyrs; do not joke about the national flag or anthem + +- Cost: 0 yuan; content involving heroes and martyrs, the national flag, the national emblem, or the national anthem — no commenting, no altering images, no forwarding +- In plain terms: joking about heroes and martyrs, the national flag, or the national anthem means 5 to 10 days of detention or a 1,000–3,000 yuan fine in light cases, 10 to 15 days of detention in more serious cases, and under 3 years where a crime is formed. One person posted two messages denigrating Yuan Longping in a 499-member village group chat and got 6 months of controlled surveillance; another used a Weibo account with over 2.5 million followers to post 2 items distorting the deeds of border troops and got 8 months, plus a public apology in national media. +- Benefit: insulting, defaming, or otherwise infringing the name, likeness, reputation, or honor of heroes and martyrs to the detriment of the public interest, or desecrating or denying the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs, or making and spreading statements, images, or audio-video material glorifying wars of aggression in a way that disrupts public order — 5 to 10 days of detention or a fine of 1,000 to 3,000 yuan, or 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of up to 5,000 yuan in more serious cases; where the circumstances are serious it constitutes a crime, punishable by under 3 years; publicly insulting the national flag or national emblem, or altering the lyrics or score of the national anthem, or playing or singing it in a distorted or demeaning way in serious cases — under 3 years; official cases: Xiao posted 2 messages denigrating and insulting Yuan Longping in a 499-member village WeChat group and was sentenced to 6 months of controlled surveillance; Qiu used a Weibo account with over 2.5 million followers to post 2 items distorting the deeds of troops defending the border and was sentenced to 8 months with a public apology in national media (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第三十五条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2018). 英雄烈士保护法（第二十二、二十六条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第三十五条，即刑法第二百九十九条之一）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百九十九条、第二百九十九条之一）. ；最高人民法院 (2022). 涉英烈权益保护十大典型案例（案例二、案例三）. +- Notes: this provision of the public security law was only added in the 2025 revision; before that only the criminal law and civil public-interest litigation applied. A WeChat group of a few hundred people counts as a public place in the courts' eyes. + +### 3. Close foreign websites once you've finished reading; do not screenshot, forward, or move content into group chats, and do not chime in below in comment sections + +- Cost: 0 yuan; once the page is closed, the matter is closed — no archiving, no forwarding, no moving to domestic platforms, no long-term posting of political content on foreign platforms under an account that can be tied to your identity, and no accepting honoraria or funding from foreign institutions, organizations, or individuals +- In plain terms: the law punishes spreading outward, not reading — with one exception: books, audio-video material, and items promoting terrorism or extremism, if knowingly kept in your possession with serious circumstances, are enough to convict on possession alone, under 3 years. For everything else: screenshots, forwarding, moving into groups, and echoing it in comment sections all count as dissemination. At the level of inciting subversion or inciting secession, it's under 5 years, 5 years or more for ringleaders or major offenses, plus 1 to 5 years of deprivation of political rights as an accessory penalty and possible confiscation of property; providing state secrets or intelligence to foreign institutions starts at 5 to 10 years. Forwarding it earns you nothing in return. +- Benefit: inciting subversion of state power or overthrow of the socialist system through rumor-mongering, defamation, or other means — under 5 years, 5 years or more for ringleaders or those whose crimes are grave (statutory maximum of 15 years); inciting secession or undermining national unity is the same tier; collaborating with foreign institutions, organizations, or individuals on either offense brings heavier punishment; where domestic or foreign institutions, organizations, or individuals fund others to commit them, directly responsible persons get under 5 years, 5 years or more in serious cases; stealing, spying out, buying, or illegally supplying state secrets or intelligence for foreign institutions, organizations, or personnel — 5 to 10 years, 10 years or more or life imprisonment in especially serious cases, under 5 years in lesser cases; crimes endangering national security always carry 1 to 5 years of deprivation of political rights as an accessory penalty, and confiscation of property may be added; at the administrative level, no individual or organization may use the internet to endanger national security, honor, or interests, to incite subversion of state power or overthrow of the socialist system, or to incite secession or undermine national unity, and publishing or transmitting such information is punished under relevant laws and administrative regulations (nationwide); one category exists without any dissemination: knowingly and illegally possessing books, audio-video material, or other items promoting terrorism or extremism, where circumstances are serious — up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or controlled surveillance, with a fine imposed concurrently or separately (Criminal Law Article 120-6, added by Criminal Law Amendment IX) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第四十五、五十五、五十六、一百零三、一百零五、一百零六、一百零七、一百一十一、一百一十三条，这几条未经修正案修改）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 网络安全法（2025 年修正，2026 年 1 月 1 日施行，第十三条第二款、第七十一条第一项）. ；全国人大常委会 (2015). 刑法修正案（九）（新增第一百二十条之六）. 国家信访局转载全文 +- Notes: the provisions cited here punish "inciting," "disseminating," and "supplying," not "reading," but don't extend that to all content: terrorism and extremism materials are an explicit exception — "saving a copy" alone can sustain a conviction (Article 120-6), so "no archiving" is not a prudence tip for this category but a hard line. Once you've seen it, stop there: no screenshots or archives, no forwarding, no comments, no pulling others in to repost. Forwarding and commenting both count as dissemination — "I only shared it" is not a defense, and content from foreign platforms may be an aggravating factor; if you can't tell whether something is true, even less should you forward it, same as item 1 of this chapter. Punishment for circumvention tools themselves is covered in Section 11, item 9. Do the math: forwarding this kind of content earns no substantive benefit in return, and the cost is prison time plus deprivation of political rights plus confiscation. Publicly checkable similar cases (a blogger who long posted political commentary on foreign platforms was sentenced to 7 years in 2023) appear only in foreign media and documents released by family; this book could not obtain a verdict verifiable through official channels, so this entry is written from the statutes alone, with no case attached. + +### 4. Keep adult videos to yourself; don't post them to group chats, don't sell "resources," don't create groups + +- Cost: 0 yuan; no forwarding, no saving into group files, no serving as owner or admin of such a group +- In plain terms: watching alone is not in the punishment provisions; posting once to a group is dissemination to the whole group: 10 to 15 days of detention and a fine of up to 5,000 yuan, under 2 years if serious. Making money selling "resources" means under 3 years, 3 to 10 years if serious, and 10 years or more up to life if especially serious. Creating a dissemination group with 30 or more members — the founder, the admins, and the main posters all count under the crime of disseminating obscene materials. +- Benefit: using information networks to disseminate obscene information — 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of up to 5,000 yuan, or under 5 days of detention or a 1,000–3,000 yuan fine in lesser cases, with heavier punishment where the content involves minors; disseminating obscene materials with serious circumstances — under 2 years; selling or disseminating for profit — under 3 years plus a fine, 3 to 10 years if serious, 10 years or more or life if especially serious; creating a group used mainly for disseminating obscene electronic information, with 30 or more members or causing serious consequences — the founder, administrators, and main disseminators are convicted of the crime of disseminating obscene materials (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第八十条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第三百六十三、三百六十四条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2010). 关于办理利用互联网、移动通讯终端、声讯台制作、复制、出版、贩卖、传播淫秽电子信息刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释（二）（第三条）. +- Notes: both laws punish "dissemination"; private viewing is not in the provisions. Posting once to a group is dissemination to the whole group. The quantitative thresholds for "serious circumstances" are set by judicial interpretation; this section did not verify the specific figures. + +### 5. Refuse any "part-time job" that has you receiving money, withdrawing cash, or transferring funds with your own cards, no matter how good the fee + +- Cost: 0 yuan; pass up jobs of the "a few hundred a day, bring your bank card" kind +- In plain terms: this kind of part-time work earns a few hundred yuan; the price is a criminal record. One person brought their ID card and 1 bank card to a designated spot to help with transfers and withdrawals, earned just over 500 yuan — the procuratorate declined to prosecute, yet the police still detained them 10 days and fined 1,000 yuan; another person handed over their own and other people's bank cards and phone cards to a gang for receiving payments and cashing out, and got 2 years 3 months and a 22,000 yuan fine. +- Benefit: transferring, purchasing, or selling proceeds of crime on behalf of another, or otherwise concealing or disguising them while knowing their origin — under 3 years plus a fine imposed concurrently or separately; official cases: Wang, following instructions, brought an ID card and 1 bank card to a designated location to assist with transfers and withdrawals, gained just over 500 yuan, the procuratorate decided not to prosecute, but the police detained him 10 days and fined 1,000 yuan under the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law; Man handed over his own and others' bank cards and phone cards to a gang for receiving payments, transfers, and cash withdrawals, and was sentenced to 2 years 3 months plus a 22,000 yuan fine (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第三百一十二条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2023). 检察机关依法惩治电信网络诈骗及其关联犯罪典型案例（案例九）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2025). 依法惩治掩饰、隐瞒犯罪所得、犯罪所得收益犯罪典型案例（案例五）. +- Notes: lending out cards and "paofen" (跑分 — laundering money through one's own payment accounts) are covered in Section 8, item 7; this entry is about physically doing the cash withdrawals and transfers yourself; "I didn't know where the money came from" is treated in practice as knowledge presumed from pay that is conspicuously too high, requests to show your face to verify, transactions that defy common sense, and the like. The lightest outcome is still 10 days of detention plus a criminal record. + +### 6. Refuse any "packaged documentation" loan where you're offered a cut of the loan amount — decline every one + +- Cost: 0 yuan; say no, don't lend out your ID card or your credit record, don't sign a loan contract you haven't read, don't attend a bank face-to-face signing on someone else's behalf +- In plain terms: helping someone "package documentation" for a loan in exchange for a cut is handled as fraud. A 126-member gang dressed up unemployed people as "premium clients" and defrauded more than 30 million yuan from over 80 banks; the frontmen got 30 percent of the loan as their cut, and of the 80 already sentenced, 76 got 1 year 4 months to 6 years 6 months. "I intended to repay it" was not accepted: these people were found to have no job and no assets and could never have repaid. Whichever name the loan is in, that person owns the debt and the credit record. +- Benefit: obtaining loans, acceptance of bills, letters of credit, guarantees, or the like from banks or other financial institutions by deception — under 3 years plus a fine imposed concurrently or separately where major losses are caused to the bank or financial institution, or 3 to 7 years plus a fine where especially major losses or other especially serious circumstances exist; the threshold for filing and prosecution is direct economic loss of 500,000 yuan or more; where there was never any intent to repay and loans are obtained through fabricated reasons for introducing funds or projects, false economic contracts, false supporting documents, or false property certificates, it is the crime of loan fraud — a case is filed from 50,000 yuan, under 5 years plus a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 yuan, 5 to 10 years for huge amounts or other serious circumstances, 10 years or more up to life for especially huge amounts; forging, altering, or buying and selling official documents, certificates, or seals of state organs — under 3 years, or 3 to 10 years in serious cases; official case: a 126-member gang across 16 provinces and municipalities dressed up unemployed people as "premium clients" and defrauded over 30 million yuan from more than 80 bank branches; the "blank-slate" (白户 — people with no credit history) frontmen got 30 percent of the loan amount as their cut; the procuratorate prosecuted 105 "blank slates," and of the 80 sentenced at first instance by 2026, 76 were given 1 year 4 months to 6 years 6 months plus fines for loan fraud, while 4 others who cashed out for the gang were convicted of both loan fraud and money laundering with combined punishment, getting 2 years 4 months to 7 years 6 months (nationwide; the crime of fraudulently obtaining loans per the text in force from March 2021 under Criminal Law Amendment XI) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第十一条，修改刑法第一百七十五条之一）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第八十八、一百九十三、二百八十条）. ；最高人民检察院、公安部 (2022). 关于公安机关管辖的刑事案件立案追诉标准的规定（二）（第二十二、四十五条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2026). 骗贷流水线背后藏洗钱黑手（检察日报）. ；全国人大常委会 (2012). 出境入境管理法（第十二条）. （国家移民管理局）；全国人大常委会 (2023 修正). 民事诉讼法（第二百六十六条）. （贵州省市场监管局转载） +- Notes: "I meant to repay it at the time" was not accepted in that case: the procuratorate established that these people had no jobs, no fixed assets, and no ability to repay at all, and the cuts had all been spent, from which it inferred intent to unlawfully take possession; withdrawing the money for the gang may additionally constitute money laundering. Whoever's name the loan is in and whoever signed the contract is the borrower — even if no crime is formed, the debt and the credit record are theirs. Taking the money and fleeing abroad does not end the matter: once investigation is filed, evading investigation or prosecution is not subject to any time limit; those sentenced with punishment not yet fully served, criminal suspects, and defendants may not leave the country; where an undecided civil case exists the court may decide to bar exit, and where an enforcement subject fails to comply the court may take or have relevant units assist in taking exit-restriction measures. Cash withdrawals and transfers for others are covered in item 4 of this chapter; how to discover loans taken out in your name is in Section 8, item 8. + +### 7. Don't withdraw money from a bank card you found; contact the owner or hand a found phone or wallet to the police instead of pocketing it + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one phone call, or a trip to the police station +- In plain terms: keeping found property for yourself, refusing to hand it over when the amount is relatively large, means under 2 years, or 2 to 5 years for huge amounts. Withdrawing money from a found card at an ATM is worse — it counts as fraudulently using another person's credit card: under 5 years plus a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 yuan for relatively large amounts, 5 to 10 years plus a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan for huge amounts; and this kind is filed by the police directly, with no need for the owner to sue. +- Benefit: lost property found must be returned to the rights holder, with timely notice to collect it or delivery to public security and other departments; converting another person's forgotten property to one's own and refusing to surrender it when the amount is relatively large constitutes the crime of embezzlement — under 2 years, or 2 to 5 years for huge amounts; using another person's found credit card at an ATM counts as "fraudulently using another person's credit card," and where a crime is formed it is handled as credit card fraud — under 5 years plus a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 yuan for relatively large amounts, or 5 to 10 years plus a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan for huge amounts or other serious circumstances (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第三百一十四条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第一百九十六、二百七十条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2008). 关于拾得他人信用卡并在自动柜员机（ATM 机）上使用的行为如何定性问题的批复. +- Notes: embezzlement is "handled only upon complaint" — the owner must sue in court themselves — but withdrawing money with a found card is a publicly prosecuted case that the police file directly; the specific sums for "relatively large amounts" are set by judicial interpretation, which this section did not verify. After found property is handed in, the owner pays storage costs when collecting it (Civil Code Article 317). + +### 8. Claim discounts under your real identity; don't buy virtual numbers to mass-register alt accounts, don't exploit loopholes to claim repeatedly + +- Cost: 0 yuan; pass up the work in "coupon-hunting task groups," leave platform loopholes alone once discovered, and don't treat discounts as income that can be replicated at scale +- In plain terms: joining a promotion normally and claiming one coupon on your own account is outside the punishment provisions; mass-registering fake users to claim more, or ordering from yourself and taking the orders yourself, is handled as fraud — 3,000 yuan obtained is enough for under 3 years, 30,000 yuan and up gets 3 to 10 years, and 500,000 yuan or more starts at 10 years, so costing a merchant four or five hundred thousand lands right in the 3-to-10-year tier. Delivery riders used virtual numbers at 0.1 yuan apiece to register as new users, claimed the "15 off 29" coupons to place orders and then resold the goods for cash, rinsing just over 90,000 yuan; 12 people in the case got 3 years 6 months down to 3 months of criminal detention. "Their system had a loophole" doesn't help: one person exploited the gap between refunds and shipping to walk away with 224 anime figures and 249,000 yuan — 3 years, suspended 4, repaying the proceeds plus the fine came to 330,000. And many participants don't make it legally safe: all 163 people prosecuted in the ride-hailing order-brushing case were sentenced, and the 34 minor participants not prosecuted were still transferred for administrative punishment. +- Benefit: defrauding public or private property in relatively large amounts — under 3 years plus a fine imposed concurrently or separately, 3 to 10 years plus a fine for huge amounts or other serious circumstances, 10 years or more or life plus a fine or confiscation of property for especially huge amounts or other especially serious circumstances; relatively large, huge, and especially huge mean 3,000 yuan to over 10,000 yuan, 30,000 yuan to over 100,000 yuan, and over 500,000 yuan respectively, with each province setting its local standard within these ranges; teaching the method to others or selling "tutorials" — under 5 years for the crime of imparting criminal methods, 5 to 10 years if serious, 10 years or more or life if especially serious; the upstream and downstream of buying and selling phone numbers and verification codes — under 3 years for the crime of infringing citizens' personal information, 3 to 7 years if especially serious; using bulk accounts, automatic network-address switching systems, and code-receiving platforms that bulk-collect SMS verification codes is itself prohibited under Article 14 of the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law, and illegally buying, selling, renting, or lending phone cards and internet accounts, or providing real-name verification assistance, is listed in Article 31 — violating the former means confiscation of illegal gains plus a fine of 1 to 10 times the amount, a fine of up to 500,000 yuan where there are no illegal gains or they are under 50,000 yuan, and detention of up to 15 days in serious cases; violating the latter carries the same 1-to-10-times fine, up to 200,000 yuan where there are no illegal gains or they are under 20,000 yuan, and detention of up to 15 days in serious cases; participating in telecom and online fraud without constituting a crime — 10 to 15 days of detention, confiscation of illegal gains plus a fine of 1 to 10 times, or a fine of up to 100,000 yuan where there are no illegal gains or they are under 10,000 yuan; official cases: delivery rider Liu bought virtual phone numbers at 0.1 yuan apiece to register as new users on a platform, claimed the "15 off 29" newcomer coupons to place orders and then resold the goods to small shops for cash, and also used virtual numbers to invite each other for reward money of 2 to 20 yuan; he and fellow rider Tan defrauded just over 90,000 yuan and just over 70,000 yuan respectively; the Shanghai Yangpu District Procuratorate prosecuted 12 people for fraud and the court sentenced them to 3 years 6 months down to 3 months of criminal detention; Wang exploited the gap between refunds and the recovery of virtual lottery coins at an online store — 1,156 refunds, 224 figures taken, over 249,000 yuan, cashed out on second-hand platforms — and was sentenced to 3 years, suspended 4, plus a 30,000 yuan fine for fraud (during trial he repaid the proceeds and prepaid the fine, 330,000 yuan in total); a ride-hailing platform's new-user coupons and driver subsidies were defrauded through fake rides of "ordering a car for yourself and accepting the order yourself," spanning 19 provinces and more than 70 cities and over 2 million yuan; the Chaoyang Longcheng District Procuratorate in Liaoning prosecuted 163 people, all convicted; principals Huang and Cai each got 3 years 6 months with combined punishment for fraud, infringing citizens' personal information, and imparting criminal methods, and 34 accessories with minor circumstances were given relative non-prosecution yet still transferred to the police for administrative punishment (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百五十三条之一、第二百六十六条、第二百九十五条）. （北京市公安交通管理局转载）；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2011). 关于办理诈骗刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2011〕7 号，第一条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2022). 反电信网络诈骗法（第十四、三十一、三十八、四十二、四十四条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第九百八十五条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2021). 剑指电信网络诈骗｜不法分子盯上了电商经济的漏洞（检察日报）. ；最高人民检察院 (2025). 如此「薅羊毛」涉嫌诈骗（检察日报）. ；最高人民检察院 (2024). 辽宁朝阳龙城区：办理系列电信网络诈骗案（法治日报）. +- Notes: the line is not "how much was skimmed" but whether there was fabrication — joining a promotion under your real identity, claiming once on one account, using the coupon yourself, that is the platform's discount; registering fake users, fabricating transactions, or concealing the fact that you already got a refund in order to claim more means making the counterparty hand over property based on a mistaken belief, which is treated as fraud, with the amount only determining how long the sentence is. Falling short of criminal thresholds is not free play either: the platform can ban the account, claw back the discounts, and demand restitution under unjust enrichment, and participation in telecom fraud below the criminal level still carries that detention-and-fine tier. "Someone in the group led it and paid me per order" does not change the characterization of your own share; teaching the method to others or reselling accounts and phone numbers are separate crimes and can be punished cumulatively. The beneficiary is you. Writing and selling scripts is in Section 11, item 3; selling cards and accounts is in Section 8, item 7 and item 16 of this chapter. + +### 9. Throw nothing from balconies or windows — cigarette butts, garbage bags, and bottles all count + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: throwing something off a building can mean 5 days of detention and a 1,000 yuan fine even if nobody is hit, 10 to 15 days in serious cases, and under 1 year where the crime of high-altitude object-dropping is formed. Hitting someone changes the charge: one person, drunk, threw empty bottles and a glass from the 21st floor onto a playground below, hitting a 13-year-old student and causing serious injury — 10 years; another threw 8 bricks from the 32nd floor and killed 1 person, and the death penalty was approved in 2024. +- Benefit: dropping or throwing objects from a building or other height where there is a danger to other people's persons, property, or public safety — detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of up to 1,000 yuan in serious cases; serious circumstances constitute the crime of high-altitude object-dropping — under 1 year plus a fine imposed concurrently or separately; hitting and injuring or killing someone is handled under heavier charges; official cases: Li Chen threw empty bottles and a glass from the 21st floor while drunk onto the playground below, striking a 13-year-old student and causing serious injury grade II, and was sentenced to 10 years for endangering public safety by dangerous means; Zhou threw 8 bricks at a crowd from the 32nd floor, killing 1 person, and the Supreme People's Court approved the death penalty in 2024 (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第四十三条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第三十三条，即刑法第二百九十一条之二）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百九十一条之二）. ；最高人民法院 (2024). 依法惩治危害公共安全犯罪典型案例（案例一）. ；最高人民法院 (2025). 专访最高法副院长李勇：让高空抛物行为人都能被处罚. +- Notes: detention applies even when nobody is hit; the provision only requires "a danger." The Civil Code has a separate civil-compensation provision on object-dropping from heights (Article 1254); the original text could not be opened while writing this section, so it is not cited. + +### 10. Don't buy replica guns, steel-ball guns, or airguns online; don't buy "toy guns" of unknown origin + +- Cost: 0 yuan; if you want to shoot, go to a proper shooting range +- In plain terms: for steel-ball guns and airguns bought online, once the muzzle specific kinetic energy reaches 1.8 joules/square centimeter they are deemed firearms — illegal possession means under 3 years, or 3 to 7 years in serious cases. One couple sold "toy guns" at a farmers' market; of 43 guns seized, 18 were found upon examination to meet the firearm standard, and they escaped prosecution only because the evidence was insufficient to prove they knew they were guns — an adult who deliberately goes online to buy such a gun will find "I didn't know" very hard to sustain afterward. +- Benefit: illegal possession or unauthorized keeping of firearms — under 3 years, or 3 to 7 years in serious cases; non-standard firearms that cannot fire standard ammunition are deemed firearms whenever the muzzle specific kinetic energy is 1.8 joules/square centimeter or greater, and many steel-ball guns and airguns bought online exceed this; since 2018 the two highest courts/procuratorates have required that low-specific-kinetic-energy airguns be assessed for conviction with a comprehensive look at appearance, material, price, intended use, and subjective awareness; official case: the couple Zhao sold "toy guns" at a farmers' market; 43 guns were seized, 18 of which were found upon examination to meet the firearm standard, and they received doubtful-case non-prosecution because there was insufficient evidence they knew the items were firearms (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第一百二十八条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2018). 关于涉以压缩气体为动力的枪支、气枪铅弹刑事案件定罪量刑问题的批复（法释〔2018〕8 号）. ；最高人民法院 (2018). 《批复》的理解与适用. +- Notes: the key to non-prosecution was "lack of knowledge"; an adult who deliberately buys a steel-ball gun or airgun online and then claims not to know it was a gun will find it very hard to sustain. The management rules on crossbows and controlled knives were not verified against original texts in this section and are not covered. + +### 11. Register a drone under your real name before flying; don't fly near airports, military zones, or restricted urban airspace; don't crack altitude limits + +- Cost: registration is 0 yuan, a few minutes; check the airspace through official channels before every flight +- In plain terms: flying without real-name registration is a fine of up to 200 yuan, 2,000 to 20,000 yuan in serious cases; flying in restricted airspace without approval is a fine of up to 500 yuan, or confiscation of the drone plus a 1,000–10,000 yuan fine in serious cases, and 5 to 10 days of detention in graver cases. One person paid to crack the altitude limit, flew a drone to nearly 3,000 meters to photograph clouds, and posted it online — 5 days of detention; another who cracked altitude limits and no-fly zones for others more than 20 times and earned just over 15,000 got 6 months, suspended 1 year, plus a fine. +- Benefit: flying without real-name registration — ordered to correct, plus a fine of up to 200 yuan, or 2,000 to 20,000 yuan in serious cases; flying micro, light, or small drones in restricted airspace without approval — ordered to stop flying plus a fine of up to 500 yuan, or confiscation of the drone plus a 1,000–10,000 yuan fine in serious cases; flying in violation of airspace management rules in graver cases — 5 to 10 days of detention; official cases: Li paid to crack the altitude limit, flew a drone to nearly 3,000 meters to photograph clouds, and published the footage — 5 days of detention; Zhang cracked altitude limits and no-fly-zone restrictions for others more than 20 times and gained just over 15,000 yuan, and was sentenced to 6 months with 1 year of probation plus a fine for the crime of providing programs and tools for intruding into or illegally controlling computer information systems (nationwide, from January 2024) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院、中央军委 (2023). 无人驾驶航空器飞行管理暂行条例（国令第 761 号，第十、十九、四十七、五十一条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第四十六条）. ；湖北省公安厅 (2026). 公安部公布依法打击无人机「黑飞」违法犯罪八起典型案例（转载人民公安报）. +- Notes: micro drones (empty weight under 0.25 kilograms) and light drones do not need approval in approved-for-flight airspace, but approved-for-flight airspace means "outside restricted airspace," and the areas around airports, military installations, and government offices are mostly restricted. The Ministry of Public Security's original page could not be opened while this section was written; the source cited is a page republished by the Hubei Provincial Public Security Department. + +### 12. Don't secretly photograph people; don't install cameras in rental apartments, guesthouses, or hotel rooms + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: spying on, secretly photographing, or spreading other people's privacy means detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 5 to 10 days in graver cases; using dedicated covert-photography equipment with serious consequences means under 2 years. Two people bought covert-photography equipment online and installed it in multiple rooms of three hotels for remote secret filming, getting 1 year 3 months and 1 year respectively; and selling or spreading the secret recordings from the same batch of cases, there was a 10-year sentence. Installing surveillance in your own home doesn't count; installing it in a room others use does. +- Benefit: secretly observing, secretly photographing, secretly recording, or spreading other people's privacy — detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of up to 1,000 yuan in graver cases; illegally using dedicated eavesdropping or covert-photography equipment with serious consequences — under 2 years; official case: Yan Ping and Yan Jian bought covert-photography equipment online and installed it in multiple rooms of three hotels for remote secret filming, and were sentenced to 1 year 3 months and 1 year respectively (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第五十条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十四条）. ；最高人民法院 (2024). 依法惩治非法生产、销售、使用窃听、窃照设备犯罪典型案例（案例二）. +- Notes: once secret recordings are sold or spread, they are separately handled under crimes such as producing or selling obscene materials for profit; in the same batch of cases there was a 10-year sentence. Installing surveillance in your own home doesn't count; installing it in a room others use does. + +### 13. Mahjong and cards are fine to play; don't take a rake, don't be the house, don't organize games for money, don't gamble online + +- Cost: 0 yuan; small-stakes entertainment among relatives and friends is fine, just don't take a cut from the game +- In plain terms: small-stakes card games among family and friends are left alone; taking a rake, being the house, or organizing games for money changes the nature of it: gambling with relatively large stakes means detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 10 to 15 days of detention plus a 1,000–5,000 yuan fine in serious cases; gathering people to gamble or making a living from gambling means under 3 years, and running a gambling den means under 5 years, or 5 to 10 years in serious cases. What counts as "relatively large stakes" is decided locally; there is no nationwide figure. +- Benefit: providing conditions for gambling for profit, or gambling with relatively large stakes — detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 yuan in serious cases; gathering people to gamble for profit or making a living from gambling — under 3 years plus a fine; operating a gambling den — under 5 years plus a fine, or 5 to 10 years in serious cases (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第八十二条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第三百零三条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第三十六条，开设赌场刑期提高到五年以下、五年以上十年以下）. +- Notes: "relatively large stakes" has no nationwide uniform figure and is decided by each locality, hence grade B; taking a rake and collecting bets on behalf of online gambling platforms are commonly handled as operating a gambling den in practice; the original texts of the relevant judicial interpretations were not verified in this section. No official case was found. + +### 14. Don't eat bushmeat; don't buy, sell, or keep protected animals as pets + +- Cost: 0 yuan; buy only legally sourced, captive-bred species as pets +- In plain terms: eating animals under key state protection means confiscation plus a fine of 2 to 20 times their value; buying, transporting, or selling rare and endangered animals means under 5 years, 5 to 10 years in serious cases, and 10 years or more in especially serious cases. Captive-bred pets are a different matter: 3 breeders sold more than 40 captive-bred Fischer's lovebirds for a total of under 400 yuan, and the procuratorate declined to prosecute. Wild-caught animals of unclear origin are not covered by that. +- Benefit: eating or buying state-protected wild animals for eating — confiscation plus a fine of 2 to 20 times the value; breeding state-protected wild animals without a license — confiscation plus a fine of 1 to 10 times the value; illegally purchasing, transporting, or selling rare and endangered wild animals under state protection and their products — under 5 years plus a fine, 5 to 10 years in serious cases, 10 years or more in especially serious cases; hunting, purchasing, transporting, or selling other terrestrial wild animals for the purpose of eating, in serious cases — under 3 years; official case: breeders Wang and 2 others sold more than 40 captive-bred Fischer's lovebirds (a Class II state-protected species) for a total of under 400 yuan, and the procuratorate declined to prosecute in 2021; since 2022 the two highest courts/procuratorates have clarified that captive-bred animals with mature breeding techniques, bred at scale, and traded or transported as pets are generally not treated as crimes (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2022). 野生动物保护法（2022 年修订，第三十一、五十一、五十三条）. （生态环境部转载）；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第三百四十一条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第四十一条，即刑法第三百四十一条第三款）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2022). 关于办理破坏野生动物资源刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2022〕12 号，第十三条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2023). 鹦鹉小案 民生大案. +- Notes: "generally not treated as a crime" applies only to captive-bred pet-type animals; wild-caught ones and those of unclear origin are not covered; which animals count as state-protected species is determined by the official list — checking the list before buying is cheaper than explaining afterward. + +### 15. Collecting a debt: don't detain people, don't lock them up, don't trail them into their home and refuse to leave + +- Cost: 0 yuan; for unpaid debt, sue in court; how to write an IOU is in Section 8, item 16 +- In plain terms: even if the debt is genuinely owed to you, it doesn't work — the statute specifically says detaining or confining someone "to collect a debt" is still handled as unlawful detention. Administratively, 10 to 15 days of detention plus a 1,000–2,000 yuan fine; where the crime of unlawful detention is formed it's under 3 years, 3 to 10 years if the person is seriously injured, and 10 years or more if someone dies. To collect a debt, sue in court. +- Benefit: unlawfully restricting another person's personal freedom, unlawfully entering another person's residence, or unlawfully searching another person's body — 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 yuan, or 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of up to 1,000 yuan in lesser cases; unlawful detention — under 3 years, criminal detention, controlled surveillance, or deprivation of political rights, 3 to 10 years for causing serious injury, 10 years or more for causing death; seizing or confining another person to collect a debt is punished under the same provisions — even when the debt is real (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第四十七条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百三十八条）. +- Notes: "he owes me money" is not a defense under this provision; the statute specifically states that acts done "to collect a debt" are also handled as unlawful detention. China Court Online carries multiple cases of people imprisoning others over lawful debts and being sentenced to 7 months to 1 year; the site could not be opened while this section was written, so they are not cited. + +### 16. Don't lend out your ID card, don't use someone else's, and don't use another person's documents to register, open cards, or buy tickets + +- Cost: 0 yuan; just refuse; when a copy is needed, state its purpose on it +- In plain terms: renting out, lending, or transferring your ID card means a warning and a fine of up to 200 yuan; using another person's ID card or one obtained by deception means a fine of 200 to 1,000 yuan or detention of up to 10 days; and using forged, altered, or stolen ID cards, passports, social security cards, or driver's licenses in situations requiring real-name verification, in serious cases, means criminal detention or controlled surveillance plus a fine. Buying train tickets or checking into hotels with someone else's documents falls into this category. +- Benefit: renting out, lending, or transferring a resident ID card — a warning plus a fine of up to 200 yuan; using another person's ID card or an ID card obtained by deception, or purchasing, selling, or using forged or altered ID cards — a fine of 200 to 1,000 yuan or detention of up to 10 days; in activities where identity proof must be provided under state rules, using forged or altered ID cards, passports, social security cards, or driver's licenses, or stealing and using another person's, in serious cases — criminal detention or controlled surveillance plus a fine imposed concurrently or separately (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2011). 居民身份证法（2011 年修正，第十六、十七条）. （北京市公安交通管理局转载）；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十条之一）. +- Notes: the consequences of an ID card lent out and used to register companies or open cards are in Section 8, items 26 and 7. Buying train tickets or staying in hotels with another person's ID card counts as "activities where identity proof must be provided." No official case was found. + +### 17. Cooperate when stopped or taken in by the police; don't push, hit, or grab the body camera, and hold back all the more when you've been drinking + +- Cost: 0 yuan; if you object, complain, seek reconsideration, or sue afterward — never use force at the scene +- In plain terms: obstructing enforcement on the spot means a warning or a fine of up to 500 yuan, or 5 to 10 days of detention in serious cases. Laying hands on an officer is a different tier: biting, slapping, kicking, tackling, or throwing things that cause minor injury or worse counts as violent assault on police — under 3 years, or 3 to 7 years if a gun, controlled knife, or a car ramming is used; shaking off an officer's hand or struggling free generally does not count. In the first month after the crime of assaulting police entered the criminal law, 405 people were arrested nationwide, and in Jiangsu nearly half the cases were triggered by drunken altercations. +- Benefit: obstructing state-functionaries lawfully performing their duties — a warning or a fine of up to 500 yuan, or 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of up to 1,000 yuan in serious cases, with heavier punishment for obstructing people's police; violently attacking people's police who are lawfully performing their duties — under 3 years, or 3 to 7 years where a firearm, controlled knife, or vehicle ramming gravely endangers the officer's personal safety; biting, slapping, kicking, tackling, or throwing objects causing minor injury or above counts as "violent attack," while shaking off a hand, struggling free, kicking the legs, and other general resistance does not (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第六十一条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第三十一条，即刑法第二百七十七条第五款）. ；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百七十七条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2025). 关于办理袭警刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（高检发释字〔2025〕1 号，第一、八、十二条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2021). 袭警罪入刑一月 检察机关批捕 405 人. +- Notes: per a 2021 Supreme People's Procuratorate report, 405 people were arrested in the first month after the crime of assaulting police entered the criminal law; of 42 cases in Jiangsu, 47.6 percent were triggered by drunken altercations, and of 16 cases in Hubei, 12 involved minor violence such as punching, kicking, and biting; laying hands on auxiliary police is handled as obstructing official duties. No official case with individual circumstances spelled out was found. + +### 18. If the other person is under 14, sex is off the table; "she consented" is no defense + +- Cost: 0 yuan; if you're not sure of the age, don't do it +- In plain terms: if the other person is under 14, it is treated as rape with heavier punishment regardless of whether she consented, and the base sentence is 3 to 10 years. For those under 12, you are always deemed to "have had reason to know"; for those 12 to 14, if the person's physical development, speech, manner, or dress would show she might be a minor girl and you proceed anyway, knowledge is deemed established — and the "genuinely did not know" exception is applied very strictly. +- Benefit: intercourse with a girl under 14 is treated as rape and punished more heavily, with a base sentence of 3 to 10 years; the Supreme People's Court's position: where violence, coercion, or other compulsory means are used, rape is convicted regardless of whether the girl's age was known; where no compulsory means are used, for girls under 12 "reason to know" is always deemed established, and for those 12 to 14, where physical development, speech, manner, dress, or the like would reveal she might be a girl under 14 and sexual assault is still committed, "knowledge" is deemed established, with the "genuinely did not know" exception applied strictly (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百三十六条）. ；最高人民法院 (2015). 关于「与十四周岁以下幼女发生性关系是否要明知才构成犯罪」的答复. +- Notes: the original text of the two-supreme-courts-and-two-ministries opinion on criminal cases of sexual assault against minors, and the Supreme People's Court's 2003 reply page, could not be opened while writing this section; the standards for determining "knowledge" are drawn from a reply on the Supreme People's Court's official website; the statutory term is "young girl" (幼女), and this entry makes no distinction by the perpetrator's sex. + +### 19. Before you hit someone, do the math: detention, compensation, prison time + +- Cost: 0 yuan; hold out for those few seconds +- In plain terms: the ledger for throwing one punch: 5 to 10 days of detention plus a 500–1,000 yuan fine; group assaults, hitting the elderly, pregnant women, or children, or hitting several people at once, means 10 to 15 days of detention plus a 1,000–2,000 yuan fine; minor injury makes it a criminal case — under 3 years, and 3 to 10 years for serious injury. The money is counted separately: one person broke three of the other's ribs and paid 113,000 yuan in a settlement to escape prosecution; another broke the other's radius, paid nothing, and got 10 months. +- Benefit: beating another person or intentionally causing injury — 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of 500 to 1,000 yuan; group assault, beating disabled persons, pregnant women, the elderly, or children, repeated beatings, or beating several people at once — 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 yuan; minor injury constitutes the crime of intentional injury — up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or controlled surveillance, and 3 to 10 years for serious injury; on the civil side, medical expenses, lost wages, nursing costs, transport costs, hospital meal allowances, and nutrition costs must be paid, and for disability the disability compensation is calculated as the previous year's per-capita disposable income of urban residents in the court's locality multiplied by 20 years (minus 1 year per year of age over 60, and 5 years for those over 75); in 2022 procuratorates nationwide accepted over 70,000 minor-injury cases, mostly arising from marriage, family, or neighborhood disputes or chance events; Supreme People's Procuratorate typical cases: Lu broke three of the other's ribs (serious injury grade II minor) and only got non-prosecution after paying 113,000 yuan to reach a settlement; Shi broke the other's radius (serious injury grade II minor), paid nothing, and was sentenced to 10 months of fixed-term imprisonment (nationwide; the Public Security Administration Punishments Law in force from January 1, 2026) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第九、五十一条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百三十四条）. ；最高人民法院 (2022 修正). 关于审理人身损害赔偿案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2022〕14 号，第六至十二、十五条）. ；最高人民检察院、公安部 (2023). 关于依法妥善办理轻伤害案件的指导意见. ；最高人民检察院 (2023). 检察机关依法妥善办理轻伤害案件典型案例. +- Notes: how to avoid conflicts, why striking first loses, and lawful self-defense are in Section 8, item 9; this entry only does the math, and the ledger for attacking people out of spite is in Section 8, items 10 to 13. Brawls arising from civil disputes with minor circumstances can be mediated by the police, and minor-injury cases settled and performed can receive leniency or even non-prosecution — but not one yuan of compensation is forgiven; what counts as minor injury is set by forensic standards, which this section did not verify. Lost wages and nursing costs are calculated from actual income and days; there is no uniform figure. + +### 20. If you can't raise a child after birth, only one legal way out exists: civil-affairs registration; taking money to hand over the child can be sentenced as child trafficking, and abandoning the child is the crime of abandonment + +- Cost: 0 yuan; file an adoption registration with a county-level or higher civil-affairs department, submit materials, and wait for review and the adoption assessment +- In plain terms: there is a way out if you can't raise the child, but only one legal one: adoption registration through the civil-affairs department, with the adoptive relationship established only from the day of registration; those who may place a child for adoption are the guardian of an orphan, child-welfare institutions, and "birth parents with special difficulties who cannot raise the child." Handing a child over privately, especially for money, can turn "placing for adoption" directly into the crime of child trafficking — starting at 5 years or more, up to the death penalty in especially serious cases. The official line is "whether there was a purpose of unlawful gain": selling the child right after birth, "giving" the child to someone for money while knowing the recipient has no intent to raise the child or not caring at all whether they can, and taking huge sums clearly not "nutrition fees" or "thank-you fees" — all count as selling one's own child. Conversely, genuinely placing a child privately under hardship and accepting only small nutrition or thank-you fees counts as private folk adoption and is not handled as trafficking. Abandoning the child is the crime of abandonment, under 5 years; strangling or drowning the child is intentional homicide — it does not become lighter just because the child was newborn. +- Benefit: Article 240 of the Criminal Law: "whoever abducts and traffics women or children shall be sentenced to not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment, and shall also be fined"; where aggravating circumstances exist, 10 years or more of fixed-term imprisonment or life imprisonment plus a fine or confiscation of property, and "where the circumstances are especially serious, the death penalty plus confiscation of property." Article 17 of the Opinion on Punishing the Crimes of Abducting and Trafficking Women and Children in Accordance with the Law: the key to distinguishing selling one's own child from private folk adoption "is whether the actor has the purpose of unlawful gain," and three situations may be found to be selling one's own child and punished as abducting and trafficking women or children — "treating childbearing as a means of unlawful gain and selling the child immediately after birth," "knowing the other party has no intent to raise the child, or without considering at all whether the other party intends to raise it, 'giving' the child to them in exchange for money," and "'giving' the child to another in exchange for huge sums clearly not 'nutrition fees' or 'thank-you fees'"; placing a child privately under life hardship without a purpose of unlawful gain, accepting only small nutrition or thank-you fees, is private folk adoption and is not punished as trafficking. Article 261 of the Criminal Law: "whoever has a duty to support the elderly, the young, the sick, or others without the ability to live independently and refuses to do so, where the circumstances are odious, shall be sentenced to not more than 5 years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or controlled surveillance." Article 1094 of the Civil Code: those who may place a child for adoption are the guardian of an orphan, child-welfare institutions, and birth parents with special difficulties who cannot raise the child; Article 1105: "adoption shall be registered with the civil-affairs department of a people's government at or above the county level. The adoptive relationship is established from the date of registration" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百四十、二百六十一条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部、司法部 (2010). 关于依法惩治拐卖妇女儿童犯罪的意见（法发〔2010〕7 号，第 17 条）. 最高人民法院官网 ；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千零九十四、一千一百零五条）. 盐城市人民政府转载收养编全文 +- Notes: this entry does not discuss whether to give birth; it only addresses the fork in the road after the child is born. The order-saving sequence: give birth in a hospital (prenatal checkups and in-hospital delivery are in Section 27), since the medical birth certificate is the prerequisite for all later paperwork; for adoption, go to a county-level or higher civil-affairs department first and never go through a middleman — once money changes hands, the nature may change; and thoughts of "harming yourself or the child" within one year after delivery are treated as an emergency — see Section 27, items 7 and 16, and Section 1, item 25. No case is attached to this entry: the official typical cases of trafficking one's own children were not checked case by case this round, so only the statute and the opinion's original text are cited. diff --git a/book/en/10-Is-Love-And-Marriage-Worth-It.md b/book/en/10-Is-Love-And-Marriage-Worth-It.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..defcda868 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/10-Is-Love-And-Marriage-Worth-It.md @@ -0,0 +1,157 @@ +[← Back to master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 10. Are Dating and Marriage Worth It + +This section breaks the question "is marriage worth it" into several accounts that can be tallied separately: money, time, health, legal risk, and relationship quality. Each account gives only numbers that can be found in official statistics or meta-analyses, makes no moral judgment, and draws no conclusion for the reader; health figures use a mortality-risk measure, time figures use a daily-minutes measure, and legal figures use a statutory-text measure, and the three are not converted into one another. For the method of splitting the accounts, a fill-in checklist, and common misconceptions, see [docs/结婚划不划算.md](../docs/结婚划不划算.md). +### 1. Meet more people instead of fixating on one: two people's compatibility cannot be predicted before they meet + +- Cost: 0 yuan; spend the time widening the circle of people you meet, not brooding over the same person +- In plain terms: two speed-dating studies had people fill out over 100 items of partner-selection questionnaires before meeting, and the results could only predict "how easily this person tends to like others in general" and "how popular this person tends to be in general" — but not "whether these two specific people hit it off." Even a person's stated ideal type (valuing looks versus valuing financial prospects) did not predict their in-the-moment interest in a particular person. Compatibility is only known after meeting, so spending time meeting several people beats betting everything on one. +- Benefit: in the two speed-dating studies, participants filled out more than 100 self-report scales related to partner selection beforehand; random forest models could predict "how easily a person likes others overall" (4%–18% of variance) and "how popular a person is overall" (7%–27%), but for "whether these two specific people hit it off," no combination of pre-event traits and preferences predicted it. An earlier speed-dating experiment by the same researchers also found that participants' pre-event stated ideal-partner preferences (valuing looks versus valuing financial prospects) did not predict their in-the-moment interest in a specific person +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Joel S, Eastwick PW, Finkel EJ (2017). Is romantic desire predictable? Machine learning applied to initial romantic attraction. Psychological Science, 28(10), 1478-1489. ；Eastwick PW, Finkel EJ (2008). Sex differences in mate preferences revisited: do people know what they initially desire in a romantic partner? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(2), 245-264. +- Notes: these two studies say "it cannot be computed before meeting," not "no effort helps." Since compatibility is only known after meeting, spending the effort on meeting several people and actually meeting each one beats staking all your time on one person. Both used Western college-student samples; China's dating market is structured differently, so discount the generalization + +### 2. Stop after the other person clearly refuses; continued pestering is a public-order offense, not "sincerity" + +- Cost: 0 yuan; hold back from messaging again and from waiting for them again +- In plain terms: after a clear refusal, sending more messages or going to wait for them becomes a public-order offense as of January 2026: up to 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, or 5 to 10 days of detention in more serious cases. The police can also order you not to contact the person for a period of time, and violating that no-contact order means another 5 to 10 days of detention. Such a record also affects civil-service exams, public-institution hiring, political vetting, and professional licensing in some occupations. +- Benefit: the public security administration punishments law, in force from January 1, 2026, lists pestering and stalking as a separate offense: "repeatedly sending obscene, insulting, or threatening messages, or using harassment, pestering, stalking, and similar methods to interfere with another person's normal life" carries up to 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, and 5 to 10 days of detention in more serious cases, which may be combined with a fine of up to 1,000 yuan; and this provision adds one more layer — with the approval of the head of the public security organ, the offender may be ordered not to contact the victim for a specified period, and violating the no-contact order carries another 5 to 10 days of detention +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025 修订). 治安管理处罚法（第五十条第一款第五项、第二款）. （最高人民检察院转载） +- Notes: "pursuing someone to the end will move them" has no research support, but detention and no-contact orders are written in black and white. The record left behind also affects civil-service exams, public-institution hiring, political vetting, and professional licensing in some occupations. The line between pursuing someone and harassing them is not set by your motives; it is set by whether the other person has clearly refused + +### 3. Judge interest by behavior, not by "signals": who initiates, who plans, who follows up + +- Cost: 0 yuan; shift attention from reading faces and tones to recording facts +- In plain terms: 52 pairs of stranger men and women chatted for about ten minutes and then judged whether the other was flirting; the result was that "the other person is not flirting" was judged fairly accurately, while "the other person is flirting" was mostly missed; switching to 261 people judging one-minute videos gave the same result. So do not infer intentions from expressions and tone — watch observable behavior: who initiates, who arranges the next meeting, and whether the other person follows up when you do not push things forward. +- Benefit: two studies measured how accurately people recognize flirting: 52 pairs of previously unacquainted heterosexuals talked one-on-one for 10 to 12 minutes and each reported whether they had been flirting and whether they thought the other had been; the result was "interactions where no flirting occurred were judged more accurately, and interactions where flirting occurred were judged worse"; the second study used 26 one-minute video clips judged by 261 observers, with the same conclusion — people can fairly reliably see "the other person is not flirting" but have great difficulty seeing "the other person is flirting" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Hall JA, Xing C, Brooks S (2015). Accurately detecting flirting: error management theory, the traditional sexual script, and flirting base rate. Communication Research, 42(7), 939-958. +- Notes: contested. Other research argues that men do not overestimate women's sexual intent; rather, women underreport it in self-reports, and which side's judgments are more accurate remains unsettled (Perilloux C, Kurzban R (2015). Do men overperceive women's sexual interest? Psychological Science, 26(1), 70-77. ). But both camps agree on one thing: inferring the other person's mind from subtle cues like expressions and tone has very low accuracy. Observable behavior is far more reliable — whether they initiate, whether they arrange the next meeting, whether they follow up even when you do not push + +### 4. Judge a relationship mainly by how you feel in it yourself, not by the other person's attributes + +- Cost: 0 yuan; replace the partner checklist with observation of how the relationship actually goes +- In plain terms: in an analysis of 43 paired tracking datasets from 29 labs, what best indicated whether a relationship was good was all the participants' own feelings — perceived commitment from the partner, appreciation, sexual satisfaction, perceiving the partner as satisfied, how much conflict there was — not the partner's attributes; these self-reported items predicted two to four times better than partner-reported ones. But the same study also found that whether the relationship would get better or worse afterward was essentially incalculable with any self-report questionnaire. +- Benefit: a machine-learning analysis of 43 longitudinal paired datasets from 29 labs: the strongest predictors of relationship quality all come from the participant's own feelings about the relationship — perceived partner commitment, appreciation, sexual satisfaction, perceived partner satisfaction, conflict; at the individual level the strongest are life satisfaction, negative affect, depression, avoidant attachment, and anxious attachment. Relationship variables explained at most 45% of variance at baseline and at most 18% at study end. And "self-reported variables" predicted two to four times better than "partner-reported variables"; after adding individual differences and partner reports, they added no predictive power over the self-reported relationship variables alone +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Joel S, Eastwick PW, Allison CJ, et al. (2020). Machine learning uncovers the most robust self-report predictors of relationship quality across 43 longitudinal couples studies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(32), 19061-19071. +- Notes: the same study also found that "change" in relationship quality (whether it got better or worse over the study period) was essentially unpredictable from any combination of self-report variables. So the usable part of this item is: for judging whether the current relationship is good, asking your own feelings is more accurate than checking the other person's attribute list; but do not expect to predict how it will turn out. This says the same thing as the earlier item "don't ask only whether emotional value exists"; this one specifies which items they are + +### 5. To build closeness, take turns answering a set of questions from light to deep; skip the lines + +- Cost: 0 yuan; 45 minutes +- In plain terms: pair up two strangers and have them take turns answering three sets of progressively deeper questions, 36 in all; after 45 minutes their felt closeness was clearly higher than a control group that made small talk for the same amount of time, and even higher than those students' average rating of their closest real-life relationship. What works is taking turns on both sides and going one level deeper with real honesty each round — not canned lines. What it measured was only closeness over a short period, not whether it can grow into a long-term relationship. +- Benefit: pairing two unacquainted people and having them take turns answering three sets of progressively deeper questions (36 in total, from "who would you most want to have dinner with" to "when did you last cry in front of another person"); after 45 minutes, closeness was significantly higher than a control group that made small talk for the same length of time, and also higher than the college students in that study's average rating of their own closest real-life relationship +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Aron A, Melinat E, Aron EN, Vallone RD, Bator RJ (1997). The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: a procedure and some preliminary findings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(4), 363-377. +- Notes: a single experiment with a college-student sample, measuring short-term closeness, not whether a long-term relationship can develop. The usable part is its mechanism: closeness comes from gradually escalating two-way self-disclosure, not from lines, routines, or one-sided performance. So the effective move in conversation is "I share something true, and ask a question of matching depth," with both sides taking turns + +### 6. Long distance is no worse than living in the same city; the real hurdle is the first three months after moving in together + +- Cost: travel money and time; low frequency of meeting +- In plain terms: long-distance relationships are actually steadier while apart, because people meet less and imagine more; the real hurdle comes after moving in together. In the tracking data, about half of long-distance couples made it to the same-city stage, and the other half ended while still apart; of the half that reunited, one third broke up within 3 months. The longer the gap between visits while apart, and the rosier the imagining, the shakier things get after reunion. What to prepare for is those months after reunion: less autonomy, more knowledge of each other, more conflict and jealousy. +- Benefit: two studies give a consistent picture: long-distance relationships are actually more stable than same-city ones while the partners are apart, because idealization (idealized distortion, romantic love, relationship memories, perceived agreement) is significantly higher in long-distance relationships, and idealization correlates with low meeting frequency; but this stability holds only while the two are still apart — once they become same-city, long-distance couples are more likely to break up. The study tracking the move from long-distance to same-city gives these proportions: about half of long-distance couples reached the point of moving in together, the other half ended while apart; and of the half that reunited, one third broke up within 3 months of reunion. The longer the gaps between meetings while apart and the stronger the idealization, the less stable the relationship after reunion +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Stafford L, Merolla AJ, Castle JD (2006). When long-distance dating partners become geographically close. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 23(6), 901-919. ；Stafford L, Merolla AJ (2007). Idealization, reunions, and stability in long-distance dating relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24(1), 37-54. +- Notes: the samples are American college students' dating relationships, not marriages, and the era is earlier, so do not apply the absolute proportions directly. Another study with 717 long-distance and 425 same-city participants found the two types of relationship differed very little in relationship quality; what predicted relationship quality was personal and relationship characteristics rather than distance itself (Dargie E, et al. (2015). Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 41(2), 181-202. ). The usable conclusion: in deciding whether to accept long distance, do not use "long distance always falls apart" as a reason; what to prepare in advance is the months after reunion — less autonomy, more mutual knowledge, more conflict and jealousy + +### 7. Check the registration data before listening to elders: what the marriage and divorce rates actually measure + +- Cost: 0 yuan; read the marriage-registration section of the Ministry of Civil Affairs annual bulletin once, a few minutes +- In plain terms: in 2024 there were 6.106 million marriage registrations nationwide, 20% fewer than the year before, and 3.513 million divorce proceedings. The "divorce rate over half" circulating online comes from dividing these two numbers (about 57.5%); the numerator and denominator are not the same group of people at all, the bulletin contains no such indicator, and it cannot be read as "half of marriages will end in divorce." The bulletin's marriage rate of 4.3‰ and divorce rate of 2.5‰ take the whole population as the denominator, not the married population. +- Benefit: in 2024, 6.106 million marriage registrations were processed nationwide under law, down 20.5% from the previous year, with a marriage rate of 4.3‰; 3.513 million divorce proceedings were processed under law (2.622 million registered divorces with civil affairs departments, 0.891 million divorces by court judgment and mediation), with a divorce rate of 2.5‰; the bulletin notes that the marriage (divorce) rate = number of marriages (divorces) in the year / average total population in the year × 1000‰, a "crude rate" whose denominator is the whole population, not the married population +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 民政部 (2025). 2024 年民政事业发展统计公报（五（二）1 婚姻登记服务、注释 5）. （PDF：） +- Notes: the common online claim of a "divorce rate above 50%" divides the year's divorce count by the year's marriage count (351.3 / 610.6 ≈ 57.5%); this is the "divorce-to-marriage ratio," its numerator and denominator are not the same group of people, the bulletin contains no such indicator, and it cannot be read as "half of marriages will end in divorce"; "the probability that a given marriage eventually ends in divorce" requires cohort data, and no official source text was found in this section + +### 8. Count the health benefits, but discount them as observational data + +- Cost: 0 yuan; knowing that these numbers are correlations of "married people have lower mortality," not causation that "marriage will make you live longer" +- In plain terms: married people were about 12% less likely to die in the same period than unmarried people; those who never married were about 24% more likely than married people; the gap shrinks with age, and men are affected somewhat more. But this is correlation, not causation: people who start out healthier, wealthier, and more socially connected are both more likely to marry and more likely to live long; the more rigorous the study, the smaller the computed gap; and the numbers come almost entirely from Western samples, so for China they serve only as an order-of-magnitude reference. +- Benefit: a meta-analysis in older adults (53 comparisons, over 250,000 people) found married relative to non-married all-cause mortality RR 0.88 (95% CI 0.85–0.91), widowed 1.11, divorced or separated 1.16, never-married 1.11, no difference by sex, most conservative estimate RR 0.94; a meta-analysis of never-married relative to married (95 publications, over 500 million people) found HR 1.24 (1.19–1.30), with the effect shrinking as age rises; a meta-analysis broken down by sex (21 studies, over 7.89 million people) found being non-married associated with all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular death in both sexes, with stronger associations for cardiovascular and all-cause death in men, and unmarried men had 31% more stroke deaths and 9% more all-cause deaths than unmarried women +- Evidence grade: A (contested) +- Sources: Manzoli L, et al. (2007). Marital status and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc Sci Med 64:77–94. ；Roelfs DJ, et al. (2011). The rising relative risk of mortality for singles: meta-analysis and meta-regression. Am J Epidemiol 174(4):379–389. ；Wang Y, et al. (2020). Sex differences in the association between marital status and the risk of cardiovascular, cancer, and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 7,881,040 individuals. Glob Health Res Policy 5:4. +- Notes: the dispute concerns selection effects: people who are healthier, higher-income, and more socially connected are both more likely to marry and more likely to live long; all three meta-analyses are observational studies, the authors themselves state publication bias or methodological limitations, and Roelfs also found the effect shrinking as study quality rises; these numbers come mainly from Western samples and serve only as an order-of-magnitude reference for Chinese populations + +### 9. Tally time as "unpaid labor"; settle the division of work before getting the certificate + +- Cost: 0 yuan; spend an hour or two before marriage turning housework, caregiving, and whose career yields into an explicit division of labor, then follow it +- In plain terms: in the national time use survey, unpaid work such as housework and caring for family members averages 1 hour 52 minutes a day for men and 3 hours 29 minutes for women — a gap of an hour and a half; participation rates also differ by 16 percentage points. The survey does not break results down by marital status, so there is no official number for "how much more housework marriage adds"; treat this gender gap only as an upper-bound reference. The division of labor can absolutely be negotiated into something different before you get the certificate. +- Benefit: the 2024 national time use survey: unpaid labor (housework, accompanying and caring for family members, etc.) averaged 2 hours 45 minutes per day among participants, 1 hour 52 minutes for men and 3 hours 29 minutes for women, with participation rates of 67.5% for men and 83.9% for women; residents averaged 1 hour 17 minutes of housework per day (1 hour 59 minutes among participants, 28 minutes less than in 2018), and 30 minutes accompanying and caring for family members (1 hour 46 minutes among participants); in 2018, housework was 45 minutes for men and 2 hours 6 minutes for women, and childcare 17 minutes for men and 53 minutes for women +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家统计局 (2024). 第三次全国时间利用调查公报（第二号、第三号）. 、；国家统计局 (2019). 2018 年全国时间利用调查公报. +- Notes: both surveys break results down only by sex, urban/rural residence, and age, not by marital status, so there is no official number for "how much more housework marriage adds"; the gender gap serves only as an upper-bound reference; the figures are national averages, and an individual couple's division can absolutely be negotiated into something different — that is exactly the value of negotiating + +### 10. In the money account, first read the law's default rules, then decide whether a written agreement is needed + +- Cost: from 0 yuan; read through the Civil Code's marital and family property provisions once, and if needed sign a written property agreement (the law requires only written form; notarization is not a prerequisite) +- In plain terms: without a written agreement, the law defaults to joint ownership of wages and bonuses earned during marriage, business and investment income, intellectual-property income, and inherited or gifted property; only premarital property, personal-injury compensation, property that a will or gift contract explicitly gives to one side, and one spouse's personal daily-use items stay individual. Both parties can agree in writing that everything is separate or partly shared, and a signed agreement is legally binding — notarization is not a prerequisite. The spouse who puts in more on childcare, caring for the elderly, and so on can claim compensation at divorce. +- Benefit: the default rule is that wages, bonuses, and labor remuneration earned during marriage, income from production, business operation, and investment, intellectual-property income, and inherited or gifted property belong to both spouses jointly (Article 1062); premarital property, personal-injury compensation, property that a will or gift contract explicitly assigns to one side only, and one spouse's personal daily-use items are individual property (Article 1063); the two parties may agree in writing that premarital and marital property belongs to each separately, jointly, or partly separately and partly jointly, and the agreement is legally binding on both (Article 1065); the party bearing more of the duties of raising children, caring for the elderly, or assisting the other's work has the right to claim compensation at divorce (Article 1088) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人民代表大会 (2020). 中华人民共和国民法典（2021 年 1 月 1 日起施行，第一千零六十二、一千零六十三、一千零六十五、一千零八十八条）. 国家法律法规数据库 ；条文全文见最高人民法院公报转载 +- Notes: bride price, weddings, and the marital home have no official statistics, so this item gives no numbers; compensation under Article 1088 is set by agreement between the parties, or by the court if agreement fails — there is no statutory formula; a property agreement cuts both ways, useful for the higher-earning side and for the side bearing more unpaid labor alike + +### 11. When parents fund a home purchase, write down at the time of the transfer whether it is a loan or a gift + +- Cost: 0 yuan; on the day of the transfer write a one-page statement saying whether the money is gifted to or lent to whom, signed by the funding parents and the child (if written as a loan, have both spouses sign), and put the same sentence in the transfer note +- In plain terms: when parents fund a home purchase before marriage, it defaults to belonging to their own child alone; money contributed during marriage, absent an agreement, is treated as joint property. From February 2025, when one spouse's parents fund the full price during the marriage and the gift contract does not state it is only for their own child, a court at divorce can award the house to the funding side's child, then decide whether to compensate the other side based on the shared life and whether children were born, any fault in the divorce, each side's contribution to the family, and the house's current value. If it is meant as a loan, put it in writing that day and have both sides sign. +- Benefit: where parents fund a home purchase for the couple before marriage, it is recognized as a gift to their own child alone, unless the parents explicitly stated it was a gift to both; where the contribution is made during marriage, an agreement governs, and absent an agreement or where the agreement is unclear, it is handled under the principle of marital joint property. From February 1, 2025, where one spouse's parents fund the full purchase price during the marriage and the gift contract does not state it is gifted only to their own child, the court may at the division of property award the house to the funding parent's child's side, and then, taking into account the circumstances of the shared life and any children born together, fault in the divorce, the size of each side's contribution to the family, and the market price of the house at divorce, determine whether and how much to compensate the other side; where one side's parents contributed part, or both sides' parents contributed, the ruling assigns the house to one of them with reasonable compensation, based on the source and proportion of the contributions (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 最高人民法院 (2020). 关于适用《民法典》婚姻家庭编的解释（一）（法释〔2020〕22 号，第二十九条）. ；最高人民法院 (2025). 关于适用《民法典》婚姻家庭编的解释（二）（法释〔2025〕1 号，第八条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千零六十二条第一款第四项）. +- Notes: this item cuts both ways. Funding parents no longer need to count on a backdated IOU at divorce to protect the contribution — after Interpretation (II) took effect, the source of the funds is itself a basis for division, and whose name the house is registered in no longer decides ownership; the side receiving the funds need not wait until divorce to learn what the money counts as. If it is meant as a loan, run it truly as a loan: an agreement to lend, repayment terms, a transfer note, repayment records when needed — missing any one of these has to be explained in court + +### 12. Money borrowed in bulk by your spouse, without your signature or ratification, does not automatically become your debt + +- Cost: 0 yuan; do not sign "co-borrower" or "guarantor" on your spouse's IOUs or guarantee documents, and do not write things like "we will repay this money" in chats, which could be treated as later ratification +- In plain terms: money your spouse borrowed behind your back, as long as it clearly exceeds the household's daily expenses and you neither signed nor ratified it, does not automatically become your debt — the creditor must prove the money went to the shared life or the shared business. But money for a house, if it really became a home you live in together or jointly own, can often be proven to that level. If at divorce the other side's parents suddenly produce an IOU signed only by the spouse, first contest whether the loan actually happened: with only a transfer receipt, the side claiming the loan still has to keep producing evidence. +- Benefit: debts incurred by both spouses' joint signature or by one spouse's later ratification — joint expressions of intent — and debts one spouse incurs in their own name during the marriage for the family's daily-life needs are joint marital debts; a debt one spouse incurs in their own name exceeding the family's daily-life needs is not a joint marital debt, unless the creditor can prove the debt was used for the spouses' shared life, joint production and business operation, or was based on both parties' joint expression of intent. House-purchase money clearly exceeds a family's daily-life needs, and the burden of proof lies with the side asserting the claim; but conversely, if that money really became a house the couple live in together or jointly own, the creditor can often prove the "used for the spouses' shared life" level — so what really works is the step in item 11 (nationwide, from 2021) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千零六十四条）. ；最高人民法院 (2020 年第二次修正). 关于审理民间借贷案件适用法律若干问题的规定（第十五、十六条）. （最高人民法院公报） +- Notes: when at the property division the other side's parents suddenly produce a loan agreement signed only by the spouse, contest it on two levels: first whether the loan relationship exists — where a party argues the loan never actually took place and can give a reasonable explanation, the court is to judge comprehensively based on the loan amount, the delivery of funds, the parties' financial capacity, transaction methods and customs, changes in property, and witness testimony; with only a transfer receipt, the side claiming the loan still bears the burden of proving the loan relationship exists. Only after it is established does the question of joint debt arise. For the general rules on IOUs and guarantees, see section 8, item 16 + +### 13. Getting the certificate takes only an ID card plus one signed declaration — no household register, no fee, issued on the spot + +- Cost: 0 yuan; both parties appear in person, usually done in a few dozen minutes +- In plain terms: from May 2025 getting the certificate takes only two things — your own ID card, plus a signed declaration that "I have no existing spouse and am not related to the other party by direct bloodline or within three generations of collateral bloodline." You need not bring the household register, and you need not return to either party's place of household registration. The registration itself costs nothing, the certificate is issued on the spot if you qualify, and it usually takes a few dozen minutes. If asked for a "production fee" or "expediting fee," refuse outright and file a complaint. +- Benefit: the new marriage registration regulation, in force from May 10, 2025, requires mainland residents marrying to produce only two things: "(1) the person's resident identity card; (2) a signed declaration that the person has no existing spouse and is not related to the other party by direct bloodline or within three generations of collateral bloodline"; the household register is no longer a required document; the registration authority is "the civil affairs department of the county-level people's government, or a township (town) people's government designated by the people's government of a province, autonomous region, or directly administered municipality under the principle of convenience"; the old regulation's requirement of "going to the place of habitual household registration of one of the parties" has been removed; "marriage registration authorities shall not charge fees for marriage registration"; and "where a party meets the conditions for marriage, registration shall be granted on the spot and a marriage certificate issued" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2025). 婚姻登记条例（国令第 804 号，第二、六、八、十条）. +- Notes: the four circumstances in which registration is refused are: below the legal marriage age, not fully voluntary on both sides, one or both parties already having a spouse, or being related by direct bloodline or within three generations of collateral bloodline. The only charges possible are peripheral services such as photographs and photocopying; the registration itself costs nothing — on encountering a "production fee" or "expediting fee," refuse outright and file a complaint. The 30-day cooling-off period for divorce registration is covered in the item on exit costs in this section + +### 14. Have one premarital health check before the wedding; major illness must be disclosed truthfully before registration + +- Cost: free or reduced in most areas for people of appropriate age, or a few hundred yuan self-paid; half a day +- In plain terms: if you have a major illness and do not tell the other person truthfully before registration, they can ask a court to annul the marriage, and the annulment must be requested within one year of the day they found out. The premarital check itself has not been a prerequisite for the certificate since 2003; it is voluntary, most areas waive or reduce the fee for people of appropriate age, and self-paid it is only a few hundred yuan and takes half a day. +- Benefit: the legal consequence of concealment is explicit: the new marriage registration regulation states that "where one party has a major illness, that party shall truthfully inform the other party before marriage registration; if not truthfully informed, the other party may petition the people's court to annul the marriage in accordance with Article 1053 of the Civil Code." The state treats the premarital check as the first gate of birth-defect prevention, with the current targets that "the premarital medical examination rate and the coverage of pre-pregnancy eugenic health checks among target populations remain above 70% and 80% respectively," and requires "promoting locating premarital medical examination facilities near marriage registration venues for people's convenience" and rolling out "one-stop" services combining marriage registration, premarital medical examination, and fertility guidance +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国务院 (2025). 婚姻登记条例（国令第 804 号，第十二条）. ；国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2023). 出生缺陷防治能力提升计划（2023—2027 年）（国卫办妇幼发〔2023〕9 号）. +- Notes: the premarital check has not been a prerequisite for registration since 2003 and is voluntary, but the right to annul for "failure to truthfully disclose a major illness" is a real remedy. The annulment must be petitioned in court within one year of the day of finding out. Whether it is free and which items are checked are set locally; ask the local maternal and child health institution or the one-stop window at the marriage registration office. TODO (to be verified: the unified national-level policy document and coverage for free premarital checks) + +### 15. Ask of emotional value not just "is there any" but "how good is the relationship" + +- Cost: 0 yuan; observe relationship quality before marriage through several conflicts and a few months of being together, rather than only checking an attribute list +- In plain terms: a synthesis of 126 studies covering over 72,000 people shows that the higher the marriage quality, the better the health, but the association is weak — about the same magnitude as the effect of health behaviors like diet on health — and basically no difference was found between men and women. The usable part: judge whether the relationship is good through several conflicts and a few months together, not by checking a list of attributes. As for "whether a bad marriage is worse than not marrying," there is no directly comparative data; for now it is only an inference. +- Benefit: a meta-analysis of 126 studies and over 72,000 people shows that higher marriage quality goes with better health, with effect sizes r between 0.07 and 0.21, including mortality risk r = 0.11 and cardiovascular reactivity during conflict r = −0.13, magnitudes comparable to the effect of health behaviors such as diet on health; studies that explicitly tested for sex differences basically found none between men and women; a review in the cardiovascular field notes that marital dissatisfaction and marital quality have a significant influence on cardiovascular risk +- Evidence grade: B (contested) +- Sources: Robles TF, et al. (2014). Marital quality and health: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull 140(1):140–187. ；Dhindsa DS, et al. (2020). Marital status and outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. Trends Cardiovasc Med 30(4):215–220. +- Notes: the dispute concerns small effect sizes, publication bias in some outcomes, and mostly cross-sectional designs that cannot establish causation — Robles's original paper lists these limitations itself; this section found no meta-analysis directly comparing the mortality of "low-quality marriages" with "never married," so the statement "a bad marriage is worse than not marrying" currently counts as an inference, not a numerical conclusion + +### 16. Tally the exit costs: registered divorce has a 30-day cooling-off period, contested divorce has statutory conditions + +- Cost: 0 yuan; read once before marriage about "how long an exit would take and what procedure it follows" +- In plain terms: registered divorce is not done once signed: within 30 days after filing the application either party can withdraw it, and after the period expires both must appear in person within another 30 days to collect the divorce certificate; failing to go counts as withdrawal. If the other side does not agree, the only route is to sue; the court mediates first, and only if mediation fails does it grant the divorce where there is bigamy or cohabitation with another person, domestic violence or abuse or abandonment, gambling or drug addiction unchanged despite repeated education, or two full years of separation; if the court refuses the divorce and separation then lasts another full year, a second suit shall be granted. +- Benefit: registered divorce requires a written divorce agreement signed by both and an application in person at the marriage registration authority (Article 1076); within 30 days of the authority's receipt of the application either party may withdraw it, and within 30 days after the period expires both must apply in person for the divorce certificate — failure to apply counts as withdrawal (Article 1077); when one side does not agree, litigation follows and the court shall first mediate; where mediation fails, divorce shall be granted for bigamy or cohabitation with another person, domestic violence or maltreatment or abandonment, gambling or drug use unchanged despite repeated education, or two full years of separation due to breakdown of affection, and where a divorce is denied and separation again lasts one full year, a subsequent suit shall be granted (Article 1079); of the 3.513 million divorces nationwide in 2024, 0.891 million went through court judgment or mediation +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人民代表大会 (2020). 中华人民共和国民法典（第一千零七十六、一千零七十七、一千零七十九条）. ；民政部 (2020). 关于贯彻落实《中华人民共和国民法典》中有关婚姻登记规定的通知（民发〔2020〕116 号）. ；民政部 (2025). 2024 年民政事业发展统计公报. 同第 1 条 +- Notes: the cooling-off period applies only to registered divorce; contested divorce has no cooling-off period but takes longer; litigation fees and attorney fees vary by locality, so this item gives no numbers; high exit costs are not a reason not to marry, but you should know them before marrying + +### 17. Keep a separate account for "marrying for the elders"; do not mix it with your own + +- Cost: 0 yuan; write two columns on paper: which benefits of this marriage are yours (the ones computable from the earlier items in this section), and which are the elders' (peace of mind, face, the matchmake-urging stopping) +- In plain terms: the elders' share of the benefits (peace of mind, face, no more urging) is real, but it does not automatically become your health benefit or relationship quality, while the time account, the money account, and the exit costs — all three are borne by you alone. Two columns on paper, with which benefits go to you and which to the elders written apart, makes whether this account is worth it visible at a glance. +- Benefit: the elders' benefits are real, but they do not automatically convert into health benefits (item 8) or relationship quality (item 15), while the time account (item 9), the money account (items 10 to 12), and the exit costs (item 16) are all borne by the parties themselves; once the accounts are kept separately, whether "marrying-as-a-task" is good value can be seen at a glance, with no need for anyone else to judge for you +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，方法类建议；数据部分见本节前面各条 +- Notes: this item draws no conclusion for the reader; the elders' account may also be counted as a heavy one; the fill-in checklist is at [docs/结婚划不划算.md](../docs/结婚划不划算.md) diff --git a/book/en/11-Red-Lines-For-Techies.md b/book/en/11-Red-Lines-For-Techies.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..e0811d12b --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/11-Red-Lines-For-Techies.md @@ -0,0 +1,154 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 11. Red lines that programmers and tech people easily cross + +The focus of this section is personal freedom and money: people who write code or do technical work often treat the things below as "just technical issues," when in fact they correspond to specific crimes under criminal law or specific damages under civil law. Each entry gives the exact article numbers and cases published on the official websites of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Supreme People's Court. Criminal law citations use the consolidated text "as amended by Criminal Law Amendment (XI)" as republished by the Beijing traffic management bureau. Entries are ordered from highest to lowest by "how easily tech people assume it is harmless × how severe the consequences are"; entry 1 is the general principle. +### 1. Before acting, ask three questions: whose interests are harmed, how able is the other side to pursue it, how much evidence have I left; if pursued, get a criminal defense lawyer immediately + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; replace "can it be done technically" with "will the vendor, platform, or company report it to the police" — server logs, payment records, and group chat logs are all retrieved by default +- In plain terms: before acting, the thing to think about is not "can it be done technically" but "will the vendor, platform, or company report it to the police" — server logs, payment records, and group chat logs are all retrieved by default. If you really get criminally detained, the decision whether to arrest happens within 37 days at most; from the first interrogation you can retain a lawyer, and once a lawyer requests a meeting, the detention center must arrange it within 48 hours at the latest. These 37 days are the most useful window for finding a criminal defense lawyer; waiting until after prosecution is too late. +- Benefit: any individual or organization that discovers a crime has the right to report it, and the authorities must open a case if they find facts indicating a crime; after criminal detention the police submit the arrest request within 3 days, extendable by 1 to 4 days in special circumstances and up to 30 days for suspects who commit crimes across regions, and the procuratorate then takes another 7 days to decide — meaning the decision whether to arrest comes within 37 days at most; you can retain a lawyer from the first interrogation or from the moment coercive measures are imposed, and during the investigation stage only a lawyer may be retained; when the lawyer requests a meeting, the detention center arranges it within 48 hours at the latest; in situations such as possible sentences of public surveillance, criminal detention, or supplementary penalties applied independently, release on bail pending trial is possible, for at most 12 months (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 全国人大 (2018). 刑事诉讼法（2018 年修正，第三十四、三十九、六十七、七十九、九十一、一百一十、一百一十二条）. +- Notes: the 37 days are the ceiling from detention to the arrest decision, not the ceiling on custody; after arrest the investigation custody period begins. The window where a lawyer "who knows the system" helps is mainly within these 37 days: the meetings, submitting non-arrest opinions to the procuratorate, and applying for release on bail. Waiting until after prosecution is too late. The other entries in this section are all about "whether the other side has grounds to report." + +### 2. Do not make or sell game cheats and assist tools, including AI assists that "only read the screen and never touch memory" + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; give up this kind of gig and "small tool" income +- In plain terms: selling to 20 people or earning 5,000 yuan is enough for "serious circumstances," punishable by up to 3 years; especially serious cases get 3 to 7 years. The amounts are small. One person built cheats that read and wrote game memory to enable wallhacks and aimbots, sold over 80,000 yuan in 3 months and personally earned over 30,000 — sentenced to 1 year, suspended for 1 year, plus a 5,000 yuan fine. Someone who obtained the server-side program, changed parameters, and ran private servers took in over 20 million yuan in top-ups — sentenced to 4 years down to 2 years 6 months, with fines up to 10 million yuan. +- Benefit: providing programs or tools specifically designed to intrude into or illegally control computer systems, in serious circumstances, carries up to 3 years plus a fine (or a fine alone); especially serious circumstances carry 3 to 7 years plus a fine; the serious-circumstances threshold is providing tools to 20 or more people or illegal gains of 5,000 yuan or more; deliberately circumventing or destroying a rights holder's technical measures can also constitute the crime of copyright infringement, punishable by up to 3 years, or 3 to 10 years in serious cases; official cases: Wang and others made and sold cheats that read and modified game memory for wallhacks and aimbots, selling over 80,000 yuan in 3 months and profiting over 30,000 — 1 year, suspended 1 year, 5,000 yuan fine; Xiang and others sold the "TZ" series of cheats with sales of over 200,000 yuan, Xiang getting 3 years suspended 3 years and a 20,000 yuan fine; Liu and others obtained a game server program, changed parameters, and ran private servers, taking in over 20 million yuan in top-ups — sentences of 4 years to 2 years 6 months and fines of 10 million to 1.3 million yuan (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十五条第三款、第二百一十七条第六项）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2011). 关于办理危害计算机信息系统安全刑事案件应用法律若干问题的解释（第三条）. （深圳市公安局转载）；最高人民检察院 (2026). 上海静安：严惩制售游戏外挂黑灰产共护清朗网络空间. ；最高人民检察院 (2021). 2020 年度检察机关保护知识产权典型案例（案例五）. +- Notes: the published cheat convictions all involve reading and writing memory or bypassing anti-cheat. There are no official precedents yet for assists that "only take screenshots or only simulate key presses," but the ticket-scalping case in entry 3 shows that never touching memory and only sending requests can still support a conviction for illegally obtaining data. How it is ultimately characterized is decided by the case-handling authorities based on the materials in the vendor's report, not by the author's own judgment. Selling to 20 people is enough for "serious circumstances" — the amounts are small. + +### 3. Do not write or sell ticket-grabbing, flash-sale, order-brushing, or freebie-hunting scripts, even if they only "automate button presses" + + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: a script that never touches memory and never cracks anything, that just sends requests faster than a human, is still convicted under the crime of illegally obtaining computer system data. The threshold is earning 5,000 yuan or causing 10,000 yuan in losses. One person bulk-imported purchased 12306 accounts and ran multithreaded ticket grabbing, booking over 200 tickets for others and earning over 20,000 yuan — 1 year 6 months, suspended 1 year 6 months, plus a 5,000 yuan fine. Someone who sold ticket-grabbing software through an online store was separately found liable for unfair competition and ordered to pay 20,000 yuan. +- Benefit: intruding into a computer system or using other technical means to obtain data stored in it, in serious circumstances, carries up to 3 years plus a fine (or a fine alone); especially serious circumstances carry 3 to 7 years; the serious-circumstances threshold is illegal gains of 5,000 yuan or more or losses of 10,000 yuan or more caused; official cases: a person used a tool to bulk-import purchased 12306 accounts and submitted dense multithreaded ticket-purchase requests, booking over 200 train tickets for others and profiting over 20,000 yuan — convicted of illegally obtaining computer system data, 1 year 6 months suspended 1 year 6 months and a 5,000 yuan fine; Zheng sold ticket-grabbing software targeting a ticketing app through an online store and was found to have committed unfair competition, paying 20,000 yuan (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十五条第二款）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2011). 关于办理危害计算机信息系统安全刑事案件应用法律若干问题的解释（第一条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2026). 上海静安：查办利用外挂软件批量代抢火车票牟利案. ；最高人民法院 (2025). 2024 年人民法院知识产权典型案例（案例七，抢票软件不正当竞争案）. +- Notes: the script in the ticket-grabbing case never modified memory and never cracked anything — it was just "faster than a human" — and was still convicted under Article 285. Taking money to grab tickets on commission and selling scripts both count as profiting; there are no official cases for one-time personal use. + +### 4. Crawlers scrape only public pages that need no login; do not bypass anti-scraping, do not touch personal data, and do not sell what is scraped + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; check robots and API authorization — data that needs a login, a token, or signature cracking to obtain does not get scraped +- In plain terms: data you can only get by logging in, holding a token, or cracking a signature counts as bypassing protection, punishable by up to 3 years, or 3 to 7 years in serious cases. Scraped personal information makes it worse: 50 items of location, communications, credit, or property data; 500 items of accommodation, health, or transaction data; 5,000 items of any other kind; or 5,000 yuan earned — any of these is "serious circumstances." One developer disguised an album-stealing function as a "facial attractiveness test" app, obtained 1,751 face photos and resold them — sentenced to 3 years, suspended for 3 years. +- Benefit: bypassing protection to obtain system data carries the same penalties as entry 3, up to 3 years or 3 to 7 years; illegally obtaining, selling, or providing citizens' personal information is "serious circumstances" at 50 or more items of location-movement, communications content, credit, or property information, 500 or more items of accommodation, call records, health, or transaction information, 5,000 or more items of other personal information, or illegal gains of 5,000 yuan or more — punishable by up to 3 years plus a fine (or a fine alone), 3 to 7 years when especially serious; official cases: software developer Li disguised a function that stole the phone's photo album as a "facial attractiveness test" app, obtained 1,751 face photos and resold doxxing-database material — 3 years suspended 3 years; an internet company used crawlers to take restaurant and order data from a food-delivery platform, causing losses of over 40,000 yuan, and was prosecuted for illegally obtaining computer system data (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十五条第二款、第二百五十三条之一）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2017). 关于办理侵犯公民个人信息刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（第三、四、五条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2022). 检察机关依法惩治侵犯公民个人信息犯罪典型案例（案例二）. ；最高人民检察院 (2025). 检察机关依法惩治侵害企业数据安全犯罪 服务保障企业创新发展（案例一）. +- Notes: the 2017 judicial interpretation also counts "providing legally collected information to others without consent" as providing — exporting a user table to an external partner inside a company falls under the same rule; 5,000 items is the size of one small table. + +### 5. Do not take development contracts for gambling, fraud, or pornography apps; do not set up payment channels or unblock accounts for "clients" + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; walk away from this kind of high-quote, vague-requirements outsourcing +- In plain terms: these contracts come with high quotes and vague requirements, and the price is being treated as an accomplice of the gambling ring — not the 3-year ceiling of the aiding-cybercrime offense. A ring that built gambling games for "site-package export" was involved in nearly 7 billion yuan; the 79 people responsible for outsourced development got sentences from 6 months to 9 years 9 months. In the esports betting app case, the 28 people writing code in Hainan were convicted of operating a gambling venue with sentences of 3 years 6 months down to 1 year. Someone who unblocked banned QQ accounts for a fraud ring got 1 year 6 months and a 20,000 yuan fine. +- Benefit: knowingly providing technical support, payment settlement, or other help for another person's online crime, in serious circumstances, carries up to 3 years plus a fine (or a fine alone); when it also constitutes another crime, the heavier one applies; operating a gambling venue carries up to 5 years plus a fine, 5 to 10 years in serious circumstances; official cases: Zhang Sheng's ring developed gambling games and did "site-package export," collecting site-setup and reporting fees, with nearly 7 billion yuan involved — Zhang Sheng got 9 years 9 months and a 50 million yuan fine, and the 79 people responsible for outsourced development, including Wang Qiang, got sentences from 6 months to 9 years 9 months; Chen Dong and others developed and ran an esports betting app with the technical team writing code in Hainan — 28 people were convicted of operating a gambling venue with sentences from 3 years 6 months to 1 year plus fines; Zhang ran a studio unblocking banned QQ accounts for a fraud ring — 1 year 6 months and a 20,000 yuan fine (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十七条之二、第三百零三条第二款）. ；最高人民检察院 (2023). 建赌博网站并出售，涉案近 70 亿元. ；最高人民检察院 (2022). 上海闵行区：办理一起新型开设网络赌场案. ；最高人民检察院 (2025). 依法惩治帮助信息网络犯罪活动及相关犯罪典型案例（案例一）. +- Notes: "knowingly" does not require the other side to say so outright; quotes clearly above market rates, features that are deposits, withdrawals plus payout odds, and clients who refuse to say what the product is for are all used in practice to infer knowledge. Technical staff who develop gambling apps are treated as accomplices to operating a gambling venue, not under the 3-year ceiling of aiding-cybercrime. + +### 6. When leaving a job, hand over all accounts and permissions; do not delete databases, leave backdoors, or change passwords to lock the system, even if the company owes you money + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; wage disputes go through labor arbitration (see section 7) +- In plain terms: the account and password were given by the company — that does not mean you may keep using them after leaving. Logging in already counts as illegal control, punishable by up to 3 years; deleting data so the system cannot run carries up to 5 years, and over 5 years when the consequences are especially serious. A senior engineer who was fired logged into the company's servers with his old admin account, changed passwords, and deleted data and logs, causing losses of over 120,000 yuan — sentenced to 3 years, suspended for 5 years, plus a 30,000 yuan fine. Losses are calculated by the cost of restoring the data; a few tens of thousands of yuan is enough to open a case. +- Benefit: illegally controlling a computer system, in serious circumstances, carries up to 3 years plus a fine (or a fine alone); especially serious circumstances carry 3 to 7 years; deleting or modifying system functions or data so the system cannot run normally, with serious consequences, carries up to 5 years, and 5 years or more when especially serious; official cases: senior IT engineer Lü was fired, then used his original admin account to log into the company's shared server, change passwords, and delete data and logs, causing losses of over 120,000 yuan — 3 years suspended 5 years and a 30,000 yuan fine; Bai, an employee of a software company, deliberately inserted faulty code in an upgrade program so customers could not log into their systems, causing losses of over 40,000 yuan, and was prosecuted for the crime of damaging computer information systems (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十五条第二款、第二百八十六条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2024). 检察机关「依法惩治网络犯罪 助力网络空间综合治理」典型案例（案例六）. ；最高人民检察院 (2025). 检察机关依法惩治侵害企业数据安全犯罪 服务保障企业创新发展（案例七）. +- Notes: being given the account and password by the company does not mean you may keep using it after leaving; logging in with the old account already counts as "illegal control." Losses are calculated by data-restoration costs; a few tens of thousands of yuan is enough to open a case. + +### 7. Do not take source code, client lists, or technical documents when leaving a job; do not upload them to a personal cloud drive or reuse them at the next employer + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before leaving, wipe all company materials from your personal computer and cloud drive +- In plain terms: even code you wrote yourself belongs to the company as copyright — taking it is taking the company's property, and client lists count as trade secrets too. One departing employee took security-inspection system source code and core algorithms to a new company: he was sentenced to 5 years and a 500,000 yuan fine, and the new company was fined 4 million yuan. Someone else exploited a system vulnerability to download over 33,000 design documents — 1 year 10 months and a 100,000 yuan fine. On top of the criminal case, the company usually files a separate civil claim for damages. +- Benefit: disclosing or using trade secrets in breach of confidentiality obligations, in serious circumstances, carries up to 3 years plus a fine (or a fine alone); especially serious circumstances carry 3 to 10 years plus a fine; the anti-unfair-competition law lists obtaining trade secrets through "electronic intrusion" and abetting or helping others breach confidentiality obligations as infringement; official cases: departing employees including Sun Mouming took security-inspection system source code and core algorithms for use in the new company's products — Sun Mouming got 5 years and a 500,000 yuan fine, and the new company was fined 4 million yuan; Tian exploited a system vulnerability to download over 33,000 design documents — 1 year 10 months and a 100,000 yuan fine; engineer Yang stored app module source code on his personal computer and the cloud and built a similar app after changing jobs — prosecuted for the crime of infringing trade secrets (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百一十九条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 反不正当竞争法（2025 年修订，第十条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2025). 检察机关知识产权保护典型案例（案例七）. ；最高人民检察院 (2020). 2019 年度检察机关保护知识产权典型案例（案例十六）. ；最高人民检察院 (2025). 检察机关依法惩治侵害企业数据安全犯罪 服务保障企业创新发展（案例五）. +- Notes: even "code you wrote yourself" belongs to the company as copyright (see entry 11); taking it is taking the company's property. Client lists are business information and also trade secrets. Besides the criminal case, the company will also file a civil claim for damages. + +### 8. Do not run your own programs on other people's computers, servers, or cameras; do not mine crypto on company machines + + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: controlling other people's computers, servers, or cameras without permission counts as "serious circumstances" at 20 devices — up to 3 years, and 3 to 7 years when especially serious. Even short of a crime, you get up to 5 days of detention plus a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan, or 5 to 15 days plus 100,000 to 1 million yuan in more serious cases. What weighs more on tech people is the knock-on effect: after a public-security punishment you cannot hold key network security management or network operation positions for 5 years, and after a criminal sentence, for life. +- Benefit: illegally controlling a computer system, in serious circumstances, carries up to 3 years plus a fine (or a fine alone); especially serious circumstances carry 3 to 7 years; controlling 20 or more devices is "serious circumstances"; where it does not yet constitute a crime, the police confiscate illegal gains, detain for up to 5 days and may fine 50,000 to 500,000 yuan, or in more serious cases detain 5 to 15 days and may fine 100,000 to 1 million yuan; after a public-security punishment you may not work in network security management or key network operation positions for 5 years, and after a criminal punishment, never; official cases: Li bought camera IP lists and used software to control 105 surveillance cameras to peep on private life — 3 years suspended 5 years and a 20,000 yuan fine; Wu and others implanted trojans into phone motherboards to control over 3.3 million phones and siphon verification codes — sentences from 2 years to 4 years 6 months (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十五条第二款）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2011). 关于办理危害计算机信息系统安全刑事案件应用法律若干问题的解释（第一条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 网络安全法（2025 年修正，2026 年 1 月 1 日施行，第二十九条；终身禁业条款 2016 年文本为第六十三条第二款，修正后法律责任章条号有调整，本次未逐条核实）. ；最高人民检察院 (2022). 山东滨州开发区：办理一起非法控制计算机信息系统案. ；最高人民检察院 (2021). 充分发挥检察职能 推进网络空间治理典型案例（案例六）. +- Notes: no case published by the Supreme People's Procuratorate or Supreme People's Court was found for mining on company servers; this entry is written from the statute on "controlling other people's systems without authorization." The "lifetime ban from key positions" is a knock-on consequence under the cybersecurity law — for tech people it weighs more than the fine. + +### 9. Do not sell circumvention tools or VPN accounts; do not set up such nodes for others + + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: building your own or using an international channel other than the state's public channels lets the police order you to stop connecting, issue a warning, and fine up to 15,000 yuan and confiscate illegal gains; if you run a business on it, the case-handling authorities can treat it as the crime of illegal business operation — up to 5 years in serious circumstances plus a fine of 1 to 5 times the illegal gains, and over 5 years when especially serious. This entry is about selling and setting up nodes; the punishment for personal use tops out at a warning plus a fine. Handling varies widely by region, and no published precedent was found on the official websites. +- Benefit: direct international networking must use the international gateway channels provided by the state's public telecom network; no individual or organization may build or use other channels — violators are ordered by the police to stop networking, given a warning, and may be fined up to 15,000 yuan and have illegal gains confiscated; running a business on this can be handled by case authorities as the crime of illegal business operation, with up to 5 years in serious circumstances plus a fine (or a fine alone) of 1 to 5 times the illegal gains, and over 5 years when especially serious (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国务院 (1997). 计算机信息网络国际联网管理暂行规定（第六、十四条）. （重庆市农业农村委员会转载）；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百二十五条第四项）. +- Notes: at the time of writing, no published circumvention precedent was found on the Supreme People's Court or Supreme People's Procuratorate websites, and handling varies widely by region — hence grade B; the entry covers only "selling and setting up," and the punishment for personal use tops out at the warning and fine in Article 14 of the provisional regulations. + +### 10. If you signed a non-compete and the company stops paying monthly compensation after you leave, demand payment in writing; after 3 full months unpaid you can terminate it; if your role never touched trade secrets, you can ask to have the clause declared void + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; keep the original agreement and evidence that the company did not pay +- In plain terms: this one protects you. Non-compete restrictions last at most 2 years, and the company must pay monthly compensation; where no amount is agreed, it is 30% of your average wage over the 12 months before departure, and never below the local minimum wage. If the company does not pay for 3 months for its own reasons, you can ask to terminate. Starting in 2025, if your role never exposed you to trade secrets, you can ask to have the clause declared void — a pharmaceutical company sued its chief technology officer for 7.1 million yuan in penalties, and the court held that the non-compete scope could only cover secrets he actually knew, and dismissed the claim entirely. +- Benefit: non-compete restrictions may only bind senior executives, senior technical personnel, and others with confidentiality obligations, last at most 2 years, and the company must pay monthly economic compensation during the period; where no compensation amount is agreed, it is 30% of the average wage over the 12 months before departure and not below the local minimum wage; if the company fails to pay for 3 months for its own reasons, the worker may request termination; if the company terminates early, it owes an extra 3 months of compensation; starting in 2025, a worker who never learned of or came into contact with trade secrets may request that the clause be declared void, and any scope beyond the secrets actually known is invalid; official case: a pharmaceutical company sued its chief technology officer Zheng for 7.1 million yuan in penalties — the court found that the new employer's product was not a substitute for the original company's and that the non-compete scope should be limited to secrets he actually knew, and dismissed the claim entirely (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2012). 劳动合同法（2012 年修正，第二十三、二十四条）. （抚顺市应急管理局转载）；最高人民法院 (2020). 关于审理劳动争议案件适用法律问题的解释（一）（第三十六至四十条）. ；最高人民法院 (2025). 关于审理劳动争议案件适用法律问题的解释（二）（法释〔2025〕12 号，第十三至十五条）. ；最高人民法院 (2025). 劳动争议典型案例（案例四）. +- Notes: this is an entry about protecting yourself. The other way around: if the agreement is valid and the company paid monthly, joining a competitor means paying the agreed penalties, and after paying you may still be required to keep honoring the restriction; a non-compete agreement made during employment does not depend on compensation being paid. + +### 11. Code written during work hours or with company resources belongs to the company; do personal open-source projects on your own time and equipment, and never mix in company code + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; read the intellectual-property clause in the labor contract when joining +- In plain terms: software is explicitly listed by law in the "copyright belongs to the employer" category: if you mainly used company equipment, the intranet, or business data and the company bears responsibility, or the contract says so, the code's copyright belongs to the company and you keep only attribution rights; for inventions made with company resources, the patents belong to the company too. "Written after hours" still counts as mainly using the employer's material and technical conditions if it was done on a company computer or with company business data. +- Benefit: works created to complete an employer's work tasks are works made in the course of employment — in the general case the copyright belongs to the author, the employer has the right to use them first within its business scope, and for 2 years the author may not license third parties to use them in the same manner; but engineering designs, software, and similar works created mainly using the employer's material and technical conditions with the employer bearing responsibility, or works the contract assigns to the employer, leave the author only attribution rights; inventions completed as part of one's duties or mainly using the employer's material and technical conditions are service inventions, and both the patent application right and the patent right belong to the employer (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2020). 著作权法（2020 年修正，第十八条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 专利法（2020 年修正，第六条）. +- Notes: software is explicitly listed in the clause where copyright belongs to the employer — programmers have almost no room under the general rule; "written after hours" can still be found to mainly use the employer's material and technical conditions if it used a company computer, the intranet, or company business data. To keep a personal project clean, use your own machine, never touch company repositories, and do not overlap with company business. + +### 12. When building products on GPL and other open-source code, open-source as the license requires or switch licenses; do not assume "nobody enforces it" + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; glance at the license when adding a dependency; if the GPL family conflicts with closed-source commercial use, switch +- In plain terms: copyright infringement damages are the rights holder's actual losses or your illegal gains; when neither can be calculated, licensing fees are the reference, and deliberate infringement with serious circumstances can be multiplied 1 to 5 times. In one case the defendant hired the plaintiff's former employees to develop gateway software, and the code was substantially similar; the defendant argued that the plaintiff's software was itself based on GPLv2 and should have been open-sourced anyway, but the Supreme People's Court held these were two independent issues and still ordered the infringement stopped and 500,000 yuan paid. +- Benefit: copyright infringement is compensated by the rights holder's actual losses or the infringer's illegal gains; when hard to calculate, licensing fees are the reference; deliberate infringement with serious circumstances can be awarded 1 to 5 times the damages, and where the public interest is harmed, illegal gains may also be confiscated and fines imposed; official case: (2021) Zui Gao Fa Zhi Min Zhong No. 51 — the gateway software the defendant developed by recruiting the plaintiff's former employees was substantially similar to the plaintiff's software; the defendant argued the plaintiff's software was based on GPLv2 and should have been open-sourced anyway, but the Supreme People's Court held that "whether the developer itself violated the GPLv2 license and whether it holds the software's copyright are two independent issues," and ordered the infringement stopped and 500,000 yuan in damages (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2020). 著作权法（2020 年修正，第五十三、五十四条）. ；最高人民法院知识产权法庭 (2022). 涉「开源软件」著作权侵权案（（2021）最高法知民终 51 号）. +- Notes: this case shows that "the other side used GPL code" is not a shield for copying from it; conversely, GPL authors suing commercial users who fail to open-source already have effective judgments in China — the original text was not found on the Supreme People's Court website, so it is not cited here. Grade B because license obligations rest on contracts and the general provisions of copyright law, with no dedicated statute. + +### 13. Apps collect only the personal information the business needs; those under 14 require guardian consent; write the privacy policy clearly + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before launch, reconcile the permission list against the privacy policy and drop any permission you can do without +- In plain terms: collect only what the business truly needs, and for anyone under 14 get guardian consent. Violations first bring an order to correct, a warning, and confiscation of illegal gains; the app can be ordered to suspend or terminate service, and refusal to correct brings a fine of up to 1 million yuan, with the directly responsible people fined 10,000 to 100,000 yuan; in serious cases the fine reaches 50 million yuan or 5% of the previous year's revenue, with the responsible people fined 100,000 to 1 million yuan. In practice, "directly responsible personnel" often lands on the people who write the code and build the product. +- Benefit: processing personal information must have a clear and reasonable purpose, be directly related to that purpose, and use the method with the least impact on individual rights; processing requires the individual's consent or another statutory basis, and for those under 14 the consent of parents or guardians is required; violations bring an order to correct, a warning, and confiscation of illegal gains from the regulator; non-compliant apps can be ordered to suspend or terminate service; refusal to correct brings a fine of up to 1 million yuan, and the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel are fined 10,000 to 100,000 yuan; in serious cases fines reach 50 million yuan or up to 5% of the previous year's revenue, with responsible personnel fined 100,000 to 1 million yuan and possibly barred from serving as directors, supervisors, or senior executives of relevant companies for a set period; for selling or providing personal information as a crime, see entry 4 (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 个人信息保护法（第六、十三、三十一、六十六条）. +- Notes: in practice "directly responsible personnel" often falls on the people who write the code and build the product; the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology regularly announces removals of non-compliant apps — the specific notice numbers were not verified for this section, so they are not cited. + +### 14. File ICP registration before a website or app goes live, and keep logs for at least 6 months as required by the classified protection regime + + +- Cost: registration is free and takes a few weeks through the cloud provider's process; classified protection assessments are charged by level, and small sites generally do not need an assessment +- In plain terms: registration costs nothing and takes about a few weeks through the cloud provider's process; on a mainland-China server, an unregistered domain simply will not resolve. Unregistered sites are first ordered to correct, and refusal means an order to shut the site down; not displaying the registration number on the homepage brings a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 yuan; registering as non-commercial but actually charging is handled as operating without a license — confiscation of illegal gains plus a fine of 100,000 to 1 million yuan. Logs must be kept for a full 6 months; failing that brings an order to correct and a warning, and refusal to correct or resulting harm brings a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 yuan. +- Benefit: commercial internet information services operate under licensing and non-commercial ones under registration; neither may operate without a license or registration; unregistered sites are ordered to correct by the telecom authority, and refusal means an order to close the website; operating without a license brings confiscation of illegal gains plus a fine of 3 to 5 times the gains or 100,000 to 1 million yuan; not displaying the registration number on the website homepage brings a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 yuan; network operators must establish security management systems under the classified protection regime, guard against attacks, retain network logs for no less than 6 months, and classify, back up, and encrypt data — failure brings an order to correct and a warning, and refusal to correct or resulting harm brings a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 yuan with managers fined 5,000 to 50,000 yuan (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2011). 互联网信息服务管理办法（2011 年修订，第四、十九、二十二条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2025). 网络安全法（2025 年修正，2026 年 1 月 1 日施行，第二十三、六十一条；2016 年文本为第二十一、五十九条）. +- Notes: on a mainland-China server an unregistered domain simply will not resolve; the real traps are "registered as personal non-commercial but actually charging" and "changed the domain or entity without updating the registration." Keeping logs for 6 months is both an obligation and self-protection — when something happens, they prove it was not you. + +### 15. Before offering generative AI services to the public, complete the required security assessment and algorithm registration first, and label generated content + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; go through the cyberspace administration process — a personal small tool not opened to the public does not trigger this +- In plain terms: offering the public a generative AI service with public-opinion attributes or social mobilization capacity requires a security assessment under national rules and algorithm registration before launch, plus change or deregistration procedures when the service is modified or stopped, and generated images and videos must carry labels. A small tool for your own use, not open to the public, does not trigger any of this. The measures themselves contain no penalty clause — violations are handled under the cybersecurity law, the data security law, and the personal information protection law. +- Benefit: providing generative artificial intelligence services with public-opinion attributes or social mobilization capacity requires a security assessment under national rules, and fulfillment of algorithm registration and change and deregistration procedures under the algorithm recommendation management rules; providers must label generated content such as images and videos; the measures took effect on August 15, 2023 (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国家互联网信息办公室等七部门 (2023). 生成式人工智能服务管理暂行办法（第十二、十七条）. +- Notes: the measures refer violations to the cybersecurity law, the data security law, and the personal information protection law, with no standalone penalty clause — hence grade B; civil cases over AI-generated content infringing others' copyrights or likeness were not verified against the Supreme People's Court website for this section, so they are not cited. From 43261dfcd25af0d0895b7aed2f83bf398e12aba3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:20:25 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 12/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch12:=20Starting=20Your=20Own=20Busi?= =?UTF-8?q?ness=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identic?= =?UTF-8?q?al?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/12-Starting-Your-Own-Business.md | 194 +++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 194 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/12-Starting-Your-Own-Business.md diff --git a/book/en/12-Starting-Your-Own-Business.md b/book/en/12-Starting-Your-Own-Business.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..8d2e13d2c --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/12-Starting-Your-Own-Business.md @@ -0,0 +1,194 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 12. Starting a Business and Doing Deals: Don't Bet the Family Savings + +This section covers money and legal liability: opening a shop or founding a company — at which step your personal property, family property, or your spouse's property gets dragged into liability, what the law says, and whether you can ring-fence yourself in advance. Life expectancy conversion is not used here. Items are ordered from high to low by "most likely to cost you everything, easiest to avoid": signature-type items come first, methods requiring active work come later, and experience-based items are graded C. +### 1. Start a business only with money you can afford to lose; never touch the family savings or borrow to open + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before putting money in, set yourself a number — an amount that, even if lost entirely, would not affect your mortgage payments, your children, or medical care; anything above that number, don't invest; family members' money and borrowed money do not count toward that number +- In plain terms: debts of a sole proprietorship get paid out of your personal property, and if it's unclear whether the business is a household one, out of the whole family's property; if both spouses sign, or borrowed money goes into a business the two of you run together, both of your assets are on the hook. When a company can't pay its debts as they fall due, subscribed capital that hasn't been paid up yet can be demanded early. So set your investment ceiling by the rule "even a total loss still leaves the mortgage and the doctor's bills covered." +- Benefit: losing money isn't the only risk: debts of an individually-owned business are borne from personal property when run by an individual, and from family property when run by the household or when the split can't be determined; debts co-signed by both spouses or ratified afterwards are joint debts, and money borrowed in one spouse's name counts as joint debt too if the creditor can prove it went into the couple's joint production and business operations; when a company can't pay debts as they fall due, creditors can demand early payment of subscribed capital that hasn't come due yet (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第五十六、一千零六十四条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2023). 公司法（2023 年修订，第四十七、五十四条）. +- Notes: official statistics on business survival rates and average company lifespans could not be verified this time on the National Bureau of Statistics or the State Administration for Market Regulation websites, so no figures are given — only the legal consequences; graded B. "Affordable to lose" means that a total loss would not force you to sell your home or borrow from relatives to plug the hole. + +### 2. Don't sign personal guarantees on company loans; make sure your spouse never signs either + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; when a bank, supplier, or landlord demands a "joint and several personal guarantee from the shareholder" or a "spouse's signature," treat that page as a waiver of limited liability — don't sign if you can avoid it, and if you must sign, sign only a general (ordinary) guarantee with a stated cap on the guaranteed amount +- In plain terms: if you sign a "joint and several liability guarantee" and the company can't pay, the creditor can skip the company and come straight after you; "general guarantee" means the creditor must first sue the company and exhaust its assets before reaching you. If your spouse signs too, the two of you repay out of both of your assets together — sign that page, and the "limited" in "limited liability company" stops applying to you personally. +- Benefit: a guarantee contract means you pay when the debtor doesn't; with a "joint and several liability guarantee," the creditor can come after you without first pursuing the company; with a "general guarantee," the creditor must first sue or arbitrate and enforce against the company's assets, and only if that still leaves the debt unpaid does it reach you. Debts co-signed by both spouses or ratified afterwards are joint marital debts — once the spouse signs, both of your assets repay together (nationwide, since 2021) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第六百八十一、六百八十七、六百八十八、一千零六十四条）. +- Notes: in small and micro business lending practice, banks almost always require a personal joint and several guarantee from shareholders. This item doesn't mean "don't take loans" — it means knowing what you're signing before you sign, and capping the guarantee within the "affordable to lose" number from item 1. For general rules on IOUs and guarantees, see section 8, item 16. + +### 3. Pick the right legal form before opening: sole proprietorships and general partners pay to the bitter end; only limited companies are "limited" + + +- Cost: registration is done on the local government services portal; the main cost is the time or bookkeeping agency fee for monthly accounts and tax filing once you have a limited company (varies by locality); a few hours one-time +- In plain terms: sole proprietors and general partners pay to the bitter end; shareholders of a limited company only lose their subscribed amount. But whatever you subscribe has to be actually paid in within 5 years, so writing 1,000,000 yuan of registered capital means a potential debt of 1,000,000 yuan; capital you pull back out must be returned, and if you mix the company account with your household one — or in a single-member company you can't show the two pools of money are separate — the "limited" part is void all the same. +- Benefit: debts of an individually-owned business are borne from personal or family property; in a general partnership, partners bear unlimited joint and several liability for partnership debts, and in a limited partnership only the limited partner is capped at their subscribed capital; shareholders of a limited liability company are liable to the company only up to their subscribed capital. But "limited" fails in three situations: subscribed capital must be paid in full within 5 years of the company's formation, and when the company can't pay debts as they fall due creditors can demand early payment; capital withdrawn after being paid in must be returned; and anyone who abuses the company's independent legal status to dodge debts — or, in a single-member company, a shareholder who cannot prove company property is separate from their own — bears joint and several liability for company debts (nationwide, since July 2024) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第五十六条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2006). 合伙企业法（2006 年修订，第二条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2023). 公司法（2023 年修订，第四、二十三、四十七、五十三、五十四条）. +- Notes: the premise of "limited" is keeping business and private money apart: company account and personal account not mixed, no paying household expenses out of company money, complete books kept. Don't inflate registered capital to look good — whatever you subscribe must actually be paid in within 5 years, and writing 1,000,000 yuan means a potential debt of 1,000,000 yuan. + +### 4. Don't be a nominee shareholder; don't hold shares on someone else's behalf + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; refuse requests like "just lend me your ID to be listed as a shareholder" or "keep the shares under your name for now" +- In plain terms: once your name is on the register, you are the shareholder in the eyes of the law: your subscribed capital must be paid in full on schedule, and if you fail, you not only pay it up but compensate the company for its losses; if at the company's founding other shareholders hadn't paid theirs in, you are on the hook for their shortfall too. Someone else runs the business; the debts land under your name. +- Benefit: a shareholder on the register is a shareholder in law: subscribed capital must be paid in full on schedule per the articles of association, and failing that, besides paying up you compensate the company for its losses; where at founding some shareholder hadn't paid in, the other founding shareholders are jointly liable for the shortfall; when the company can't pay debts as they fall due, creditors can demand early payment of subscribed capital not yet due. The person actually running the business isn't on the register — the debts are still under your name (nationwide, since July 2024) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2023). 公司法（2023 年修订，第四十七、四十九、五十、五十四条）. +- Notes: the validity of nominee-holding agreements between the registered (nominee) shareholder and the actual investor, and how liability is divided between them, are set out in the Supreme People's Court provisions on several issues concerning the application of the Company Law (III). TODO (to verify: the judicial interpretation number and the original text of Articles 24 and 25; the Supreme Court's official website page could not be opened this time), hence grade B. On the risks of being a nominee legal representative, see section 8, item 26. + +### 5. Before franchising, check MOFCOM's filing registry, get written disclosures, and write a "cooling-off period" into the contract + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; check the brand's registration in the MOFCOM commercial franchise information management system, and demand written information disclosure and the contract text before signing; a few hours in total +- In plain terms: by the rules, a franchisor must have 2 directly-operated stores running for over 1 year, and must file with the commerce authorities within 15 days of signing; not filing draws a fine of 10,000–50,000 yuan, and being late to file draws 50,000–100,000 yuan plus a public announcement. Before you sign, it must give you in writing 12 items, including franchise fee and deposit refund terms, how current stores are operating, audit summaries for the last two years, and litigation over the past five years. No filing on record, no disclosure documents, or a demand for payment before you can even see the contract — walk away. +- Benefit: the regulation requires a franchisor to have at least 2 directly-operated stores with more than 1 year of operation, and to file with the competent commerce department within 15 days of signing its first franchise contract; failing to file draws a fine of 10,000–50,000 yuan, and filing late draws 50,000–100,000 yuan plus a public announcement; before signing it must disclose in writing 12 items, including the types and amounts of franchise fees, conditions for refunding deposits, the number and operating status of existing franchise stores, summaries of audit reports for the last 2 years, and litigation and arbitration over the past 5 years; the contract must stipulate that the franchisee may unilaterally terminate within a certain period after signing; and if the franchisor conceals relevant information or provides false information, the franchisee may terminate the contract (nationwide, since May 2007) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2007). 商业特许经营管理条例（国务院令第 485 号，第七、八、十二、二十二、二十三、二十五条）. ；商务部 (2012). 商业特许经营信息披露管理办法（商务部令 2012 年第 2 号，第五、九条）. ；商务部. 商业特许经营信息管理系统. +- Notes: no filing on record, refusal to provide disclosure documents, or pay-first-contract-later — walk away. The exact length of the "cooling-off period" is set by the contract; the regulation only says "a certain period," so insist the number of days be written in when signing. For the disclosed "average sales, gross profit, and net profit of existing franchise stores," press for the data source — the implementing measures require the franchisor to state it. + +### 6. Settle the name, premises, business scope, and registered capital before registering; with complete documents you can get the license on the spot + + +- Cost: enterprise registration fees and individual business registration fees were abolished from January 1, 2015, so registration itself costs nothing; doing it yourself on the local government services portal or at the service hall takes a few hours one-time. Seal engraving, bookkeeping agency, and address hosting are market-rate expenses, not administrative charges +- In plain terms: registration itself is free — the registration fee was abolished back in 2015; you submit exactly the five statutory items, and once they're complete the license is issued on the spot, or within 3 working days if not. You declare the name yourself and subscribe the registered capital yourself, so what someone charges you is mostly an errand-runner's fee; you also don't have to accept claims that "seals must be engraved at a designated shop." +- Benefit: the regulation fixes the documents to submit at five items: "(1) the application form; (2) documents on the applicant's qualifications and the natural person's identity proof; (3) documents relating to the domicile or main place of business; (4) the articles of association of a company, non-company enterprise legal person, or farmers' cooperative (union), or the partnership agreement of a partnership; (5) other documents required by laws, administrative regulations, and the State Council's market regulation department" — companies must additionally submit appointment documents and identity proofs for the legal representative, directors, supervisors, and senior management, while individual businesses need no articles; the name is "declared by the applicant independently according to law," registered capital "follows the subscription registration system," and the business scope is chosen from the classification standard published by the registration authority; applications that are complete and meet statutory form are "confirmed and registered on the spot," and those that cannot be handled on the spot are done "within 3 working days," extendable by another 3 working days in complicated cases; "the issue date on the business license is the establishment date of the market entity" (nationwide, since March 2022) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2021). 市场主体登记管理条例（国务院令第 746 号，第十、十三、十四、十六、十九、二十一条）. ; 市场监管总局 (2022). 市场主体登记管理条例实施细则（市场监管总局令第 52 号，第十二、二十五、二十六条）. ; 财政部、国家发展改革委 (2014). 关于取消、停征和免征一批行政事业性收费的通知（财税〔2014〕101 号，附件 1）. +- Notes: registration is free, so any charge is most likely a middleman's fee. Seal engraving prices are set by the market; the General Office of the State Council expressly forbids "designating seal-making units to make official seals," so you don't have to accept the "must engrave at the designated place" claim. The registered capital figure doesn't affect your storefront image — it only sets your liability ceiling and must be paid in within 5 years; see item 3 of this section. If the business scope includes licensed items, you cannot open until the permit comes through; see item 7 of this section. + +### 7. In trades that require a license, don't open until the license comes through + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before opening, find out whether your business items require a permit (restaurants and food sellers need a food business license; selling only prepackaged food has been switched to filing), and start operating only once it's issued +- In plain terms: open without the license and the light penalty is an order to shut down, confiscation of illegal gains, and a fine of up to 10,000 yuan; if you deal in goods under state monopoly or exclusive sale, or in securities, futures, insurance, or funds payment and settlement, serious cases become the crime of illegal business operation — starting at up to 5 years in prison with a fine of 1 to 5 times the illegal gains. Fit out the shop first and get the license later, or run a "soft opening" before the license arrives — that's the most common trip-up. +- Benefit: operating without a required permit is investigated and dealt with by the departments designated in laws and regulations; where the law sets no explicit penalty for operating without a license, the punishment is an order to stop, confiscation of illegal gains, and a fine of up to 10,000 yuan. Operating without a permit in goods subject to statutory monopoly, exclusive sale, or restricted trading, or running securities, futures, insurance, or funds payment and settlement business without approval, constitutes the crime of illegal business operation when serious: up to 5 years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention plus a fine of 1 to 5 times the illegal gains, and over 5 years when especially serious (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2017). 无证无照经营查处办法（国务院令第 684 号，第五、六、十三条）. ；市场监管总局 (2023). 食品经营许可和备案管理办法（市场监管总局令第 78 号，第四条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百二十五条）. +- Notes: finance, medical, and education-training licensing conditions each have their own dedicated laws; this item verified only the general enforcement rules and the criminal law provisions. Bubble tea shops and snack bars count as food service and need a food business license; fit-out before the license and "trial operation" before it arrives are common pitfalls. + +### 8. Filing obligations start the moment you get the license: file a zero return on schedule even with no income + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; file monthly or quarterly yourself on the electronic tax bureau, a few minutes each time; hiring a bookkeeper is a separate market-rate expense. If you employ people, you must also complete social insurance registration within 30 days of establishment +- In plain terms: once you have the license, filing obligations begin, and even if you haven't earned a cent you must file a zero return on schedule. Failing to file first draws a fine of up to 2,000 yuan, rising to 2,000–10,000 yuan in serious cases; if non-filing led to underpaid tax, you repay the tax plus a daily late-payment surcharge of 0.05% (5 in 10,000), and on top of that a fine of 0.5 to 5 times the underpaid amount. Go three straight months without filing any tax and the system automatically flags you as an abnormal-status taxpayer, suspends your invoices, and blocks you from the simplified deregistration route. If you employ people, social insurance registration must also be done within 30 days of establishment. +- Benefit: "a taxpayer with no tax payable within the tax period must still complete tax filing as required"; failing to file on time means "the tax authority orders correction within a time limit and may impose a fine of up to 2,000 yuan; in serious cases, a fine of 2,000 yuan up to 10,000 yuan"; where non-filing also caused underpaid tax, the tax and late-payment surcharge are recovered plus a fine of "no less than 50% and no more than 5 times" the underpaid amount, with the surcharge accruing daily at 5 in 10,000; "where no tax return has been filed for any tax type for three consecutive months, the tax administration system automatically designates the entity as an abnormal-status taxpayer and suspends the use of its invoice ledger and invoices," automatically lifted after supplementary filing and acceptance of penalties; an employer "must, within 30 days of its establishment... apply to the local social insurance agency for social insurance registration" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2002). 税收征收管理法实施细则（国务院令第 362 号，第三十二、七十五条）. ; 全国人大常委会 (2015). 税收征收管理法（2015 年修正，第二十五、三十二、六十二、六十四条）. ; 国家税务总局 (2019). 关于税收征管若干事项的公告（国家税务总局公告 2019 年第 48 号，第三条）. ; 全国人大常委会 (2018). 个人所得税法（2018 年修正，第十二条）. ; 全国人大常委会 (2018). 社会保险法（2018 年修正，第五十七条）. +- Notes: after the "multi-license-in-one" reform there is no separate tax registration — log into the electronic tax bureau with the unified social credit code on your business license and complete registration information confirmation and tax-type designation. Individual businesses and sole proprietorship enterprises pay individual income tax on business income, prepaid "within 15 days after the end of each month or quarter," with annual reconciliation settled "by March 31 of the year following the year the income was earned." File even with no opening — a zero return is still a filing; ignore it for three months and you become an abnormal-status taxpayer, invoices are suspended, and deregistration cannot go through the simplified procedure; see item 19 of this section. + +### 9. Issue invoices only for real transactions, and use the small-scale taxpayer's tax-free allowance in full + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; don't buy invoices, don't sell invoices, don't "run accounts and issue invoices" for others — invoice and pay tax on real business only +- In plain terms: small-scale taxpayers pay no VAT on monthly sales up to 100,000 yuan or quarterly sales up to 300,000 yuan, and over the same period the 3% levy rate is cut to 1% — this is a free allowance, take all of it. Conversely, "finding someone to issue invoices so you can offset costs" is false invoicing: issuing for others, having others issue to you, and brokering invoicing between others all count — it starts at up to 3 years in prison plus a fine of 20,000–200,000 yuan, and for huge amounts can reach 10 years or more, or life. +- Benefit: for small-scale taxpayers, "sales below the threshold are exempt from VAT"; from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 the threshold is monthly sales of 100,000 yuan, quarterly sales of 300,000 yuan, and per-transaction (per-day) sales of 1,000 yuan; over the same period, except for selling or leasing real property and transferring land-use rights, the 3% levy rate is reduced to 1%; conversely, falsely issuing VAT special invoices or other deductible invoices (issuing for others, issuing for oneself, having others issue for oneself, and brokering such issuance all count) draws up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention plus a fine of 20,000–200,000 yuan, 3 to 10 years when the tax amount is large, and over 10 years or life imprisonment for huge amounts (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2024). 增值税法（2026 年 1 月 1 日施行，第二十三条）. ；财政部、税务总局 (2026). 关于增值税法施行后增值税优惠政策衔接事项的公告（财政部 税务总局公告 2026 年第 10 号，第一、二、六条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百零五条）. +- Notes: the VAT Law takes effect on January 1, 2026, and the earlier small-scale taxpayer relief notices (No. 19 of 2023 and No. 1 of 2023) cease to apply or are repealed with it — the monetary thresholds are unchanged but the legal basis has changed, and this item has been updated to the new document. The criminal law text online is the 1997 version; Article 205's penalty tiers were later adjusted by amendments, and this item states only the tiers that were verified and unchanged. What's exempt is VAT; income tax is calculated separately. "Finding someone to issue invoices to offset costs" is false invoicing, not tax saving. + +### 10. Anyone claiming to be the tax bureau and pressing you to pay is a scammer; handle tax matters only via the electronic tax bureau and 12366 + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; on getting a call, text, or friend request about "spot tax checks," "abnormal accounts," or "fines if you don't file," hang up first, then verify by calling back via 12366 or the competent tax authority's landline +- In plain terms: the tax authorities will never phone asking for your bank card password, payment password, or SMS verification codes, and will never give you a designated account to transfer your taxes into; genuine on-site audits come with an inspection notice and an inspector's credentials shown. Get a "pay up or be fined for not filing" call — hang up first, then call back on 12366 or the tax bureau's landline. Impersonating state functionaries starts at 10 to 15 days of detention. If money has already left your account, call 110 or 96110 immediately to freeze the payment. +- Benefit: the STA's warning, verbatim: "tax authorities will not demand bank card passwords, payment passwords, account balances, or SMS verification codes related to bank card payments via WeChat mini-programs, phone calls, or text messages," and "some criminals impersonate tax officials to approach taxpayers under the guise of 'assisted tax filing,' 'handling tax incentives,' or 'policy guidance'"; the verification channels are "the 12366 tax service hotline or the competent tax authority's landline"; a genuine audit "requires presenting the inspection notice and inspection credentials"; "tax payments can only be made through the electronic tax bureau or at the tax service hall, and the tax authorities will never provide a designated account"; tax-related professional service agencies that "extort taxpayers or withholding agents in the name of tax authorities or tax personnel" are fined according to the circumstances; impersonating a state functionary to commit fraud draws 10 to 15 days of detention and may add a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, and where an act constitutes both fraud and the crime of impersonating a state functionary, "the offender is convicted and punished under the provision carrying the heavier penalty" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家税务总局 (2025). 税务部门提醒广大纳税人——增强防范意识 警惕互联网涉税诈骗. ; 国家税务总局扬州市税务局 (2023). 扬州防范涉税诈骗宣传篇. ; 国家税务总局 (2025). 涉税专业服务管理办法（试行）（国家税务总局令第 58 号，第三十二条第七项、第三十三条）. ; 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，2026 年 1 月 1 日施行，第六十二条）. ; 最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部 (2016). 关于办理电信网络诈骗等刑事案件适用法律若干问题的意见（法发〔2016〕32 号）. +- Notes: these scams target newly registered individual businesses and small companies, with scripts like "our system shows you haven't filed; handle it today or be fined," then steering you to their own official account or mini-program to charge a few hundred yuan for a filing that is free and takes you minutes to do yourself. Using a market-rate bookkeeping agency isn't illegal, but it is not a government body and will never chase you in the tax bureau's name. If you have already paid or transferred money, call 110 or 96110 immediately to freeze the payment; see section 8, item 2. + +### 11. Take deposits labeled "dingjin" not "yudingjin," state the penalty amount in figures, and vet credit terms as if lending money + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; use the characters "定金" in the contract, keep the amount within 20% of the contract value, collect payment before shipping, and check the counterparty before granting credit terms +- In plain terms: only the exact word "dingjin" (定金 — statutory deposit) triggers the double rule: if you breach, you forfeit it; if the other side breaches, they owe you double; anything above 20% of the contract value has no deposit effect. "Yudingjin" (订金 — advance payment) is usually treated as just a prepayment and protects nothing. State the penalty amount explicitly — courts can adjust penalties that are wildly too high or too low. Granting credit terms means lending the other side your money interest-free, and if they go under, it becomes a bad debt. +- Benefit: a deposit contract takes effect upon actual delivery; if the paying party breaches, the deposit is forfeited, and if the receiving party breaches, it must return double; the portion exceeding 20% of the main contract's value has no deposit effect; where the agreed penalty is excessively higher or lower than the loss, the court may adjust it at a party's request; where both a penalty and a deposit are agreed, you must choose one upon breach (nationwide, since 2021) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第五百八十五、五百八十六、五百八十七、五百八十八条）. +- Notes: "yudingjin" (订金) has no deposit rules in the Civil Code and is usually treated as a mere prepayment — this is the prevailing practical view; this section did not verify case law. Credit terms are an interest-free loan of your own money, and a bankrupt counterparty means a bad debt; before granting credit, check the counterparty's record and litigation history on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. + +### 12. Sign written contracts within the first month of employment; complete social insurance registration within 30 days + + +- Cost: the employer's share of social insurance contributions is a long-term expense (rates vary by locality); signing the contract itself costs 0 yuan — use the contract template from the local human resources and social security department +- In plain terms: if a month of employment passes without a written contract, you owe double wages every month starting from the second month, all the way up to the one-year mark. Social insurance must be registered within 30 days of hiring; failing to register draws a fine of 1 to 3 times the contributions owed plus 500–3,000 yuan on the person in charge, and unpaid contributions accrue a daily late surcharge of 0.05% (5 in 10,000). In law there is no such thing as "the employee voluntarily waives social insurance." +- Benefit: where employment lasts over one month but under one year without a written contract, double wages are owed monthly; social insurance registration for employees must be completed within 30 days of the start of employment, and failing that means an order to correct, then a fine of 1 to 3 times the social insurance contributions payable once the deadline passes, plus 500–3,000 yuan for the directly responsible person; contributions not paid in full and on time accrue a daily late surcharge of 5 in 10,000 from the date of arrears, and continued non-payment adds a fine of 1 to 3 times the unpaid amount; the employer must declare on its own behalf and pay in full and on time, with deferral or reduction only for statutory causes such as force majeure — there is no "employee voluntary waiver" option (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动合同法（第十、八十二条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2010). 社会保险法（2018 年修正，第五十八、六十、八十四、八十六条）. +- Notes: double wages run from the second month up to the one-year mark, so delay only gets more expensive. Once an employee without a contract or social insurance suffers a workplace injury or files for labor arbitration, back contributions plus fines plus compensation usually far exceed what was saved. + +### 13. Pay wages per the contract and the law; put raises, loans, and bonuses in writing + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; write labor remuneration clearly into the contract, and sign paper for every raise, bonus, advance, or loan — no verbal promises, and never pay company wages out of your own pocket +- In plain terms: wages must be paid in full and on time per the contract and the law, and if you fall behind, employees can go straight to court for a payment order. Raises, bonuses, and advances agreed verbally leave no evidence — when a real dispute comes, the side without proof loses. If you lend an employee money privately, write a written IOU stating the amount, interest, term, and repayment method; run private money through company accounts and a company loss becomes your own bad debt. +- Benefit: mandatory clauses of a labor contract include labor remuneration and social insurance; the employer must pay wages in full and on time per the contract and state rules, and for unpaid wages employees can apply directly to the court for a payment order. When a boss lends an employee money privately, it is a loan contract, which must be in writing unless otherwise agreed between natural persons, stating the amount, interest rate, term, and repayment method; bonuses promised verbally have no written evidence, and in a dispute the side without proof loses (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动合同法（第十七、三十条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第四百六十九、六百六十八条）. +- Notes: this is the neutral version of the reader's advice "don't over-sympathize when managing a company": it's not about refusing to help people, but about helping through the system. Once an out-of-system favor becomes routine, cutting it off turns into a dispute; when private loans and company accounts mix, a company loss lands as your own bad debt. The statutory parts are verified; the advice itself is experience, hence grade C. + +### 14. Sell before you build: use pre-sales and small orders to verify demand before investing in production + + +- Cost: tens to a few hundred yuan for a sample or a landing page, plus finding a few dozen real customers to prepay or place small orders; a few weeks slower than starting production outright +- In plain terms: following 116 Italian startups for about a year showed that founders trained to "state hypotheses first, then test them strictly against market feedback" performed better and were more willing to pivot in time — without giving up any earlier. It comes down to one line: if nobody will prepay and nobody will place a small order, don't believe "once it's built, buyers will come." +- Benefit: a randomized controlled trial tracking 116 Italian startups for about a year: founders trained to make decisions by "stating hypotheses first, then testing them rigorously with market feedback" achieved better performance and were more likely to pivot to alternatives in time, with no higher early abandonment rate; the authors' interpretation is that this approach reduces the chance of continuing to pour money into false-positive projects (Italy, published 2020) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Camuffo A, Cordova A, Gambardella A, Spina C (2020). A Scientific Approach to Entrepreneurial Decision Making: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial. Management Science 66(2):564-586. +- Notes: a single study, small sample, conducted in Italy, hence grade B; the citation and abstract were cross-checked against Crossref and Semantic Scholar, and the full-text effect sizes were not verified for this section. In practice: if nobody will prepay and nobody will place a small order, don't believe "build it and they will buy." + +### 15. Run the prototype through a mass-production checklist before discussing production + + +- Cost: a few hundred yuan for a small pilot run, plus a few hours to work out the items below: yield (how many of 100 units are sellable), supplier minimum order quantities and payment terms, how much cash inventory ties up, packaging and logistics, certifications and permits, trademarks +- In plain terms: the difference between one sample and a thousand units is where the money gets stuck: yield sets the true cost, minimum orders and payment terms set how much you must front, and inventory sets when the money comes back. On top of that, products on the compulsory certification catalogue cannot leave the factory or be sold without certification and the certification mark — selling them un-certified brings penalties under the rules. +- Benefit: the difference between one sample and a thousand units is where the money sits: yield determines the real cost, minimum order quantities and payment terms determine how much cash must be fronted, and inventory determines when the money comes back; products listed in the compulsory product certification catalogue may only leave the factory and be sold after certification and marking with the certification mark, and selling without certification is penalized under the certification and accreditation regulation; restaurants and food sellers need a food business license (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 质检总局 (2009). 强制性产品认证管理规定（质检总局令第 117 号，第二、四十九条）. ；市场监管总局 (2023). 食品经营许可和备案管理办法（市场监管总局令第 78 号，第四条）. +- Notes: the checklist itself is an experienced practice; the statutory parts were verified against original texts. Before production, search the CNIPA trademark search system for similar registrations and then file your trademark application; the red lines on using others' trademarks and designs are in items 16 and 17. For the compulsory certification catalogue, defer to the latest publication by the State Administration for Market Regulation. + +### 16. Keep invoices and supplier details for every batch of stock, and refuse goods priced far below market: when an employee stocks counterfeits, it's the boss who gets sentenced + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; for every batch keep the purchase contract, invoices, payment records, and the supplier's business license and authorization documents; set an internal rule that whoever stocks the goods signs for them, and goods priced obviously below market are never taken in +- In plain terms: selling counterfeits reaches the criminal threshold at 30,000 yuan in illegal gains or 50,000 yuan in sales, drawing up to 3 years plus a fine, and 3 to 10 years at ten times that standard — and goods sitting unsold in the warehouse count too. "I didn't know they were fake" is not yours to decide: buying at prices obviously below market without a legitimate reason, authorization documents that are forged or altered, or moving and destroying goods and books after an inspection — all are treated directly as knowledge. Keep the purchase contracts, invoices, payment records, and supplier details, or the escape route of "lawfully acquired and able to name the supplier" is gone. +- Benefit: selling goods one knowingly bears a counterfeited registered trademark reaches the criminal threshold at 30,000 yuan or more in illegal gains or 50,000 yuan or more in sales, drawing up to 3 years of imprisonment plus a fine or a fine alone; at ten times that standard, 3 to 10 years plus a fine; unsold goods count too, and goods whose value reaches three times the sales threshold are likewise criminal. "Knowledge" doesn't require your confession: the 2025 SPC-SPP judicial interpretation lists five situations directly deemed as knowledge (except where evidence proves genuine ignorance) — knowing the registered trademark on the goods was altered, swapped, or covered; forging or altering the trademark owner's authorization documents or knowing they were forged or altered; having received criminal or administrative penalties for selling counterfeits and then selling the same kind again; buying or selling at prices obviously below market without legitimate reason; or after discovery by administrative or judicial authorities, transferring or destroying infringing goods, accounting vouchers, and other evidence, or providing false proof. When a company commits this offense, "the entity is fined, and the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel" are punished under the same provision — so if an employee stocked the goods, it's the decision-maker who is fined and sentenced. Conversely, the Trademark Law leaves one way out: for selling goods without knowing they infringe a registered trademark, "whoever can prove the goods were lawfully obtained and can identify the supplier bears no liability to compensate" — that defense consists entirely of invoices and supplier details; without them it can't be used (nationwide, judicial interpretation in force from April 26, 2025) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第十七、二十四项，即刑法第二百一十四、二百二十条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2025). 关于办理侵犯知识产权刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2025〕5 号，2025 年 4 月 26 日起施行）. ；全国人大常委会 (2019). 商标法（2019 年修正，第五十七、六十四条；2026 年 6 月 26 日修订后为第七十二、七十八条，自 2027 年 1 月 1 日起施行）. 、 +- Notes: cosmetics, liquor, mother-and-baby products, digital goods, and clothing are the high-incidence categories, with the common feature of huge price spreads for the same item — claims like "channel goods," "overruns," or "duty-free overseas" are no substitute for paperwork. There is also an administrative layer: where infringement is established, the infringing goods and tools are confiscated, and with illegal business revenue of 50,000 yuan or more a fine of up to 5 times may be imposed on top. If stock already taken in turns out wrong, immediately stop selling and seal it, contact the brand owner or the market regulation authority — don't keep selling, and above all don't destroy the goods or the books: destroying evidence is precisely the fifth situation presuming knowledge. On using others' designs, see the next item. + +### 17. Every image on products, packaging, tags, and ads must be self-made or licensed; changing the color or adding an icon doesn't count as "changed" + + +- Cost: licensed stock images start at tens of yuan per image, original commissioned design runs a few hundred to a few thousand yuan; keep an authorization certificate and purchase record for every image used on a product +- In plain terms: recoloring someone's image, swapping the background, or adding your own icon is still using their work without permission. Copying someone else's artwork for profit hits the criminal threshold at 30,000 yuan in illegal gains, 50,000 yuan in illegal business revenue, or 500 copies printed — that's the crime of copyright infringement, up to 3 years, and 3 to 10 years at ten times the standard; merely selling infringing copies printed by someone else draws up to 5 years for selling infringing copies at 50,000 yuan in illegal gains or 100,000 yuan in sales. On the trademark side, "similarity likely to cause confusion" is itself written into the infringement situations. +- Benefit: the Copyright Law lists "using a work through adaptation, translation, annotation, or other means without the copyright holder's permission" alongside direct copying as infringement, so changing colors, swapping backgrounds, or adding your own icon to the original image is still unauthorized use of someone's work; the criminal threshold here: copying and distributing artistic works for profit without the copyright holder's permission constitutes the crime of copyright infringement at 30,000 yuan or more in illegal gains, or 50,000 yuan or more in illegal business revenue, or 500 copies (sheets) or more in total, drawing up to 3 years plus a fine or a fine alone, and 3 to 10 years at ten times the standard; merely selling infringing copies printed by someone else draws up to 5 years for selling infringing copies at 50,000 yuan or more in illegal gains or 100,000 yuan or more in sales. The same logic on the trademark side: using a mark similar to a registered trademark on the same goods, or an identical or similar mark on similar goods, is within infringement scope where "confusion is likely" — "similarity" is an infringement situation written explicitly in the statute, and tweaking your way out of it doesn't create a safe zone (nationwide, judicial interpretation in force from April 26, 2025) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2020). 著作权法（2020 年修正，第五十二条第六项、第五十三条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第二十、二十一项，即刑法第二百一十七、二百一十八条）. ；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2025). 关于办理侵犯知识产权刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2025〕5 号）. ；全国人大常委会 (2019). 商标法（2019 年修正，第五十七条第二项；2026 年修订后为第七十二条第二项）. +- Notes: three common traps: cartoon characters and celebrity photos found online printed on clothes, mugs, and phone cases; fonts — most commercial fonts require separate licensing, and a free preview is not free commercial use; unlicensed assets slipped into design drafts made for clients, where liability still falls on the seller. To keep it simple, use stock libraries with commercial licenses and save the license pages, or have the designer state the asset sources and license scope in the contract and accept responsibility for problems. Beyond criminal liability there are civil damages and administrative fines; where the public interest is harmed, illegal gains may be confiscated and a fine of 1 to 5 times the illegal business revenue imposed. For checking trademarks before production, see item 15; if your own work is used by others, the same rules apply to enforce your rights. + +### 18. Follow procedures within your post; before helping beyond them, think through who bears the liability + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; handle job duties by the rules, the doctor's orders, and the process, and don't make decisions for others beyond your own authority; before helping, first ask "if something goes wrong, who is responsible" +- In plain terms: on-the-job matters go by procedure and by doctor's orders — step beyond your authority to decide for someone else, and when things go wrong the liability lands on you. Conversely, the law does not require you to stand by while someone dies: voluntary emergency rescue that harms the person being helped carries no civil liability for the rescuer. +- Benefit: taking nurses as an example, the statutory boundaries of the role are: notify the physician immediately upon finding a patient in critical condition, and in an emergency, perform necessary emergency care first to save a critically ill patient; where a doctor's order violates laws or regulations or technical standards for diagnosis and treatment, raise it with the physician and, when necessary, report to the head of the department. The other side must also be stated: the Civil Code provides that a rescuer who voluntarily performs emergency aid bears no civil liability for harm to the person being helped — the law protects good-faith rescue, not "help someone and you pay" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国务院 (2008). 护士条例（国务院令第 517 号，第十七条）. ；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一百八十四条）. +- Notes: this is the neutral version of the reader's advice "don't meddle in other people's business": within your post, follow procedure; emergency rescue is legally protected; for everything else, first establish whose authority and whose responsibility it is, and don't substitute private goodwill for decisions the system should make. The Nurses Regulation is cited from the 2008 text. TODO (to verify: whether Article 17 changed in the 2020 revision); the Physicians Law clause on practicing per diagnostic and treatment standards could not be opened on the official site this time and is not cited. + +### 19. When the business fails, exit by the book: use simplified deregistration if you can, file for bankruptcy when insolvent, and never just walk away + + +- Cost: simplified deregistration requires a 20-day public notice on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and can be done yourself; businesses with debts must first liquidate, and bankruptcy means applying to the court, taking months +- In plain terms: with no debts or all debts cleared, no unpaid wages, taxes, or social insurance, and a written commitment from all investors, you can deregister via simplified procedure once the 20-day public notice passes without objection — individual businesses need no public notice and can deregister directly after 10 days without objection. When liabilities exceed assets and due debts can't be paid, apply to the court for bankruptcy. The cost of walking away: missing annual reports puts you on the abnormal-operations list, three years there puts you on the serious-violations list, the legal representative cannot serve as another company's legal representative for 3 years — and once on the abnormal-operations list, even simplified deregistration is blocked. +- Benefit: where there are no claims or debts or they are fully settled, no unpaid wages, social insurance, or taxes, and all investors give written commitment, simplified deregistration is available after a 20-day public notice without objection; individual businesses need no public notice and are deregistered directly if the relevant departments raise no objection within 10 days; a company unable to pay due debts and insolvent may apply to the court for reorganization, composition, or bankruptcy liquidation, and where a dissolved company has not been liquidated and is insolvent, those bearing liquidation responsibility should apply for bankruptcy liquidation. Walking away: failing to publish the annual report on time means listing on the abnormal-operations list; three years without fulfilling the disclosure obligation means listing on the serious-violations enterprise list; the legal representative or person in charge may not serve as legal representative or person in charge of another enterprise for 3 years; entities on the abnormal-operations list cannot use simplified deregistration (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2021). 市场主体登记管理条例（国务院令第 746 号，第三十一、三十二、三十三条）. ；市场监管总局等六部门 (2025). 企业注销指引（2025 年修订）（2025 年第 52 号公告）. ；全国人大常委会 (2006). 企业破产法（第二、七条）. ；国务院 (2014). 企业信息公示暂行条例（国务院令第 654 号，第十七条）. +- Notes: the Interim Regulation on Enterprise Information Publicity is cited from the 2014 text; State Council Decree No. 777 of 2024 only changed "industrial and commercial administration departments" in that regulation to "market regulation departments" without listing Article 17. TODO (to verify: whether there was a separate 2024 revision). A personal (including individual business) bankruptcy regime currently exists only as pilots in a few localities; the original texts were not verified for this section and are not stated. From 071a44471549be9adcaa613fcf58939b8060afef Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:20:25 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 13/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch14:=20Accounts=20And=20Security=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/14-Accounts-And-Security.md | 85 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 85 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/14-Accounts-And-Security.md diff --git a/book/en/14-Accounts-And-Security.md b/book/en/14-Accounts-And-Security.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..3d9cb1644 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/14-Accounts-And-Security.md @@ -0,0 +1,85 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 14. Account and Information Security + +Scope: money and personal information. When someone else takes over your accounts, what you lose is money, the people in your contact list, and your identity. +### 1. Turn on two-step verification for email, payment, and social accounts — prefer on-device prompts, with SMS codes as the fallback + +- Cost: 0 yuan; set up once per account, two to three minutes +- In plain terms: on-device prompts block over ninety percent of phishing-based account takeovers and all automated ones, while question-based checks like "where did you last log in" or a backup email stop only about a tenth of phishing takeovers. You set it up once, in a few minutes. +- Benefit: Google's review of 350,000 real hijacking attempts found that device-based verification (on-device prompts, security keys) blocked "more than 94% of phishing-based hijack attempts and 100% of automated hijack attempts," while knowledge-based verification (asking about your last login location, backup email, and the like) "blocked as little as 10% of phishing hijacks and 73% of automated hijacks" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Doerfler P, Thomas K, Marincenko M, et al. (2019). Evaluating Login Challenges as a Defense Against Account Takeover. The World Wide Web Conference (WWW '19). +- Notes: the same study also found that verification locks out legitimate users: 52% failed to sign in on the first try, though 97% eventually got in. Start with email, because every other account can recover its password through it + +### 2. Use a separate password for your email, never reused on any website + +- Cost: 0 yuan; with a password manager you don't have to remember it +- In plain terms: passwords leaked from other sites get tried directly against your email. Once someone gets into your email, every account that can recover its password through it goes down with it. +- Benefit: credential stuffing is the laziest form of attack: a password leaked elsewhere is tried straight against your email, and once the email falls, every account that uses it for password recovery falls with it +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: if you can't remember it, use your browser's built-in password manager — far better than reusing one password. Don't store passwords in WeChat favorites or a notes app + +### 3. Set a lock-screen password on your phone and a PIN code on your SIM card + +- Cost: 0 yuan; set up once +- In plain terms: if your phone is lost, the fastest move for whoever finds it is to put the SIM card into another phone to receive verification codes, then reset your accounts one by one. With a PIN on the SIM card, the phone demands the password at startup on a new device, and that path is cut off entirely. +- Benefit: after a phone is lost, the fastest attack path is to put the SIM card into another phone to receive SMS verification codes, then reset accounts one by one. With a PIN on the SIM card, the phone demands the password at startup on a new device, and this path is cut off entirely +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: the PIN is set under the phone's "SIM card lock" setting; the factory default is usually 1234 or 0000, and three wrong entries require a PUK code to unlock — write it down right after you set it + +### 4. If your phone is lost, act in this order: report the SIM lost, lock remotely, change passwords, file a police report, freeze bank cards + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a dozen or so minutes +- In plain terms: the order matters more than how fast you move: first report the SIM card lost to cut off the verification codes that everything depends on, then lock and wipe the phone remotely, then change your email and payment passwords from a computer, then file a police report and keep the receipt, and finally freeze bank cards as needed. You can also report the SIM lost by calling your carrier's customer service from someone else's phone. +- Benefit: order matters more than speed: reporting the SIM lost first cuts off the verification-code lifeline, then remotely lock and wipe the device, then change email and payment passwords from a computer, then file a police report and keep the receipt, and finally freeze bank cards as needed +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；补办身份证见第 7 节，冒名贷款见第 8 节关于征信的一条 +- Notes: memorize in advance the customer service numbers of the three major carriers (China Mobile 10086, China Unicom 10010, China Telecom 10000) and the region your phone number is registered in. Reporting the SIM lost by calling customer service from another person's phone also works + +### 5. When a card is fraudulently used, report it lost and freeze it before filing a police report, then demand the bank compensate you: proving "the cardholder made the transaction" is the bank's responsibility + +- Cost: 0 yuan; report the card lost or freeze it the moment you spot suspicious activity, and keep the police report, the loss-report record, and the transaction notifications; if the card is still on you, make a small balance inquiry or deposit/withdrawal nearby to establish where the real card was +- In plain terms: when your card is fraudulently used, you don't have to prove "it wasn't me"; it's the other way around — the bank has to produce evidence that the transaction was made by you or authorized by you, and if it can't, it has to pay: for a debit card, the stolen deposits with interest plus your losses; for a credit card, the deducted overdraft must be returned and the bank cannot demand that money back from you, and any adverse credit record must be removed. The precondition is freezing the card the moment you spot the activity: drag your feet and the additional losses that pile up are yours to bear; if you handed over your password or verification codes, you also carry part of the responsibility. +- Benefit: the Supreme People's Court's provisions on bank card civil disputes divide the burden of proof: a cardholder claiming counterfeit-card fraud or online fraud can prove it with effective legal documents, the location of the real card at the time of the transaction, the place where the transaction occurred, the account transaction details, transaction notifications, police reports, loss-report records, and the like; **when the card issuer or a non-bank payment institution claims the transaction was made by the cardholder or with the cardholder's authorization, it bears the burden of proof**. If, after you notify the bank, the bank fails to verify in time or fails to provide or preserve transaction receipts or surveillance footage, leaving the evidence unobtainable, the bank bears the consequences of being unable to meet its burden of proof. Once the claim is established: a debit cardholder can demand the issuer pay the fraudulently withdrawn deposits with principal and interest and compensate the losses; a credit cardholder can demand the return of the deducted overdraft with principal and interest plus penalty fees and compensation for losses, and if the bank in turn demands that the cardholder repay the overdraft, the court will not support it. The cardholder can also demand that the issuer promptly remove the corresponding adverse credit records (nationwide, in effect from May 25, 2021) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 最高人民法院 (2021). 关于审理银行卡民事纠纷案件若干问题的规定（第四、五、七、十四、十五条）. +- Notes: two situations shift responsibility onto you: one, if you are "at fault for failing to properly safeguard" identity-verification information and transaction-verification information such as the bank card, password, and verification codes, you bear responsibility proportionate to your fault — so don't share passwords and don't forward verification codes (see item 1); two, if delayed reporting the loss enlarged the losses, you bear the enlarged portion, so the first step is always to report and freeze, not to argue with customer service. The same rules apply to third-party payment institutions, and if their promotional materials promised "advance compensation" in a concrete and specific way, you can demand they pay first on that basis. Money you were tricked into transferring yourself is a different path — see Section 8, item 2. + +### 6. Check your accounts' logged-in devices and authorized apps every so often, and clear out the ones you don't use + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a few minutes each time +- In plain terms: account thieves often lurk for a while before striking. Unfamiliar devices in the logged-in device list and long-abandoned third parties in the authorized-app list are traces an ordinary person can see on their own — when you see one, sign out everywhere and change the password. +- Benefit: account takeover usually doesn't erupt on the spot; the attacker lurks first. Unfamiliar devices in the logged-in device list and long-abandoned third parties in the authorized-app list are the easiest traces to spot +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: WeChat, Alipay, email, and Apple and Android accounts all have this entry point. If you find an unfamiliar device, sign out everywhere and change the password + +### 7. Don't tap "agree to all" just to use an app: for information that isn't necessary, refusing to share it cannot be grounds to deny you the service + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the price is resisting the urge to tap "agree to all" +- In plain terms: if the information isn't necessary for providing the service, the provider cannot lock you out for declining to share it; and what they collect must stay limited to the minimum they actually need. A map app needing your location is necessary; a flashlight app needing your contact list is not. +- Benefit: the law states explicitly that no provider may refuse to supply a product or service on the grounds that the individual did not consent to or withdrew consent for the processing of personal information, except where the processing is necessary for providing the service; collection must be limited to the smallest scope necessary to achieve the processing purpose +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 个人信息保护法. 中国人大网. ：第六条「收集个人信息，应当限于实现处理目的的最小范围，不得过度收集个人信息」；第十六条「个人信息处理者不得以个人不同意处理其个人信息或者撤回同意为由，拒绝提供产品或者服务；处理个人信息属于提供产品或者服务所必需的除外」；第十五条「基于个人同意处理个人信息的，个人有权撤回其同意。个人信息处理者应当提供便捷的撤回同意的方式」 +- Notes: the test is "is this information necessary for providing this service": a map app needing your location is necessary, a flashlight app needing your contact list is not. After installing an app, go straight into the system's app-permissions page and switch off everything not necessary, granting one-time permission when it's actually needed. + +### 8. You have the right to view, copy, correct, and delete your own personal information, and you can sue if you're refused + +- Cost: 0 yuan; complaining or suing only becomes necessary if they stall; a real lawsuit is a matter of months at minimum with lawyer's fees on you, so complaining first is the better deal +- In plain terms: you can demand that a company let you view, copy, correct, and delete your own information; when the service ends, the retention period expires, or you withdraw consent, the company is supposed to delete on its own initiative. Any refusal of your request must come with stated reasons, and if they don't act you can go straight to court. Deleting an account and deleting your information are two different things — after cancelling the account you have to ask for deletion separately. +- Benefit: when the service stops, the retention period expires, consent is withdrawn, or the purpose has been fulfilled, the company must delete proactively; if it hasn't, you can demand deletion; any refusal of a request to exercise your rights must state its reasons, and you can sue directly in court +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 个人信息保护法. 中国人大网. ：第四十五条「个人有权向个人信息处理者查阅、复制其个人信息……个人请求查阅、复制其个人信息的，个人信息处理者应当及时提供」；第四十六条更正、补充权；第四十七条列了五种应当主动删除的情形，含「（一）处理目的已实现、无法实现或者为实现处理目的不再必要」「（二）个人信息处理者停止提供产品或者服务，或者保存期限已届满」「（三）个人撤回同意」，「个人信息处理者未删除的，个人有权请求删除」；第五十条「个人信息处理者应当建立便捷的个人行使权利的申请受理和处理机制。拒绝个人行使权利的请求的，应当说明理由」「个人可以依法向人民法院提起诉讼」 +- Notes: cancelling an account and deleting personal information are two separate things; after cancellation, request deletion separately. Before switching or selling an old phone, sign out of all accounts and unbind them on the old device first, then factory-reset it — the law gives you the right to deletion after the fact; it cannot pull back what has already leaked. + +### 9. Face recognition is not something you must accept: when alternatives exist, you cannot be forced to use only your face, and if you refuse, other methods must be offered + +- Cost: 0 yuan; when asked for a face scan, ask "is there another verification method," and if there isn't, demand one +- In plain terms: as long as other means can achieve the same goal, face recognition cannot be made the only option; if you decline a face scan, they must offer an alternative such as a card, a password, or your ID card, and they cannot strong-arm you by claiming "we can't process this." In private spaces such as hotel guest rooms, public bathhouses, changing rooms, and restrooms, no one may install facial-recognition equipment. The biggest difference between your face and a password is that a face can't be changed once it leaks. +- Benefit: the security management measures for facial recognition technology state: "Where other non-facial-recognition methods exist to achieve the same purpose or meet the same business requirements, facial recognition technology must not be used as the sole verification method. If an individual does not consent to identity verification through facial information, other reasonable and convenient methods shall be provided." "No organization or individual may mislead, deceive, or coerce an individual into accepting facial-recognition verification of identity on the grounds of handling business or improving service quality." Where facial information is processed on the basis of individual consent, "separate consent given voluntarily and explicitly under conditions of full knowledge" must be obtained; the individual has the right to withdraw consent and the processor must provide a convenient way to withdraw; processing the facial information of minors under fourteen requires the consent of a parent or other guardian. Facial-recognition equipment installed in public places "must be necessary for maintaining public safety" and carry prominent notice signs; inside private spaces within public places — hotel guest rooms, public bathhouses, public changing rooms, public restrooms — no organization or individual may install such equipment. Except where laws or administrative regulations provide otherwise or separate consent has been obtained, facial information must be stored within the facial-recognition device itself and must not be transmitted externally over the internet (nationwide, in effect from June 1, 2025) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家互联网信息办公室、公安部 (2025). 人脸识别技术应用安全管理办法（第 19 号令，第十条、十二条、十三条，2025 年 6 月 1 日起施行）. +- Notes: the most common encounters are residential-compound gates, rental platforms, gyms, and hotels demanding a face recording. When told "the system only supports face recognition," read the quoted passage above to them and demand an alternative such as a card, a password, or an ID card; if they still refuse, report it to the local cyberspace administration. Where the state has separate provisions on facial-recognition identity verification (some finance and government-service scenarios), those provisions govern. The biggest difference between your face and a password is that a face can't be changed once it leaks, so it deserves more caution than a password. Processors whose stored data reaches 100,000 people must file with the cyberspace administration at the provincial level or above within 30 working days — also a good question for judging whether the other party is operating properly. Your rights to view, correct, and delete your personal information are covered in item 8. From aa67a36b4b00ac5b19339e30dd91874eb446853e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:20:25 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 14/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch15:=20Renting=20And=20Buying=20Hou?= =?UTF-8?q?sing=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identic?= =?UTF-8?q?al?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/15-Renting-And-Buying-Housing.md | 76 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 76 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/15-Renting-And-Buying-Housing.md diff --git a/book/en/15-Renting-And-Buying-Housing.md b/book/en/15-Renting-And-Buying-Housing.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..348ee49e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/15-Renting-And-Buying-Housing.md @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@ +[← Back to the master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 15. Renting and Buying a Home + +Scope: money. With renting, most of the money goes into the deposit and agent fees; with buying, most goes into interest and information asymmetry. +### 1. Put the deposit amount, refund deadline, and deduction conditions in writing in the contract + +- Cost: 0 yuan; ten extra minutes at signing +- In plain terms: any deduction reason not written into the contract is one the landlord cannot use against your deposit when you move out. How much the deposit is, when it comes back, and what triggers deductions — all of it needs to be on the contract before you sign. +- Benefit: administrative regulations state explicitly: "Where the lessor collects a deposit, the amount of the deposit, the time of its return, and the circumstances under which it may be deducted shall be specified in the housing lease contract. Except as specified in the housing lease contract, the lessor may not deduct the deposit without justified reason." In other words, a reason absent from the contract is not a reason the landlord can use to take your money +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2025). 住房租赁条例（国令第 812 号，2025 年 9 月 15 日施行）（第十条）. +- Notes: when moving out, take photos and video together with the landlord — utility meter readings, walls and floors included. If your deposit is withheld without cause, first file a complaint with the housing rental administration; for small amounts, use small-claims litigation, see section 8 + +### 2. If the landlord cuts water or power, changes the locks, or shows up to threaten you out, call the police and preserve evidence first: regulations forbid these tactics for forcing you out + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: a landlord cannot pressure you into breaking the lease or moving out by cutting utilities, changing locks, or showing up to intimidate you — regulations explicitly ban this. When it happens, call the police first; the police report is the evidence you will use later to claim losses. Do not fight back physically yourself. +- Benefit: administrative regulations state explicitly: "The lessor may not use violence, threats, or other unlawful means to force the lessee to terminate the housing lease contract or vacate the leased housing." When this happens, call the police and preserve evidence first; do not fight back physically yourself +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2025). 住房租赁条例（国令第 812 号，2025 年 9 月 15 日施行）（第十二条）. +- Notes: the point of calling the police is to get a police report on file — that is your evidence for claiming losses later. Also notify the housing rental administration + +### 3. Do not let the agency collect or forward rent and deposit on your behalf — pay the landlord directly + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: by the rules, rent and deposit must not be collected or forwarded by the agency; the money goes straight to the landlord. Every pass through the agent's hands is one more chance it runs off with the funds and you lose the rent while the landlord still kicks you out. Before paying, check that the payee's name matches the one on the property ownership certificate. +- Benefit: administrative regulations list "collecting or forwarding housing rent and deposits on behalf of others" as a prohibited act for real estate brokerage firms. Every pass through the agent's hands is one more chance the money disappears with the agent +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2025). 住房租赁条例（国令第 812 号，2025 年 9 月 15 日施行）（第二十五条）. +- Notes: before paying, verify that the payee matches the name on the property ownership certificate; if it does not, ask for clarification and get written authorization. The agency's cut is limited to the brokerage service fee + +### 4. Before renting from a long-term apartment operator, check its regulated funds account — do not pay a year up front just for the discount + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one check takes ten-odd minutes +- In plain terms: the small discount for paying a year in advance will not cover the loss when the company collapses and your deposit and the remaining ten-odd months of rent vanish together. Tied to a rent loan it is even worse: the apartment operator disappears, and you are still on the hook to repay the loan month after month. Before signing, check whether it has publicly disclosed a regulated funds account. +- Benefit: administrative regulations require housing rental enterprises engaged in subleasing operations to "establish a housing rental funds supervision account and disclose it to the public". The small discount for paying a year up front does not offset the risk that a company collapse wipes out the deposit and remaining rent together, especially when a rent loan is signed at the same time +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2025). 住房租赁条例（国令第 812 号，2025 年 9 月 15 日施行）（第十九条）. +- Notes: when signing, read carefully whether a loan is bundled in: if an installment app disburses the money to the operator and you repay it monthly, you keep repaying even after the operator disappears. Do not sign such a contract + +### 5. If the home is sold mid-lease, the lease stays valid and you do not have to move + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: if the property is sold while your lease is still running, the lease remains in force — the new owner must honor the original contract and let you stay until it expires. No moving out, no renegotiating the rent. The condition is that you are already lawfully living there, so keep the contract, the transfer records, and proof of your move-in date. +- Benefit: the Civil Code's "sale does not break the lease" rule: a change of ownership of the leased property during the lease term does not affect the validity of the lease contract. The new owner must perform under the original contract until it expires +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第七百二十五条）. +- Notes: the premise is that you have lawfully taken possession and are using the home. That is why the contract, transfer records, and proof of the move-in date need to be kept + +### 6. Verify the ownership certificate and mortgage status before signing, and make every payment by bank transfer with a note stating its purpose + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one check takes half an hour +- In plain terms: the two most common ways to lose everything are paying rent to someone who is not the owner, and a home that was already mortgaged to the bank and later gets seized. Before signing, go to the real estate registration center once to check ownership and mortgage status; route all money through bank transfers with a note like "rent for [month], [address] property". If a dispute arises, that note is direct evidence. +- Benefit: paying rent to someone other than the owner, and a home already mortgaged to the bank that ends up seized, are the two most common ways to lose everything. A transfer note reading "rent for [month], [address] property" is direct evidence in a dispute +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；证据留存与转账备注同理见第 8 节关于彩礼和借条的两条 +- Notes: ownership information can be checked at the local real estate registration center, with the landlord present in person or providing a power of attorney. Subletting by a second landlord requires the original owner's written consent + +### 7. When an agency collects the purchase price for a second-hand home, the money must go through its dedicated bank escrow account for transaction funds + +- Cost: 0 yuan; insisting on the escrow account may take a few extra arguments with the agency +- In plain terms: a home purchase runs from several hundred thousand to several million yuan — the single largest amount in this book. When the agency collects the money, the rules require it to pass through a dedicated bank escrow account for transaction funds, not a WeChat transfer to an agent's personal account. Two other places commonly overcharge: two agencies working one deal may charge only one commission, and loan or title-transfer handling are separate services that need a separate contract with the fees stated in advance. +- Benefit: the rules state in writing: where the parties agree that a real estate brokerage firm will collect and forward transaction funds, the funds must be transferred through the special deposit account for client transaction settlement funds opened by the firm at a bank — the purchase price goes into a supervised escrow account, not the private account of the agency or some agent +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 住房城乡建设部、国家发展改革委、人力资源社会保障部 (2011). 房地产经纪管理办法（令第 8 号，2016 年第 29 号令修改）第二十四条：「房地产交易当事人约定由房地产经纪机构代收代付交易资金的，应当通过房地产经纪机构在银行开设的客户交易结算资金专用存款账户划转交易资金。」第十八条「房地产经纪服务实行明码标价制度……在经营场所醒目位置标明房地产经纪服务项目、服务内容、收费标准」；第十九条「两家或者两家以上房地产经纪机构合作开展同一宗房地产经纪业务的，只能按照一宗业务收取佣金，不得向委托人增加收费」；第十七条代办贷款、代办房地产登记等其他服务「应当向委托人说明服务内容、收费标准等情况，经委托人同意后，另行签订合同」. +- Notes: a home purchase runs from several hundred thousand to several million yuan — the single largest amount in this book — so never WeChat it to an agent. Two other common overcharges: two agencies jointly handling one deal may charge only one commission; loan and title-transfer handling are separate services requiring a separate contract with fees disclosed in advance. Route all payments by transfer with a note stating the purpose, see the previous item in this section. + +### 8. Do not rent a partitioned room: the smallest rentable unit is a room as originally designed, and kitchens, bathrooms, and balconies must not be lived in + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the price is that the same budget gets you somewhere farther out or smaller +- In plain terms: by the rules, the smallest rentable unit is a room as originally designed, and kitchens, bathrooms, balconies, and basement storage rooms cannot be lived in. When a partitioned unit gets shut down, it is the tenant who has to move, and the deposit and rent already paid are usually lost; separately, the landlord also cannot raise the rent arbitrarily and unilaterally during the lease. +- Benefit: the rules state in writing that the smallest rentable unit is a room as originally designed, that average floor area per tenant must not fall below the local minimum standard, that kitchens, bathrooms, balconies, and basement storage rooms must not be rented out for people to live in, and that during the lease term the lessor may not raise the rent unilaterally and arbitrarily +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 住房和城乡建设部 (2010). 商品房屋租赁管理办法（令第 6 号）第八条：「出租住房的，应当以原设计的房间为最小出租单位，人均租住建筑面积不得低于当地人民政府规定的最低标准。厨房、卫生间、阳台和地下储藏室不得出租供人员居住。」第九条：「出租人应当按照合同约定履行房屋的维修义务并确保房屋和室内设施安全……房屋租赁合同期内，出租人不得单方面随意提高租金水平。」 +- Notes: when illegal partitions are shut down, it is the tenant who moves, and the deposit and paid rent usually cannot be recovered. Safety is also worse: partition walls often block escape routes, and one crowded unit shares a single circuit. When viewing, check whether walls were built later, whether rooms have windows, and whether the electricity meter can handle that many people. From f9bec80ae3200f60d89426c93d8b067ffd9fa608 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:20:25 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 15/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch16:=20Living=20With=20Chronic=20Di?= =?UTF-8?q?sease=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identi?= =?UTF-8?q?cal?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/16-Living-With-Chronic-Disease.md | 67 +++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 67 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/16-Living-With-Chronic-Disease.md diff --git a/book/en/16-Living-With-Chronic-Disease.md b/book/en/16-Living-With-Chronic-Disease.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1f32046f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/16-Living-With-Chronic-Disease.md @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +[← Back to the main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 16. How to Live After a Chronic Disease Diagnosis + +Scope: all-cause mortality and money. The diagnosis is not the endpoint — how you manage the following decades is the real accounting. +### 1. Take your medication for the full prescribed course; do not stop just because you feel better + +- Cost: 0 yuan — it actually saves the money spent on complications +- In plain terms: people who take their medication as prescribed have roughly a little over half the probability of dying in the same period as people who take it on and off. Discount this number: people who diligently take a placebo also have lower mortality, which means a fair share of the benefit comes from "people willing to stick with medication were already more health-conscious." But the harm of stopping the drug itself is certain, especially for blood pressure medication, anticoagulants, and anti-rejection drugs. +- Benefit: meta-analysis of 21 studies with 46,847 people: compared with poor adherence, good adherence gave a death odds ratio of 0.56 (95% CI 0.50–0.63); good adherence to treatments with proven efficacy was 0.55 (0.49–0.62) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Simpson SH, Eurich DT, Majumdar SR, et al. (2006). A meta-analysis of the association between adherence to drug therapy and mortality. BMJ, 333(7557), 15. +- Notes: contested, and the single number in this book most in need of discounting: the same meta-analysis found that people who diligently take a placebo also have lower mortality (0.56, 0.43–0.74), meaning a substantial part of the benefit comes from the confounder that "people who can stick with medication already take better care of their health" — the authors call it the healthy-adherer effect. But the harm of stopping the drug itself is clear, especially for blood pressure medication, anticoagulants, and anti-rejection drugs + +### 2. Get outpatient chronic/special disease certification first, then cross-region registration — and five conditions (hypertension, diabetes, radiotherapy/chemotherapy, dialysis, anti-rejection) can then be settled directly out of region + +- Cost: 0 yuan; file the cross-region medical treatment registration in the medical insurance app in advance +- In plain terms: for five conditions — hypertension, diabetes, outpatient radiotherapy and chemotherapy for malignant tumors, dialysis for uremia, and anti-rejection treatment after organ transplant — outpatient visits in another region can be settled directly with medical insurance, without paying out of pocket first and then going back to your insurance-enrollment region for reimbursement. You must first get outpatient chronic/special disease certification in your enrollment region, then file the cross-region registration; only when both are done does it work. +- Benefit: the National Healthcare Security Administration's document states that it has "basically achieved county-level availability of cross-provincial direct settlement for outpatient chronic/special disease costs of 5 conditions: hypertension, diabetes, outpatient radiotherapy and chemotherapy for malignant tumors, dialysis for uremia, and post-transplant anti-rejection treatment," with 5 more conditions added on top of that +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家医保局办公室、财政部办公厅 (2024). 关于稳妥有序扩大跨省直接结算门诊慢特病病种范围的通知（医保办发〔2024〕19 号）. +- Notes: the prerequisite is to first complete outpatient chronic/special disease certification in your enrollment region and then the cross-region registration — both are required. For the 5 newly added conditions and the rollout progress in each locality, go by what local medical insurance authorities announce + +### 3. Do follow-up tests at the intervals your doctor gives, and record every result in the same notebook + +- Cost: a few dozen to a few hundred yuan per visit +- In plain terms: what matters in a chronic disease is a trend line, not any single reading. Keep the date, the values, and the drugs and doses you were on at the time in one place, and you won't have to redo the tests — and pay for them again — when you switch hospitals. +- Benefit: the value in chronic disease lies not in any single reading but in the trend. The same record also avoids duplicate tests and duplicate spending when changing hospitals +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: the record should include at least the date, the values, and the drugs and doses you were taking at the time. Photographing lab reports on your phone works too; the key is keeping everything in one place + +### 4. Do not stop formal treatment in order to try folk remedies or supplements + +- Cost: 0 yuan — it also saves the money spent on supplements +- In plain terms: the harm of stopping medication is certain, the benefit of folk remedies and supplements is not; that means trading a certain loss for an uncertain gain. If you want to try a supplement, tell your attending doctor first — some of them affect blood levels of anticoagulants and anti-rejection drugs. +- Benefit: the harm of stopping medication is certain, the benefit of folk remedies is not. Section 6 of this book lists a batch of commonly ineffective product categories +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；相关证据见第 6 节 +- Notes: if you want to try a supplement, tell your attending doctor; some interact with prescription drugs, for example by affecting blood concentrations of anticoagulants and anti-rejection drugs + +### 5. For a stable chronic condition, a community hospital can prescribe up to 12 weeks of medication at once + +- Cost: 0 yuan — first ask whether the community health center can issue long-term prescriptions +- In plain terms: if your condition is stable and the medication plan unchanged, a community health center can prescribe 12 weeks of medication at once, saving the half day each month spent traveling to a big hospital and queuing for registration. Within the same pooling region, the reimbursement rate for a hospital stay at a primary facility is usually about ten percentage points higher than at the hospital one level up. +- Benefit: eliminates the monthly trip to a large hospital to queue for prescriptions; within the same pooling region, the inpatient reimbursement rate at a primary facility is, in principle, about 10 percentage points higher than at the next level up +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2026). 关于加快建设分级诊疗体系的若干措施. ：「对于符合条件的慢性病患者，基层医疗卫生机构单次可开具不超过12周用药的长期处方。」；同文「原则上统筹地区内医疗卫生机构住院报销比例逐级拉开10个百分点左右的差距」，并要求上级医院在基层开设高血压、糖尿病、慢性阻塞性肺疾病等常见病慢性病门诊 +- Notes: "meeting the criteria" is the doctor's call — usually a clear diagnosis and a stable medication plan. The drug is the same drug; what you save is the monthly half day and the registration fee. If a primary facility lacks a drug, ask about its out-of-stock registration and delivery service. + +### 6. Before signing up with a family doctor at a community clinic, ask which services go through medical insurance and which you pay yourself + +- Cost: 0 yuan — one extra question +- In plain terms: the basic service package in the contract goes through medical insurance as required, while the personalized service package is paid entirely out of your own pocket. When someone pitches you an "upgrade package," first ask whether it is a basic or a personalized package, whether it has been filed with the authorities, and how much it costs a year. +- Benefit: the basic service package is covered by medical insurance payment as required; a personalized service package must be filed with the county-level health department and is paid by the individual +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2026). 关于加快建设分级诊疗体系的若干措施. ：「加强基层门诊付费与签约服务政策联动，基本服务包按规定纳入医保支付；个性化服务包由签约基层医疗卫生机构按程序向县级卫生健康部门备案，费用由个人支付。」 +- Notes: the value of signing up lies in having someone follow your condition over the long term, not in how many items are bundled. When pitched an "upgrade package," first ask whether it is basic or personalized, whether it has been filed, and the annual price. + +### 7. Get one fundus exam when diagnosed with diabetes, then repeat at the intervals your doctor sets; check your feet once a year + +- Cost: a few dozen to a few hundred yuan per dilated fundus exam; the foot exam is usually included in the outpatient visit +- In plain terms: diabetic retinopathy and diabetic foot give almost no warning before vision is gone or the foot starts to rot, and catching them early still leaves room to intervene. Get one dilated fundus exam at the time of a type 2 diabetes diagnosis; with type 1, start 5 years after onset. If one or two exams come back clean and blood sugar is at target, you can stretch to once every one or two years; feet are checked once a year. +- Benefit: diabetic retinopathy and diabetic foot are almost symptom-free before anything goes wrong; found early they can still be treated, but by the time you can't see or the foot is ulcerated it is too late +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 美国糖尿病学会 (2026). 糖尿病诊疗标准 2026·第 12 章 视网膜病变、神经病变与足部护理. Diabetes Care：「People with type 2 diabetes should have an initial dilated and comprehensive eye examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist at the time of the diabetes diagnosis.」「Adults with type 1 diabetes should have an initial dilated and comprehensive eye examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist 5 years after the onset of diabetes.」「If there is no evidence of retinopathy from one or more annual eye exams and glycemic indicators are within the goal range, then screening every 1–2 years may be considered.」「Perform a comprehensive foot evaluation at least annually to identify risk factors for ulcers and amputations.」 +- Notes: screen at the moment of type 2 diagnosis, but only from 5 years after onset for type 1 — because type 2 has often been running high silently for years. If one or two exams are clean and blood sugar is at target, once every 1 to 2 years is fine. Anyone with reduced sensation should look at the soles of their feet daily; a mirror works. From 143d80639ff33c67a3d1cd04ad43be19857fdd0e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:20:25 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 16/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch17:=20Elderly=20At=20Home=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/17-Elderly-At-Home.md | 67 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 67 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/17-Elderly-At-Home.md diff --git a/book/en/17-Elderly-At-Home.md b/book/en/17-Elderly-At-Home.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..9d05197f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/17-Elderly-At-Home.md @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 17. When There Are Elderly People at Home + +Scope: money and personal freedom. Most of the trouble comes not from a lack of money, but from not having spelled things out and signed the papers in advance. +### 1. Designate a future guardian in writing while the elderly person is still of sound mind + +- Cost: a few hundred yuan for notarization; one conversation +- In plain terms: while the elderly person is still clear-headed, spend a few hundred yuan to notarize a written document naming who will be their guardian in the future. Without this document, once the person can no longer make their own decisions, who signs for them and who manages their money has to be decided by a court appointment — and if the family disagrees, that drags on even longer. +- Benefit: The Civil Code provides that an adult with full civil capacity may, through prior consultation with close relatives or other individuals or organizations willing to serve as guardian, "designate their own guardian in writing," and that this guardian performs the duties when the person loses or partially loses civil capacity. Without this document, who signs and who manages the money in the future has to go through a court appointment. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第三十三条）. +- Notes: This is called yiding jianhu (意定监护 — voluntary guardianship by prior agreement), and it takes precedence over the statutory order of guardianship. It is all the more necessary for those living alone, with children in another city, or in families with complicated relationships. Notarization is recommended. + +### 2. Make a will, and remember that the later one overrides the earlier one — notarized wills no longer take priority + +- Cost: 0 yuan for a handwritten will; several hundred to over a thousand yuan for a notarized one +- In plain terms: the law recognizes six forms of will, but if the form is wrong the whole will is void — and that is the most common way people get tripped up. A self-written will must be handwritten in full by the testator, signed, and dated with year, month, and day. A printed will requires two or more witnesses, with the testator and witnesses signing and dating every page; heirs, legatees, and their close relatives cannot act as witnesses. If several conflicting wills exist, the last one prevails, and since 2021 a notarized will no longer takes priority automatically. +- Benefit: The Civil Code recognizes six forms of will — self-written, written on behalf, printed, audio-video, oral, and notarized — each with its own formal requirements. Where several wills with conflicting contents have been made, the last one prevails, and since 2021 a notarized will no longer has overriding effect. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千一百三十四条至第一千一百四十二条）. +- Notes: A self-written will must be handwritten in full by the testator and signed and dated with year, month, and day. A printed will requires two or more witnesses, and the testator and witnesses sign and date every page. Heirs, legatees, and their close relatives cannot serve as witnesses. If the form is wrong, the whole will is void — this is the most common pitfall. + +### 3. Keep the elderly person's money in a separate account, and set a rule that large expenditures require confirmation by two people + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: health-product, collectible, and investment scams aimed at the elderly all follow the same pattern — months of trust-building first, then a one-time cash grab. Agreeing in advance that "any spending above a certain amount gets mentioned to one named person first" effectively pushes the moment of paying out past the impulse window. Framing this as "keeping unified records of household money" goes down more easily than "we're afraid you'll be scammed." +- Benefit: Health-product, collectible, and investment scams aimed at the elderly all work by dragging out the process to build trust and then harvesting everything at once. Agreeing in advance that "any spending above a certain amount must first be discussed with a named person" pushes the decision past the impulse window. +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；防骗通则见第 8 节和第 13 节 +- Notes: Do not present this as "we're afraid you'll be scammed" — framing it as "unified bookkeeping for household money" is easier to accept. Do not put all of the elderly person's money into the children's hands either; that invites a different kind of dispute. + +### 4. Give the elderly person a ready-made excuse they can say out loud at any time + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: sales pitches and scams feed on in-the-moment pressure. Agreeing in advance on one phrase — "I need to go back and discuss this with my family" — gives the elderly person a graceful way out on the spot, which works better than reasoning with them after the fact. +- Benefit: Both sales pressure and scams rely on pressure applied in the moment. Agreeing in advance on one phrase — "I need to go back and discuss this with my family" — gives the elderly person a face-saving exit, which is more effective than reasoning after the fact. +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: Use this together with the previous item. At the same time, do the fall-prevention modifications at home — see Section 1. + +### 5. Avoid every "invest in retirement" scheme that asks the elderly person to pay first: membership cards, bed purchases, senior apartments, sojourn retirement, senior products — all the same illegal fundraising + +- Cost: 0 yuan; read the list of schemes below to the elderly person once, refuse outright when they come up, and do not attend lectures, do not go on site visits, do not leave a phone number +- In plain terms: every retirement scheme that asks the elderly person to pay money first and promises returns in exchange — VIP and membership cards, prepaid care-service fees, buying beds, buying shares in wellness and retirement bases, buying senior apartments, sojourn retirement, senior products sold through sales meetings — is the same playbook. Under the rules, the money cannot be recovered: losses from illegal fundraising are borne by the participants themselves. Look at the scale in official notices: one operator collected 136 million yuan under the pretext of pre-booking senior apartment beds, with more than 2,100 victims; another, flying the banner of investing in the retirement industry, took in 13.207 billion yuan involving more than 110,000 people. The only step that can be blocked is the moment of paying. +- Benefit: The five patterns listed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs — recognizing the scheme's name is more reliable than judging the person: in the name of elderly-care service institutions (no real facility, temporarily renting premises, or falsely claiming a cooperation agreement with a care institution to piggyback on its credibility); in the name of providing "care services" ("VIP cards," "membership cards," "prepaid cards," prepaying "care service fees," promising services obviously exceeding bed capacity); in the name of investing in "retirement projects" (buying shares in wellness and retirement bases, selling fictitious senior apartments, long-term leasing of care beds, "time bank" mutual-aid retirement, using sale-with-return-of-principal, sale-and-leaseback, and agreed buybacks as cover); in the name of selling "senior products" (product buybacks, consignment sales, consumption rebates, free medical checkups, free gifts, sales meetings, wellness lectures, free expert consultations); in the name of enjoying "sojourn retirement" (cheap or free travel, stored-value rebates, points-based retirement). That the money cannot be recovered is written into the rules: Article 25 of the Regulation on the Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising states that "losses suffered from participating in illegal fundraising shall be borne by the fundraising participants themselves." For scale, see officially announced cases: Dai Mouping and others illegally raised 136 million yuan under the pretext of pre-booking senior apartment beds, with more than 2,100 victims; Dai Mouping was sentenced to 15 years for fundraising fraud and fined 400,000 yuan; Cao Mouming committed fundraising fraud of 13.207 billion yuan under the name of investing in the retirement industry, involving more than 110,000 people, and was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal property; the health-product sales-meeting route is prosecuted as fraud — Ni Mourong used free banquets, gifts, and chauffeured transport to bring elderly people to lectures, where instructors fabricated anti-cancer and cancer-fighting effects through "fake personas, fake cases, inflated bargaining," inducing them to buy "dihydroquercetin" at dozens of times the cost price, with sales of more than 620,000 yuan; he was sentenced to 10 years and 3 months and fined 120,000 yuan (nationwide; the Regulation took effect May 1, 2021). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 民政部 (2023). 关于养老服务领域非法集资的风险提示. （中国政府网发布）；民政部、中国银保监会 (2021). 关于养老领域非法集资的风险提示. ；国务院 (2021). 防范和处置非法集资条例（国务院令第 737 号，第二、二十五、三十条）. ；最高人民检察院 (2022). 检察机关打击整治养老诈骗犯罪典型案例. ；最高人民法院 (2025). 依法惩治涉民生领域诈骗犯罪典型案例（案例五 倪某荣诈骗案）. +- Notes: The test is not "does this outfit look legitimate" but "does it ask you to pay first, does it promise returns" — the essence of a care institution is providing services, and any promise carrying investment or rebate properties disqualifies it. Being taken to lectures, trips, or free checkups is not itself illegal and is hard to block; what can be blocked is the step of paying out. Use this together with the two-person confirmation rule in Item 3. If money has already been paid, immediately call 110 or 96110 to request a payment freeze per Section 8, Item 2, and report to the local lead department for handling illegal fundraising. Reverse-mortgage retirement is a separate track — see the next item. + +### 6. Apart from the insurer's reverse-mortgage endowment insurance for housing, touch no other "house-for-pension" scheme, and never mortgage the house to buy wealth-management products + +- Cost: 0 yuan; never hand the property ownership certificate to anyone who comes to the door in the name of "house-for-pension," and before signing any mortgage, guarantee, or loan agreement, show it to the children first +- In plain terms: the only legitimate form of house-for-pension is the insurer's reverse-mortgage endowment insurance for housing, which is still in a pilot phase and fairly niche. The "house-for-pension" sold door to door has nothing at all to do with the national pilot: the elderly person is tricked into mortgaging the house, and the borrowed money is used to buy the recommended wealth-management product — in essence, new money paying off old money. The regulator's own words: some people did not even know their property had been mortgaged, and in the end lost the house while still carrying the loan. Be suspicious of any wealth-management product promising returns above 6%, anything above 8% is dangerous, and above 10% be prepared to lose the entire principal. +- Benefit: The Consumer Protection Bureau of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission spelled out the distinction between the genuine and the fake: there is only one legitimate form of house-for-pension, namely "reverse-mortgage endowment insurance for elderly people's housing," in which an elderly person with full legal ownership of the home mortgages the property to an insurance company while retaining possession, use, and income from it plus the right of disposal with the mortgagee's consent, and draws a pension under the agreed terms until death; it remains in a pilot stage and fairly niche. The "house-for-pension" promoted by criminals is "completely unrelated" to the nationally piloted reverse-mortgage endowment insurance; it is "a means of exploiting national policy to build momentum for illegal fundraising activities." The mechanics are to trick elderly people into mortgaging their property and then use the borrowed money to buy the recommended wealth-management products — "often a 'new money for old money' Ponzi scheme." On the consequences, the original text states: "some participants did not even know their property had been mortgaged, and in the end lost their homes while still carrying the loans." The return-rate thresholds it gives: "if a wealth-management product promises returns above 6%, be suspicious; above 8% it is very dangerous; above 10% be prepared to lose the entire principal — 'guaranteed principal with high returns' is financial fraud." The same advisory also urges "caution at the contract-signing stage: never sign a blank contract" (nationwide, June 2021). +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 中国银保监会消费者权益保护局 (2021). 关于警惕「投资养老」「以房养老」金融诈骗的风险提示（2021 年第三期）. （湖南省地方金融监督管理局转载）；民政部、中国银保监会 (2021). 关于养老领域非法集资的风险提示（第四种表现形式：以宣称「以房养老」为名非法集资）. +- Notes: The reason for grade B is that this is a regulator's risk-advisory framing and rules of thumb, not research data; the 6%, 8%, and 10% thresholds are the regulator's consumer guidance, not a statutory standard. The Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has since been merged into the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and the original publication page is unreachable; the citation is a repost by a provincial financial regulatory bureau. The crux of this item is not "the wealth-management product lost money" — it is that once the house is mortgaged, the elderly person still owes the loan, a loss far greater than the principal. For the general rules on signing and blank contracts, see Section 8, Item 15; for payment freezes after being scammed, see Section 8, Item 2. + +### 7. If an elderly person at home is bedridden long-term or severely disabled, apply for long-term care insurance at the medical-insurance department of the insured place + +- Cost: one application plus one disability-level assessment; if the first assessment is passed, the assessment fee is paid by the fund +- In plain terms: if the elderly person is severely disabled and this state has lasted more than half a year, go to the medical-insurance department of the insured place and apply for long-term care insurance: qualifying care costs have no deductible — those insured under the employee policy are reimbursed about 70%, those insured under the urban and rural resident policy about 50%, and the annual cap is at most half of the local residents' per-capita disposable income of the previous year. If the first assessment is passed, the assessment fee is covered by the fund; bed fees, meal fees, and the like are not in the reimbursement scope. +- Benefit: Qualifying long-term care service costs have no deductible; for those insured under the employee policy the fund pays about 70%, and for those insured under the non-employed urban and rural resident policy about 50%; the annual payment cap does not exceed 50% of the pooled region's per-capita disposable income of urban and rural residents for the previous year. +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家医保局等八部门 (2026). 关于印发《加快建立长期护理保险制度实施方案》的通知. ：保障对象为「按规定参保缴费且失能状态长期持续（一般为6个月以上），经申请通过评估认定的失能人员」，「制度起步阶段保障重度失能人员」；「待遇享受不设起付标准。符合规定的长期护理服务费用，按未就业城乡居民参保政策参保的，基金支付比例为50%左右；按单位职工参保政策参保的，基金支付比例为70%左右，退休人员享受单位职工参保待遇」；「参保人员基金年度最高支付限额不超过统筹地区上年度城乡居民人均可支配收入的50%」；「待遇享受固定等待期原则上按照6个月设置」；另见中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅《关于加快建立长期护理保险制度的意见》. +- Notes: The disability must be "long-lasting (generally more than 6 months)" — a few weeks in hospital does not qualify. Non-care costs such as bed fees and meal fees, and medical expenses that fall to medical insurance, are not paid by long-term care insurance; those already receiving work-injury living-care benefits do not receive both. Home-based and community care get preferential payment rates, so entering an institution is not necessarily required. The program has rolled out in stages across localities — first call the medical-insurance handling agency of the insured place to ask whether it has started locally and how to book an assessment. From a48b0fcf26f324d41727b6744ba680dbf3124ab1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:25:06 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 17/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch18:=20Is=20Having=20Kids=20Worth?= =?UTF-8?q?=20It=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identi?= =?UTF-8?q?cal?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/18-Is-Having-Kids-Worth-It.md | 58 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 58 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/18-Is-Having-Kids-Worth-It.md diff --git a/book/en/18-Is-Having-Kids-Worth-It.md b/book/en/18-Is-Having-Kids-Worth-It.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..a73f0850d --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/18-Is-Having-Kids-Worth-It.md @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +[← Back to main contents](../README.md) + +# 18. Does Raising a Child Pay Off + +Scope: money and time. As in Section 10, this chapter only breaks down the accounts and draws no conclusion. If you are already pregnant and need to follow the official procedures, see Section 27. +### 1. Count the benefits you can claim first: the national childcare subsidy is 3600 yuan per child per year, paid until age 3 + +- Cost: 0 yuan; apply in the child's place of household registration +- In plain terms: for a child born on or after January 1, 2025 who is under 3 years old, one parent applies where the child's hukou is registered, and each child brings in 3600 yuan a year, 10800 yuan over three years. This money is not subject to personal income tax, and it does not count as family income when your eligibility for dibao (低保 — means-tested subsistence allowance) and similar assistance is assessed. +- Benefit: under the plan issued by the General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, infants and toddlers born on or after January 1, 2025 who are under 3 years old receive "3600 yuan per child per year", claimed by one of the child's parents or another guardian; the subsidy is "exempt from personal income tax" and "not counted as household or individual income" when eligibility for dibao and similar assistance is assessed +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅 (2025). 育儿补贴制度实施方案. +- Notes: this is the nationwide uniform minimum; some provinces and cities have additional local subsidies that can be stacked on top. The 10800-yuan three-year total is a small slice of child-rearing costs, not a basis for decisions + +### 2. Maternity leave is 98 days, with the maternity allowance paid by the maternity insurance fund at the employer's average monthly wage of the previous year + +- Cost: 0 yuan; filed by the employer +- In plain terms: you get at least 98 days of maternity leave for a birth, with 15 days available before delivery, plus 15 more days each for a difficult delivery and for every additional baby in a multiple birth. The pay during this time is called the maternity allowance, paid by the maternity insurance fund at the employer's average monthly employee wage for the previous year; if the employer never enrolled you in the insurance, the employer pays it at your pre-leave wage. With the extra incentive leave each province adds, the total is usually 158 days or more. +- Benefit: under the State Council's regulations: "Female employees are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave, of which 15 days may be taken before the birth; for a difficult delivery, maternity leave is extended by 15 days; for a multiple birth, maternity leave is extended by 15 days for each additional infant." The maternity allowance during leave, for those enrolled in maternity insurance, "is paid by the maternity insurance fund at the standard of the employer's average monthly employee wage for the previous year"; those not enrolled are paid by the employer at the pre-leave wage standard +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2012). 女职工劳动保护特别规定（国令第 619 号，第七条、第八条）. +- Notes: 98 days is the national minimum; provincial population and family planning regulations generally add 60 days or more of incentive leave on top, for a total that usually starts at 158 days. Which party pays wages during the incentive leave differs by province + +### 3. Know this rule: no wage cuts or dismissal because of pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: it is illegal for an employer to cut your pay or dismiss you while you are pregnant, on maternity leave, or breastfeeding, and employers caught doing it face a fine of 1000 to 5000 yuan per person. If your baby is under one year old, you get 1 hour a day for breastfeeding, and the employer cannot make you work overtime or night shifts. Keep the written notice of any reassignment or pay cut and your chat records; how to claim compensation is covered in Section 19. +- Benefit: under the State Council's regulations: "An employer may not, because a female employee is pregnant, has given birth, or is breastfeeding, reduce her wages, dismiss her, or terminate her labor or employment contract." Those breastfeeding an infant under 1 year old are entitled to 1 hour of breastfeeding time per day and may not be assigned extended working hours or night shifts; violations carry a fine of 1000 yuan or more but not more than 5000 yuan per person +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2012). 女职工劳动保护特别规定（国令第 619 号，第五条、第九条、第十三条）. +- Notes: if you are actually dismissed unlawfully, how to claim compensation is covered in Section 19. The key evidence is the written notice of reassignment or pay cut and chat records + +### 4. Run the time account by whose time gets used up, not by how exhausting it feels + +- Cost: essentially all day, every day before age 3 +- In plain terms: take the daily hours of child care and the number of night wake-ups as time, multiply by the hourly rate of whoever carries these tasks, and the resulting figure is usually far larger than what you spend on formula and diapers. Before age 3 it is essentially all day, every day, so it is worth settling the division of labor against the same table before the child is born, rather than arguing after the fact. +- Benefit: convert daily care time and the number of nighttime interruptions into hours, then multiply by the carrier's hourly rate, and the resulting figure usually far exceeds formula and diaper costs. The unpaid-labor framework from Section 10 applies here as well; agree on the division of labor before deciding +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；口径见第 10 节 +- Notes: the point is not to compute an exact number but to get both partners to negotiate the division of labor against the same table before the birth, instead of arguing after it + +### 5. Split the money account into three stages: 0 to 3, compulsory education, and after compulsory education + +- Cost: varies enormously by city and by choices +- In plain terms: the money from 0 to 3 goes mainly to how the child is cared for (yourself, grandparents, or a hired caregiver); during compulsory education it goes mainly to housing and extracurriculars; after that it goes mainly to the education pathway. The three stages are spent completely differently, and lumping them together only produces one scary total. First count the money that definitely comes in — the childcare subsidy, the maternity allowance, medical insurance reimbursements — then look at how big the gap is. +- Benefit: the biggest cost from 0 to 3 is the care arrangement (yourself, grandparents, or a hired caregiver); during compulsory education it is housing and extracurricular spending; afterwards it is the education pathway. The cost structure of the three stages is entirely different; lumping them together yields nothing but one scary total +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: first count the inflows you can be sure of — subsidies, maternity allowance, medical insurance reimbursements — then compute the gap. Do not base decisions on the "raising a child costs X tens of thousands" figures circulating online; their methodology is unclear + +### 6. Having a child for your parents, for the marriage, or for old age — keep a separate account for each + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one serious conversation +- In plain terms: other people wanting you to have a child can be one factor you weigh, but the time and the money are booked on your own account. "Raise children as old-age insurance" (养儿防老) has to be accounted for separately, because it bets on another person's financial capacity and willingness twenty years from now. Write down the consequences of not having a child as well and compare the two columns; a ledger with only one side is not accounting. +- Benefit: same logic as in Section 10: other people's expectations can be one of your considerations, but the costs are booked on your own account. "Raise children as old-age insurance" (养儿防老) especially must be accounted for separately, because it assumes another person's financial capacity and willingness twenty years from now +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；同类分析见第 10 节 +- Notes: write down the consequences of not having a child as well and compare the two sides. A ledger with only one side is not accounting From 61e16358629d08a847dc0abc5671c70c5a9cca64 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:25:06 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 18/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch19:=20Employment=20And=20Work=20In?= =?UTF-8?q?jury=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identic?= =?UTF-8?q?al?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/19-Employment-And-Work-Injury.md | 148 +++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 148 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/19-Employment-And-Work-Injury.md diff --git a/book/en/19-Employment-And-Work-Injury.md b/book/en/19-Employment-And-Work-Injury.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..a36929731 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/19-Employment-And-Work-Injury.md @@ -0,0 +1,148 @@ +[← Back to master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 19. Employment, Leaving the Job, and Work Injuries + +Scope: money. This section covers only how money is calculated, what to sign, and how deadlines are counted. The first three items are about what you should receive while still employed, the middle six are about leaving the job, and the last seven are about occupational disease and work injuries — work injury money runs an order of magnitude larger than layoff severance and comes with harder deadlines, while the damage from occupational disease cannot be bought back at all. +### 1. Overtime pay comes in three tiers — 1.5x, 2x, 3x; if it is not paid, complain to labor inspection, and late payment adds another 50% to 100% + +- Cost: 0 yuan; routinely keep your own copy of clock-in records, shift schedules, overtime approval forms, and task assignment messages in work group chats +- In plain terms: weekday overtime is paid at 1.5x your wage, weekend overtime with no compensatory time off arranged is paid at 2x, and working on statutory holidays like New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Labor Day, and National Day is paid at 3x — and you cannot be fobbed off with comp time instead. Overtime is generally capped at 1 hour per day, at most 3 hours for special reasons, and no more than 36 hours per month. If the money is not paid, go to labor inspection; if the employer still fails to pay after being ordered to pay within a set deadline, it must pay an additional amount equal to half to the full amount owed. +- Benefit: statutory working hours are no more than 8 hours per day and no more than 44 hours per week on average; extended working hours generally may not exceed 1 hour per day, and where extended for special reasons, no more than 3 hours per day and no more than 36 hours per month. Three tiers of overtime pay: where extended working hours are arranged, pay of no less than 150% of the wage; where work is arranged on a rest day and no compensatory time off can be arranged, no less than 200%; where work is arranged on a statutory holiday, no less than 300% — for the statutory holiday tier, the statute contains no option of substituting compensatory time off. Where an employer arranges overtime but does not pay overtime wages, the labor administrative department orders payment within a time limit; if payment is overdue, it orders the employer to pay the worker additional compensation at 50% to 100% of the amount owed (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2018). 劳动法（2018 年第二次修正，第三十六、四十一、四十三、四十四条）. （国家市场监督管理总局刊登）；全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动合同法（第八十五条第三项）. +- Notes: rest days and statutory holidays are not the same thing: statutory holidays are only the few statutorily designated days each year such as New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Labor Day, and National Day; adjacent days strung together through make-up workdays count as rest days at 200%. "Company rules require overtime approval" and "I stayed voluntarily" do not categorically exempt the employer from paying, but they do affect the burden of proof, so keep records of task assignments and approvals. Comprehensive working hours systems and flexible working hours systems may only be implemented with approval from the labor administrative department — it is not something the company decides on its own. For the limitation period for arbitration of disputes, see item 17 in section 8. + +### 2. Annual leave is 5, 10, or 15 days based on cumulative years of service; untaken days are converted to money at 300% of daily wages + +- Cost: 0 yuan; sort out your total years of service across all employers — your social insurance contribution records are the proof +- In plain terms: add up your years of service across all employers. Between 1 and 10 years total gets 5 days of annual leave per year, 10 years gets 10 days, 20 years gets 15 days, and switching jobs does not reset the count. If the employer cannot arrange the leave and you agree to skip it, those days are paid at 3x your daily wage — subtracting the wage you get anyway, that is 2x extra in your pocket. Daily wage is monthly wage divided by 21.75. Once you sign a "voluntary waiver of annual leave" form, all you are left with is normal pay. +- Benefit: annual leave entitlement begins after 12 consecutive months of work; the number of days is set by **cumulative** working years — 5 days for 1 to under 10 years, 10 days for 10 to under 20 years, 15 days for 20 years or more — and statutory holidays and rest days do not count toward annual leave. Where the employer genuinely cannot arrange leave due to work needs and the employee agrees not to take it, the employer "pays annual leave wages at 300% of the employee's daily wage" for each untaken day; that 300% includes the share for normal working time, so the actual extra payment is 200%. Daily wage = the employee's monthly wage ÷ 21.75, with monthly wage calculated as the average monthly wage over the 12 months before payment, excluding overtime pay. New hires in the current year get a pro-rata share based on remaining calendar days at the employer; when leaving the job, the leave is pro-rated for time worked that year and paid out, and days already taken in excess are not clawed back. Where an employer neither arranges leave nor pays, it is ordered to correct within a time limit; if it fails to correct, it must additionally pay compensation equal to the amount of the untaken annual leave wages (nationwide, effective January 1, 2008) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2007). 职工带薪年休假条例（国务院令第 514 号，第二、三、四、五、七条）. ；人力资源和社会保障部 (2008). 企业职工带薪年休假实施办法（人社部令第 1 号，第三、四、五、十、十一、十二、十五条）. +- Notes: cumulative working time accumulates across employers — it is not "how long you have been at this one" — so if you have changed jobs, do not calculate based on tenure at your current employer. **Only where the employee "for personal reasons and in writing requests not to take the leave" may the employer pay normal wages only** — so do not sign the "voluntary waiver of annual leave" form. You do not get annual leave for a year in which you took personal leave totaling more than 20 days with no wage deduction, or sick leave exceeding the corresponding number of months (2 months for under 10 years of service, 3 months for 10 to 20 years, 4 months for over 20 years). Home leave, marriage and bereavement leave, maternity leave, and the work-injury suspension-with-pay period do not count toward annual leave. + +### 3. Probation periods have statutory caps, pay must be at least 80%, and they can be agreed only once + +- Cost: 0 yuan; before signing, check the contract term against the length of the probation period +- In plain terms: for a contract of 1 year or less, probation is capped at 1 month; 1 to 3 years, capped at 2 months; over 3 years, capped at 6 months. The same company can put you on probation only once — doing it again after you are confirmed on staff, say after a transfer, is illegal. Probation pay may not be below the lowest tier for the same position or 80% of the contractually agreed wage, nor below the local minimum wage. For any stretch beyond the legal limit, the employer must additionally pay compensation based on your post-probation monthly wage. +- Benefit: for contracts of 3 months to under 1 year, the probation period may not exceed 1 month; for 1 to under 3 years, 2 months; for fixed-term contracts of 3 years or more and open-ended contracts, 6 months; contracts tied to completion of a specific task or shorter than 3 months may not include a probation period at all; "the same employer and the same worker may agree on a probation period only once"; where only a probation period is agreed, it is invalid and that period is treated as the labor contract term. Probation wages "may not be lower than 80% of the lowest wage for the same position at the employer or of the wage agreed in the labor contract, and may not be lower than the minimum wage standard where the employer is located." Where an illegally agreed probation period has already been performed, the employer must pay compensation for the portion performed beyond the statutory limit, calculated at the employee's post-probation monthly wage. To terminate during probation, the employer may only rely on the statutory grounds and must state the reasons to the worker (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007). 劳动合同法（第十九、二十、二十一、八十三条）. +- Notes: the three most common violations: a 1-year contract with a 3-month probation period; a second probation period after confirmation, for instance on a role change; and "no social insurance during probation" — the social insurance obligation runs from the first day of employment and has nothing to do with probation; for the employer-side obligations, see item 12 in section 12. Being dismissed during probation does not mean you get nothing — check whether the employer is actually invoking a statutory ground; for unlawful termination, calculate 2N per item 6. + +### 4. When laid off, first calculate N: one month's wage per full year of service, half a month for under six months + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one calculation takes ten minutes +- In plain terms: layoff severance is one month's wage for each full year worked, a period of six months to under a year counts as a full year, and under six months gets half a month. The monthly wage here is the average over the 12 months before you leave, with bonuses, allowances, and subsidies all included — this is the item companies most often lowball. If your wage is more than 3x the local average monthly wage of the previous year, the rate is capped at 3x, and the years counted are capped at 12. +- Benefit: the severance standard under the labor contract law: "for each full year, one month's wage is paid... for six months or more but less than a year, it is counted as one year; for less than six months, the worker is paid half a month's wage"; where the monthly wage is more than three times the local average monthly wage of employees in the previous year, it is calculated at three times that amount, and the years counted may not exceed twelve +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007). 中华人民共和国劳动合同法（2008 年 1 月 1 日施行）（第四十七条）. +- Notes: monthly wage means the average wage over the twelve months before the labor contract is terminated, including bonuses, allowances, and subsidies — not base pay alone. This is the easiest figure for a company to lowball + +### 5. If the company fails to give 30 days' notice, it owes an extra month's wage + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: if the company lets you go without 30 days' written notice, it must pay one extra month's wage on top of N — this is what people commonly call N+1. When negotiating, list this month separately; do not let the company fold it into N. +- Benefit: the labor contract law provides that where the employer terminates the labor contract under that provision, it must "give the worker thirty days' written notice, or pay one additional month's wage, and may then terminate the labor contract." This extra month is commonly known as payment in lieu of notice — money on top of N +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007). 中华人民共和国劳动合同法（2008 年 1 月 1 日施行）（第四十条）. +- Notes: so the common outcome of a lawful layoff is N+1. When negotiating, keep N and the 1 as separate line items; do not let the company count payment in lieu of notice inside N + +### 6. For unlawful termination, damages are twice the severance standard + +- Cost: 0 yuan; arbitration takes several months +- In plain terms: where the company's termination is unlawful, damages are double the severance standard — what people commonly call 2N. Whether a termination is actually unlawful depends on the specifics, so consult legal aid or a lawyer first, then decide whether to negotiate or go to arbitration. +- Benefit: the labor contract law provides that where an employer terminates or ends a labor contract in violation of the law, it "must pay the worker damages at twice the severance standard set out in Article 47 of this law" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007). 中华人民共和国劳动合同法（2008 年 1 月 1 日施行）（第八十七条）. +- Notes: this is what is commonly called 2N. What counts as unlawful termination depends on the specifics; consult legal aid or a lawyer before deciding whether to negotiate or arbitrate — see section 7 for the route + +### 7. Do not sign a "resignation for personal reasons" — once signed, your N is gone + +- Cost: 0 yuan; withstand the pressure to sign on the spot +- In plain terms: signing a statement that you "resigned voluntarily for personal reasons" usually wipes out both the severance and the unemployment insurance benefits — a departure you initiated is simply not among the situations that trigger compensation (except where the company is at fault, such as owing wages or failing to pay social insurance). When the company says "sign first so we can process it, the compensation will come separately," demand that the promise be written into the agreement on the spot; if it is not written down, do not sign. Refusing to sign that day has no legal consequence whatsoever. +- Benefit: the labor contract law confines the situations requiring severance to a fixed statutory list; a termination initiated by the worker (unless it is because of statutory fault by the company such as unpaid wages or unpaid social insurance) is not among them. Sign a "voluntary resignation" and you usually lose both the severance and the unemployment insurance benefits +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2007). 中华人民共和国劳动合同法（2008 年 1 月 1 日施行）（第三十八条、第四十六条）. +- Notes: the standard company line is "sign first so we can process it, the compensation will come separately." Demand it be written into the agreement on the spot, or do not sign. Refusing to sign that day carries no legal consequence — take a night to think it over + +### 8. Before leaving, save your payslips, attendance records, labor contract, social insurance records, and chat logs + +- Cost: 0 yuan; half an hour +- In plain terms: once you hand back the computer and the accounts, payslips, attendance records, the contract, social insurance records, and chat logs are gone for good. At arbitration, the wage standard and the facts of overtime still have to be proven with materials you hold yourself. What you are saving is your own employment records — do not walk off with the company's source code or client lists; that is a different matter. +- Benefit: once the computer and accounts are handed back, these materials can no longer be obtained. Arbitration does tilt the burden of proof, but the wage standard and the facts of overtime still depend on your own evidence +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；维权路径见第 7 节 +- Notes: what you save is your own employment-relationship material; do not casually take the company's source code, client lists, or technical documentation — that is a different matter, see section 11 + +### 9. Right after leaving, do two things: register as unemployed to claim unemployment insurance benefits, and review your non-compete agreement + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: immediately after leaving, do two things: register as unemployed and claim unemployment insurance benefits, and read your non-compete agreement carefully. Both have time windows — miss them and you forfeit them. Unemployment insurance benefits are payable only if your employment ended through no volition of your own, which is one more reason not to sign a "voluntary resignation" per the previous item. +- Benefit: how to apply for unemployment insurance benefits and employment subsidies is covered in section 7; the compensation standard for non-compete restrictions and the conditions for release are covered in section 11. Both matters have time windows — drag your feet and they lapse +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；具体依据见第 7 节和第 11 节 +- Notes: unemployment insurance benefits are payable only when employment ends through no volition of your own, which is one more reason not to sign a "voluntary resignation" per the item above + +### 10. Before taking a job with dust, noise, or chemicals, check whether the hazards are stated in the contract; three occupational health examinations are arranged and paid for by the employer + +- Cost: 0 yuan; when signing the contract, read the "occupational disease hazard notification" section line by line, and get a copy of every examination report to keep yourself +- In plain terms: when signing the contract, the employer must truthfully state in the contract what occupational disease hazards the position involves, how to protect against them, and what benefits attach — no concealment, no deception. If they concealed it, you are entitled to refuse the work and the employer cannot dismiss you for that. The three occupational health examinations — before starting, during employment, and on departure — are arranged and paid for by the employer, and the results must be given to you in writing. If no departure examination was done, the employer cannot terminate or end your contract. When leaving, you can obtain a copy of your occupational health surveillance file free of charge — this is the key document for a future occupational disease diagnosis. +- Benefit: the occupational disease prevention law: when concluding a labor contract, the employer must "truthfully inform the worker of the occupational disease hazards that may arise in the course of work and their consequences, the protective measures, and the benefits, state them in the labor contract, and may not conceal or deceive"; where during the term of an existing contract the worker is transferred to hazardous work never disclosed in the contract, the employer must again truthfully inform the worker and negotiate changes to the terms; if the employer violates this, "the worker has the right to refuse to perform work involving occupational disease hazards, and the employer may not terminate the labor contract with the worker on that ground." There are three examinations — before taking the post, during employment, and on departure; "the cost of occupational health examinations is borne by the employer," and the results must be communicated to the worker in writing. The employer may not assign anyone who has not had a pre-placement occupational health examination to work involving occupational disease hazards, may not assign persons with occupational contraindications to contraindicated work, and where health damage related to the occupation is found, must transfer the worker out of the original post and arrange proper placement; **"a worker who has not undergone a pre-departure occupational health examination may not have their labor contract terminated or ended"**. When leaving, you "have the right to obtain a copy of your own occupational health surveillance file; the employer must provide it truthfully and free of charge, and must sign and seal the copy provided" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2018). 职业病防治法（2018 年修正，第三十三、三十五、三十六条）. （北京市人民政府转载） +- Notes: three questions at the interview will tell you roughly how legitimate the employer is: does this position involve occupational disease hazards, will it be written into the contract, and who pays for the pre-placement examination. If they cannot answer, or say "just start working and we'll see," weigh the risk yourself. The departure examination clause is the most easily overlooked protection: without it, the employer cannot terminate or end your labor contract, and that examination is the key document for a future occupational disease diagnosis — the same goes for the file copy, so be sure to get it before you leave. Occupational disease itself is handled as a work injury; for the benefits, see item 12 onward. + +### 11. Damage from dust, noise, and chemical toxins is irreversible: the employer must provide protective equipment, and you may refuse unprotected work + +- Cost: 0 yuan; insist on wearing a particulate respirator, earplugs, and goggles, and refuse unprotected work — the price may be coworkers calling you fussy +- In plain terms: pneumoconiosis, noise-induced hearing loss, and chemical eye burns are all in the statutory occupational disease catalog, and once lungs or hearing are damaged there is no treatment that restores them. You have the right to know what hazards your position involves, to demand that the employer provide protective facilities and personal protective equipment, and to refuse unlawful directives and work without protective measures. If the employer cuts your pay or dismisses you for exercising these rights, those actions are void. For dust, use a particulate respirator — gauze masks and disposable surgical masks do not block it; if the employer does not issue earplugs on a noisy job, buy your own, a few yuan a pair. +- Benefit: as of August 1, 2025 the statutory occupational disease catalog comprises 12 major categories and 135 diseases (including 4 open-ended clauses); first among the categories is occupational pneumoconiosis: silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, graphite pneumoconiosis, carbon black pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, talc pneumoconiosis, cement pneumoconiosis, mica pneumoconiosis, ceramic workers' pneumoconiosis, aluminum pneumoconiosis, welders' pneumoconiosis, and foundry workers' pneumoconiosis, plus one open clause; occupational ear-nose-throat and oral diseases include noise-induced hearing loss and blast-induced hearing loss; occupational eye diseases include chemical burns of the eye and photoelectric ophthalmia. All of these injuries are irreversible — there is no treatment that restores lungs or hearing. The law gives you four rights you can cite on the spot: to know the occupational disease hazard factors present or possible in the workplace, their harmful consequences, and the protective measures that should be taken; to require the employer to provide protective facilities and personal protective equipment meeting occupational disease prevention requirements and to improve working conditions; to criticize, report, and bring complaints about violations of occupational disease prevention laws and regulations and acts endangering life and health; and "to refuse unlawful directives and forced performance of work without occupational disease protective measures." Moreover, "any reduction of a worker's wages, benefits, or other entitlements, or termination or ending of the labor contract, because the worker lawfully exercises legitimate rights, is void" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家卫生健康委、人力资源社会保障部、国家疾控局、全国总工会 (2024). 职业病分类和目录（2025 年 8 月 1 日起实施）. ；新版目录 12 大类 135 种的口径见国家卫生健康委 (2024). 新版目录将职业病调整为 12 大类 135 种. ；全国人大常委会 (2018). 职业病防治法（第三十九条）. （北京市人民政府转载） +- Notes: pick the mask correctly — only a particulate respirator blocks dust; ordinary gauze masks and disposable surgical masks do not. On noisy jobs, if the employer issues no earplugs, buy your own, a few yuan a pair; lost hearing does not come back. "Two years, save up, and leave" does not work with pneumoconiosis: silicosis can manifest and keep progressing years after exposure to dust has ended, which makes the departure examination all the more important (see item 10). The new catalog also adds occupational musculoskeletal diseases (carpal tunnel syndrome, limited to manufacturing workers performing prolonged repetitive wrist work or forceful wrist work) and occupational mental and behavioral disorders (post-traumatic stress disorder, limited to police officers, medical personnel, fire and rescue personnel, and other emergency responders involved in handling sudden incidents). For on-the-spot handling of chemical splashes, see item 20 in section 13. + +### 12. If you are hurt at work or hit on the commute, the first thing to do is get a work injury determination — if the employer will not file, file yourself + +- Cost: bring three documents and make one trip to the social insurance administrative department: the work injury determination application form, proof of the employment relationship, and the medical diagnosis certificate +- In plain terms: being hurt on the job, or being hit on the way to or from work with the main fault not yours, both count as work injuries. But without a work injury determination, the medical costs, the suspension-with-pay period wages, and the disability benefit all evaporate. The employer is supposed to file within 30 days; for any overrun, the employer pays the work injury benefits for that stretch out of its own pocket. If the employer will not file, you, your family, or the trade union can file yourself with the social insurance administrative department within one year — miss that year and there is no applying at all. If the employer says it is not a work injury, the burden of proof is on the employer. +- Benefit: without the determination, the medical costs, the suspension-with-pay wages, and the disability benefit are all lost; if the employer fails to file within 30 days, the work injury benefit costs for that period are borne by the employer itself +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2010 修订). 工伤保险条例（国务院令第 586 号）第十四条列了七种「应当认定为工伤」，含「（六）在上下班途中，受到非本人主要责任的交通事故或者城市轨道交通、客运轮渡、火车事故伤害的」；第十七条「所在单位应当自事故伤害发生之日或者被诊断、鉴定为职业病之日起30日内，向统筹地区社会保险行政部门提出工伤认定申请」「用人单位未按前款规定提出工伤认定申请的，工伤职工或者其近亲属、工会组织在事故伤害发生之日或者被诊断、鉴定为职业病之日起1年内，可以直接向用人单位所在地统筹地区社会保险行政部门提出工伤认定申请」「用人单位未在本条第一款规定的时限内提交工伤认定申请，在此期间发生符合本条例规定的工伤待遇等有关费用由该用人单位负担」；第十九条「职工或者其近亲属认为是工伤，用人单位不认为是工伤的，由用人单位承担举证责任」；第二十条「自受理工伤认定申请之日起60日内作出工伤认定的决定」. +- Notes: one year is a hard deadline; past it, no application. The burden of proof lies with the employer, not you, but keep evidence of your own: photos from the day of the incident, coworkers' contact details, medical visit records, attendance records. Article 16 lists three situations that are not recognized — intentional crime, drunkenness or drug use, self-harm or suicide. Article 15 separately provides for "deemed work injuries": death from a sudden illness during working hours at the workplace, or death within 48 hours despite emergency treatment. + +### 13. Do not believe "hold on until you reach your desk and it counts as a work injury": for a sudden illness, call 120 first, do not rush to clock in + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: pushing through a sudden illness to get to the office earns you no extra money. Deemed work injury status requires that the illness strike during working hours and at the workplace; falling ill on the way and never reaching your post does not count in the first place, and if emergency treatment stretches past 48 hours, it stops counting too. The tens of minutes sacrificed to satisfy those conditions are traded against your own chance of survival. +- Benefit: the clause requires death from a sudden illness "during working hours and at the workplace," or death within 48 hours despite emergency treatment; delaying medical care to make the conditions fit means trading survival odds for a payout that is not even certain +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 工伤保险条例第十五条第一款第（一）项：「在工作时间和工作岗位，突发疾病死亡或者在48小时之内经抢救无效死亡的」视同工伤；第十四条第（六）项只把上下班途中「受到非本人主要责任的交通事故或者城市轨道交通、客运轮渡、火车事故伤害的」列为工伤，途中突发疾病不在其中. +- Notes: two conditions must both hold: during working hours, and at the workplace. It does not apply to someone stricken on the way who never reaches the post; where someone falls ill on the job and is taken home or to hospital and dies within 48 hours despite emergency treatment, it may still apply — what is decisive is where the person was when the illness struck, not where they died. Short videos present this clause as "hold on until you reach the office and there's money" — exactly backwards: what actually changes the outcome is whether those first tens of minutes after onset are spent getting to a hospital. Also, 48 hours is a hard line — treatment stretching beyond 48 hours means it no longer counts. + +### 14. If the employer never enrolled you in work injury insurance, the benefits are the same — paid in full by the employer to the same standard + +- Cost: if the employer refuses to acknowledge it, arbitration or even litigation follows — months at minimum +- In plain terms: if the employer never enrolled you in work injury insurance, the work injury benefits still stand, only now paid in full by the employer, item for item and at the same standard, not a cent less. Non-enrollment exposes the employer to extra penalties — an order to make up contributions, a daily surcharge of 0.05% (5/10,000), and on overdue payment a fine of 1 to 3 times the amount owed — it is not a discount on what you are owed. "The company never bought work injury insurance, so there's nothing to pay" is a lie. +- Benefit: the regulations state explicitly: where a worker of a non-enrolled employer suffers a work injury, that employer pays the costs according to the items and standards set out in the regulations — identical to the items and standards for enrolled employers +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 工伤保险条例第六十二条第二款：「依照本条例规定应当参加工伤保险而未参加工伤保险的用人单位职工发生工伤的，由该用人单位按照本条例规定的工伤保险待遇项目和标准支付费用。」同条第一款：责令限期参加、补缴，「自欠缴之日起，按日加收万分之五的滞纳金；逾期仍不缴纳的，处欠缴数额1倍以上3倍以下的罚款」. +- Notes: "the company never bought work injury insurance for you, so it can't pay" is the most common lie in these cases. Non-enrollment adds penalties for the employer; it does not reduce what you are owed. + +### 15. Once the injury stabilizes, get a labor capacity assessment — the disability grade converts directly into money + +- Cost: one run through the assessment process +- In plain terms: once the injury has stabilized, get a labor capacity assessment; the grade converts directly into money: the one-time disability benefit is calculated on your own wage — grade 5 gets 18 months, grade 6 gets 16 months, grade 7 gets 13 months, grade 8 gets 11 months, grade 9 gets 9 months, grade 10 gets 7 months. Grades 5 and 6 also keep the employment relationship and receive a monthly disability allowance. Do not sign a "one-time full settlement" agreement before the assessment result is out. +- Benefit: the one-time disability benefit converts by grade into months of the worker's own wage: 18 months for grade 5, 16 for grade 6, 13 for grade 7, 11 for grade 8, 9 for grade 9, 7 for grade 10 +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 工伤保险条例第二十一条「经治疗伤情相对稳定后存在残疾、影响劳动能力的，应当进行劳动能力鉴定」；第二十二条「劳动功能障碍分为十个伤残等级，最重的为一级，最轻的为十级」；第三十六条五、六级待遇（一次性伤残补助金 18/16 个月本人工资，按月伤残津贴为本人工资的 70%/60%）；第三十七条七至十级待遇（13/11/9/7 个月本人工资）. +- Notes: grades 5 and 6 preserve the employment relationship with a monthly allowance; for grades 7 through 10, when the contract expires or the worker initiates termination, there are in addition a one-time work injury medical subsidy (paid from the fund) and a one-time disability employment subsidy (paid by the employer), with specific standards set by provincial governments. Do not sign a "one-time full settlement" agreement before the assessment result is out. + +### 16. Distinguish the three payments for death at work: funeral allowance, dependents' pension, and one-time work death benefit + +- Cost: handling the paperwork +- In plain terms: a death at work involves three payments — do not negotiate only one of them. The funeral allowance is 6 months of the local average monthly wage of employees in the previous year. The dependents' pension is paid monthly on the deceased's own wage — 40% per month for a spouse, 30% per month for each other relative. The one-time work death benefit is 20 times the previous year's national per capita disposable income of urban residents — one single figure for the whole country, so there is no "our local standard here is lower." +- Benefit: the funeral allowance is 6 months of the average monthly wage of employees in the pooled region for the previous year; the dependents' pension is based on the worker's own wage — 40% per month for a spouse, 30% per month for each other relative; the one-time work death benefit is 20 times the previous year's national per capita disposable income of urban residents, one single nationwide figure, with no regional variation +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 工伤保险条例第三十九条：「（一）丧葬补助金为6个月的统筹地区上年度职工月平均工资；（二）供养亲属抚恤金按照职工本人工资的一定比例发给由因工死亡职工生前提供主要生活来源、无劳动能力的亲属。标准为：配偶每月40%，其他亲属每人每月30%，孤寡老人或者孤儿每人每月在上述标准的基础上增加10%……（三）一次性工亡补助金标准为上一年度全国城镇居民人均可支配收入的20倍。」. +- Notes: TODO (to be verified: the specific amount for the year converted at 2025 national per capita disposable income of urban residents; the original NBS text was not obtained this time). The one-time work death benefit is uniform nationwide; when negotiating compensation, do not accept "our local standard here is lower." From 5f68d811b96b26ed9fe15f2000f805675eec7ff6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:25:06 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 19/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch20:=20Newborn=20=E2=80=94=20pipeli?= =?UTF-8?q?ne=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/20-Newborn.md | 103 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 103 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/20-Newborn.md diff --git a/book/en/20-Newborn.md b/book/en/20-Newborn.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..16f10cd19 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/20-Newborn.md @@ -0,0 +1,103 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 20. How to care for a newborn + +Scope: infant mortality and money. This section only covers a few measures with large effect sizes and hard evidence; day-to-day childrearing details are outside the scope of this book. For what to handle before the birth and on the day of discharge from the hospital, see Section 27. +### 1. Have the baby sleep on their back, on a firm surface, in the same room but not the same bed, with no soft objects in the bed + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a firm mattress costs a few hundred yuan +- In plain terms: put the baby to sleep on their back, on a firm surface, in your room but not your bed, and keep pillows, duvets, bed bumpers, stuffed toys and head-shaping pillows out of the bed; an inclined cradle or infant seat is not a place to sleep. In the US alone, about 3,500 babies die each year from sleep-related causes, and this is the measure in this section that reduces risk the most. +- Benefit: in the US, about 3,500 babies die each year from sleep-related causes (sudden infant death syndrome, unexplained death, and accidental suffocation in bed). The American Academy of Pediatrics' safe sleep environment recommendations are "back sleeping position; use a firm, non-inclined sleep surface; room-sharing without bed-sharing; avoid soft bedding and overheating"; other risk-reducing measures include breastfeeding, avoiding exposure to nicotine and alcohol, timely vaccination, and pacifier use +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I, Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the Committee on Fetus and Newborn (2022). Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Deaths in the Sleep Environment. Pediatrics, 150(1), e2022057990. +- Notes: "no soft objects in the bed" means no pillows, duvets, bumpers, stuffed toys or head-shaping pillows at all, including nursing pillows that look perfectly safe. An inclined cradle or infant seat is not a place to sleep. This is the measure with the largest effect size in this section, and also the one where you most need to stand up to pressure from older relatives + +### 2. Give the first hepatitis B vaccine dose within 24 hours of birth + +- Cost: 0 yuan; vaccines in the national immunization program are free +- In plain terms: give the first hepatitis B vaccine dose within 24 hours of birth. About 95% of people infected with hepatitis B in infancy or early childhood develop chronic hepatitis, while most adults who get infected clear it on their own, so the earlier this shot is given, the more it helps. If the mother is hepatitis B surface antigen positive, the baby also needs hepatitis B immunoglobulin at the same time. +- Benefit: the World Health Organization: "all infants should receive their first dose of hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible after birth, preferably within 24 hours." The reason is that "approximately 95% of infections in infancy and early childhood develop into chronic hepatitis," while most infections acquired in adulthood clear on their own +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: World Health Organization. Hepatitis B fact sheet. +- Notes: if the mother is hepatitis B surface antigen positive, the newborn also needs hepatitis B immunoglobulin at the same time; this should be established during prenatal checkups. Screening of the mother herself is covered in Section 1 + +### 3. Complete all the vaccines in the national immunization program — the full course is free, and if you fall behind you only catch up on the missed doses + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the law states that "vaccination units may not charge any fee for vaccines in the immunization program"; it requires several trips to the vaccination clinic by month of age, and keep the vaccination certificate +- In plain terms: all vaccines in the national immunization program are free, and vaccination units cannot charge any fees; nurseries and schools check the vaccination certificate at enrollment, so any missed doses will definitely be dug up and demanded as catch-up then. If you fall behind, you only make up the doses that were not finished — you do not start the whole course over, and you can continue the same vaccine from a different manufacturer. Eczema, hives, allergic rhinitis, stable asthma, and newborn jaundice are not reasons to skip vaccination. +- Benefit: when children enter nursery or school, childcare institutions and schools must check the vaccination certificate, and if a child has not received the immunization program vaccines as required, they must report it to the vaccination unit and cooperate in urging the guardian to complete catch-up vaccination — a missed dose is not "deal with it later"; it will definitely surface at school enrollment. The current schedule is the 2026 edition: human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been added to the national immunization program; the DTaP vaccine start age has been moved from 3 months to 2 months, with 5 doses total — 1 dose each at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 18 months, and 6 years; children of the appropriate age in Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps will also routinely receive Japanese encephalitis vaccine from March 2026. Co-administration is allowed: at present all national immunization program vaccines may be given at the same visit according to the immunization schedule or catch-up principles; two or more injectable vaccines should be given at different sites, and it is "strictly prohibited to mix two or more vaccines in the same syringe for injection"; if not given at the same visit, two or more injectable live attenuated vaccines should be at least 28 days apart, while inactivated vaccines and oral live attenuated vaccines have no interval restriction with other vaccines. Catch-up principles (under 18 years old): catch up as early as possible; "only the incomplete doses need to be made up, there is no need to restart the full course"; the same vaccine from a different manufacturer can be continued (nationwide, 2026 edition schedule) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2019). 疫苗管理法（第四十八、四十九条）. （云南省卫生健康委员会转载）；国家疾病预防控制局、国家卫生健康委 (2026). 《国家免疫规划疫苗儿童免疫程序及说明（2026 年版）》解读问答. +- Notes: the most common misconception is "the child's constitution is weak, hold off on vaccines." The official position: being an "allergic constitution," having a family history of allergic disease, a history of food allergy, or a history of drug allergy are not contraindications; children with atopic dermatitis (eczema), hives, allergic rhinitis, or bronchial asthma in a stable condition can be vaccinated normally, including those taking oral anti-allergy medication or inhaled corticosteroids; physiological newborn jaundice and breast-milk jaundice are fine for normal vaccination. The actual contraindications are a prior acute severe allergic reaction to the same vaccine, or a severe allergy to a known vaccine component. For immunodeficiency, ongoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or immunosuppressant use, an individualized assessment is needed — explain the situation at the vaccination clinic first. The first hepatitis B dose is item 2. Self-paid, non-program vaccines are billed separately for the vaccine and the service fee and are unrelated to this item. + +### 4. Feed only breast milk for the first 6 months — not even water — then start complementary foods at 6 months while continuing to breastfeed + +- Cost: 0 yuan; it also saves the cost of formula; breastfeeding takes time +- In plain terms: start breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, feed only breast milk for the first 6 months — not even water — start complementary foods at 6 months and keep breastfeeding until age 2 or beyond, and make sure complementary foods include iron-rich animal foods every day. If breast milk is insufficient or breastfeeding is not possible, use formula; the gap this item makes is far smaller than the safe-sleep one. +- Benefit: the World Health Organization recommends "beginning breastfeeding within the first hour after birth," "exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, meaning no other food or liquids are provided, including water," and "starting safe and adequate complementary foods from 6 months of age, while continuing breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond." The National Health Commission's service guidelines likewise promote exclusive breastfeeding from 0 to 6 months and require that from 6 months of age onward, "daily complementary foods must include iron-rich animal foods" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: World Health Organization. Breastfeeding. ；国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2024). 婴幼儿营养喂养评估服务指南（试行）（国卫办妇幼函〔2024〕452 号）. +- Notes: when breast milk is insufficient or breastfeeding is not possible, use formula and do not feel guilty; the gap in effect size is far smaller than that of the safe-sleep item. From 6 to 8 months, add complementary foods 1 to 2 times a day; from 9 to 12 months, 2 to 3 times; the daily foods should cover at least 4 of the 7 food categories + +### 5. Make formula with water at 70 ℃ or hotter, let it cool before feeding, and discard any leftovers + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a few extra minutes of waiting for it to cool +- In plain terms: formula is not sterile and may carry Cronobacter sakazakii; reported case fatality rates in newborns range from 40% to 80%. First pour the hot water into the bottle, wait until the water has cooled to about 73.8 ℃ before adding the powder — the formula will still be above 70 ℃, which cuts this bacterium to less than one hundred-thousandth of its original amount. Let the prepared formula cool before feeding, throw out whatever is left over; preterm babies, low-birth-weight babies and babies under 2 months of age are at the highest risk. +- Benefit: formula is not sterile and may carry Cronobacter sakazakii; the reported case fatality rate after infection in newborns is 40% to 80%. Experimental research shows that if you first pour hot water into the bottle and wait until the water has cooled to about 73.8 ℃ before adding the powder, the formula temperature remains above 70 ℃ in the vast majority of cases, reducing the bacterium by more than 5 log levels +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Beary MA, Daly SE, Baker J, Snyder AB (2025). Assessing Hot Water Reconstitution Instructions and Labeling of Powdered Infant Formula to Ensure Cronobacter spp. Reduction. Journal of Food Protection, 88(9), 100571. ；Sima WG, Legesse T, Girma S, et al. (2025). Emerging microbial risks: Cronobacter sakazakii in powdered infant formula for infants under six months of age in Ethiopia. BMC Microbiology, 26, 307. ；World Health Organization & FAO (2007). Safe preparation, storage and handling of powdered infant formula: guidelines. +- Notes: the 70 ℃ threshold comes from public health guidance; Beary et al.'s original wording is "public health guidelines targeting caregivers of high-risk infants recommend preparing powdered infant formula with water heated to at least 70 ℃ (158 ℉) to inactivate microorganisms". Preterm infants, low-birth-weight infants, and infants under 2 months of age are at the highest risk. Do not use water that has sat in a thermos all day, and do not leave prepared formula standing at room temperature until the next feed + +### 6. Do not feed honey to babies under 1 year old + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: no honey for babies under 1 year old, including honey water, honey mixed into complementary foods, and pastries containing honey. Honey may carry the bacteria that cause botulism; an adult's gut flora can hold it down, an infant's cannot. The same applies to home-made pickles and fermented foods. +- Benefit: the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "do not feed honey to children under 1 year of age," because "honey can contain the bacteria that cause botulism." The adult gut flora can hold down these spores; an infant's cannot +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: US CDC. Preventing Botulism. +- Notes: this includes honey water, honey mixed into complementary foods, and pastries containing honey. By the same logic, do not give home-made pickles or fermented foods to infants + +### 7. Make sure the baby gets the vitamin K shot at birth + +- Cost: 0 yuan to a few dozen yuan; usually included in the hospital delivery +- In plain terms: newborns naturally have very low vitamin K stores, and without supplementation they can bleed, with late-onset cases often showing up as bleeding inside the skull. In places without routine vitamin K shots, the incidence of this bleeding is 478 cases per 100,000 newborns, and prevention is estimated to cut it by more than 78%. Legitimate hospitals in China give the injection routinely; if the birth was at home or in an unregulated facility, confirm it yourself. Oral doses work less well than the shot. +- Benefit: newborns have very low vitamin K stores, and without supplementation vitamin K deficiency bleeding can occur, with late-onset cases often presenting as intracranial hemorrhage. The Belgian consensus recommendation is "a single intramuscular dose of 1 or 2 mg of vitamin K at birth"; in a region without systematic provision (42,000 newborns in Tashkent), the incidence of vitamin K deficiency bleeding was 478 cases per 100,000 population, and the authors estimated that prevention could reduce the incidence by "more than 78.5%" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Fiesack S, Smits A, Rayyan M, et al. (2021). Nutrients, 13(11), 4109. ；Tursunov D, Yoshida Y, Yrysov K, et al. (2018). Nagoya Journal of Medical Science, 80(1), 11. +- Notes: births in legitimate Chinese hospitals include the injection routinely, so you do not need to worry; those giving birth at home or in unregulated facilities should confirm it themselves. Oral regimens are less effective than the intramuscular shot + +### 8. Take any baby under 3 months with a temperature of 38 ℃ straight to the hospital — do not wait at home + +- Cost: a few hundred yuan for registration and tests +- In plain terms: if a baby under 3 months reaches 38 ℃, go straight to the hospital — do not observe at home, and do not give fever medicine first and wait. At this age, even a serious bacterial infection may show up as nothing but a fever, and "seems in decent spirits" is not a reason to wait it out at home; for babies under 8 days old there is not even a dedicated guideline, which is all the more reason to seek care immediately. +- Benefit: the American Academy of Pediatrics has a dedicated guideline for well-appearing full-term infants aged 8 to 60 days, defining fever as "temperature ≥38.0 ℃" and giving management pathways in three bands — 8 to 21 days, 22 to 28 days, and 29 to 60 days; infants under 8 days of age are not even covered by the guideline, which means they need immediate medical care all the more +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Pantell RH, Roberts KB, Adams WG, et al. (2021). Evaluation and Management of Well-Appearing Febrile Infants 8 to 60 Days Old. Pediatrics, 148(2), e2021052228. +- Notes: at this age, a serious bacterial infection may present with nothing but fever, and appearing "in decent spirits" is not grounds for observation at home. Do not give fever medicine yourself and then wait and see + +### 9. Never shake a baby, no matter how tired or angry you are + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: a baby's head is disproportionately large and the neck muscles are weak; violent shaking causes intracranial and retinal bleeding and can kill or leave lifelong disability. The gentle rocking used to soothe a baby to sleep does not count — what is dangerous is the out-of-control kind of shaking. When you are about to lose it, put the baby back in the crib and walk away for a few minutes; letting him cry for a while is far safer than holding and shaking him. +- Benefit: a baby's head is disproportionately large and the neck muscles are weak; violent shaking causes intracranial and retinal bleeding and can be fatal or leave lifelong disability. Gentle rocking to soothe a baby to sleep is different; what is dangerous is violent, out-of-control shaking +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验与普遍共识，本轮未取得可直接引用的原始文献 +- Notes: when you truly feel yourself about to lose control, put the baby back in the crib and walk away for a few minutes; letting him cry for a while is far safer than holding and shaking him. This matters most for those caring for a baby alone and chronically short of sleep; handling emotions is covered in Section 3 + +### 10. Judge diapers not by brand but by three things: fit, how often they are changed, and whether they have ever been flagged in quality spot checks + +- Cost: anywhere from two to three hundred yuan to over a thousand yuan per month +- In plain terms: no official body has ever ranked "which brand is best"; the only things you can check are the market regulator's product quality spot-check bulletins and investigations of specific incidents. Expensive does not mean safe, and imported does not mean compliant. Buy a small pack first and try it for a week — watch for diaper rash and elastic marks — and stock up only if it fits well; diaper rash comes mainly from infrequent changing and poor breathability, and its link to brand is smaller than you would think. +- Benefit: no official body has published a ranking of "which brand is best," so this book gives no brand recommendations. There are only two kinds of verifiable information: first, the product quality spot-check bulletins of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and second, regulators' investigations of specific incidents. After the "formamide in infant diapers" issue drew attention in June 2026, the State Administration for Market Regulation led the formation of a joint investigation team to verify it +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 中国政府网 (2026-06-22). 市场监管总局牵头成立联合调查组核查「婴幼儿纸尿裤甲酰胺问题」. （该页仅有标题，正文未展示，故本条只引用调查这一事实，不引用任何结论） +- Notes: TODO (to be verified: the conclusions of that investigation and the original text of the market regulator's official bulletin). In practice: expensive does not mean safe, and imported does not mean compliant; buy a small pack first and try it for a week, watching for diaper rash and elastic marks, and stock up only if it fits well. Diaper rash is mainly caused by infrequent changing and poor breathability, and its relationship with brand is smaller than imagined. How to find spot-check bulletins is covered in Section 5 + +### 11. Consider big-ticket baby items in the order "borrow, buy second-hand, buy new" — do not buy everything at once + +- Cost: the savings usually run to thousands of yuan +- In plain terms: strollers, cribs, swaddles and toys all have very short usable lives, and the second-hand supply far exceeds demand; going in the order borrow, buy second-hand, buy new usually saves thousands of yuan. Do not buy a car seat or a mattress second-hand — structural damage to a seat after a crash is invisible to the naked eye. Postpartum care centers and early-education classes are large non-essential expenses; apply a 24-hour cooling-off period first. +- Benefit: strollers, cribs, swaddles and toys all have very short usable lives, and second-hand supply far exceeds demand. What genuinely cannot be skipped, and should not be bought second-hand, is the car seat (structural damage after a crash is invisible to the naked eye) and the mattress +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；安全座椅的证据见第 1 节，冲动消费见第 5 节 +- Notes: for postpartum care centers, early-education classes, baby swimming pools and the like, this book neither recommends nor rules them out, but they are large non-essential expenses and the 24-hour cooling-off period in Section 5 applies From dee28ce06e1e85865c209beae43151af1064d9ca Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:25:06 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 20/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch21:=20Travel=20And=20Abroad=20Safe?= =?UTF-8?q?ty=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/21-Travel-And-Abroad-Safety.md | 94 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 94 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/21-Travel-And-Abroad-Safety.md diff --git a/book/en/21-Travel-And-Abroad-Safety.md b/book/en/21-Travel-And-Abroad-Safety.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..429e784ca --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/21-Travel-And-Abroad-Safety.md @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 21. Going Abroad, Travel, and Safety Overseas + +This section deals with money and personal freedom; a few entries touch on personal safety. The rules abroad are set by the host country, and what Chinese missions abroad can do has clear limits. This section first makes clear where that boundary lies. +### 1. Check the foreign ministry's safety warnings once before departure, and do not go anywhere marked "do not travel" + +- Cost: 0 yuan; open the Chinese Consular Service Network and go through it, a few minutes +- In plain terms: The foreign ministry grades security risks abroad into four levels, and the highest one is "do not travel." From September 15, 2026, avoiding high-risk countries and regions is written into administrative regulations; you will also be reminded when applying for documents and at exit border checks, and people heading to the highest-risk areas will be dissuaded where necessary. Going through that page before departure takes only a few minutes. +- Benefit: The foreign ministry publishes safety warnings for other countries by level, which from low to high are roughly "exercise caution," "strengthen safety precautions," "travel with caution," and "do not travel." New rules taking effect September 15, 2026 write the citizen-side duty into administrative regulations: "Chinese citizens shall pay attention to safety warnings for foreign countries and risk alerts for tourist destinations, and avoid traveling to and staying in high-risk countries or regions"; they also require immigration authorities to remind citizens heading to high-risk areas when they apply for documents and at exit border checks, and "where citizens are preparing to travel to countries or regions at the highest risk level, or where incidents seriously endangering personal safety occur suddenly and frequently, Chinese citizens shall be dissuaded from traveling there when necessary" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 关于出境入境管理的规定（国令第 841 号）. （第二条）；国务院 (2023). 领事保护与协助条例（国令第 763 号）. （第十九、二十一条）；外交部领事司. 安全提醒. +- Notes: The warnings change with the situation; this book does not copy the list — check that page yourself once before travel. As of September 7, 2026, the "do not travel"-type warnings still listed in that section include Eswatini (2026-08-25), Palestine (2023-10-10), Sudan (2023-04-17), Afghanistan (2023-02-17), Syria (2023-01-04), Peru (2022-12-29), and Somalia (2022-11-24), plus dedicated warnings for northern Myanmar and certain provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Travel agencies also have a duty to inform; before joining a group tour you can ask them to state the destination's risks in writing + +### 2. Save 12308 and the local embassy's consular protection number into your phone before anything happens + +- Cost: 0 yuan; save two numbers +- In plain terms: There is one helpline for when things go wrong — dial 12308 inside China, and +86-10-12308 from abroad. Since the hotline opened it has taken more than 3 million calls, and over the same period the foreign ministry and missions abroad handled more than 500,000 consular protection cases. A number that lives only in your phone is as good as not saved: lose the phone and you lose both. +- Benefit: The foreign ministry's global 12308 hotline for consular protection and services runs around the clock — dial 12308 inside China, or +86-10-12308 or +86-10-65612308 from abroad. Since it opened in 2014 the hotline has taken more than 3 million calls in total, and over the same period the foreign ministry and missions abroad handled more than 500,000 consular protection cases of various kinds +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 外交部、中国驻缅甸使领馆 (2023). 关于当前缅北地区安全局势的领事提醒. ；国务院新闻办 (2023). 国务院政策例行吹风会介绍领事保护与协助有关情况. +- Notes: The embassy or consulate in your destination also has its own consular protection number, usually faster than the main line; look it up by country on the Consular Service Network before departure and save it too. If the phone is lost these numbers go with it, so keep a paper copy in your wallet or give one to family + +### 3. Know what consular protection can and cannot do: it can visit you, it cannot get you out, and the costs are still yours + +- Cost: 0 yuan; read the boundary once +- In plain terms: If you are detained, what the embassy or consulate can do is verify the situation with the local authorities, demand you be handled fairly under the law, visit you, and sit in on hearings — it cannot get your sentence changed or take you home. Food, lodging, transport, and medical costs that someone fronted on your behalf are still yours to repay in the end. So sort out your money and insurance before going abroad, and do not treat "the state will bail me out" as a plan. +- Benefit: If you are detained, what the embassy or consulate can do is: verify the situation with the relevant authorities of the host country, demand you be handled fairly under the law, and "in accordance with the laws of the host country and international treaties concluded or jointly acceded to by China and the host country, visit you or contact you, learn your needs, and demand that the relevant authorities of the host country grant this Chinese citizen humanitarian treatment and fair treatment"; at trial it can attend hearings and demand your litigation rights be protected. If you are injured or caught in a disaster, it can urge the local side to provide emergency assistance and help your family with aftermath arrangements. But the cost side is written just as clearly: "Where a Chinese citizen, legal person, or unincorporated organization receives goods and services such as food, lodging, transport, or medical care provided by a third party in the course of consular protection and assistance, that citizen or organization shall pay the expenses it ought to bear itself" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2023). 领事保护与协助条例（国令第 763 号）. （第九、十、十四、二十六条） +- Notes: The embassy or consulate will not pay your fines, medical bills, or airfare, and cannot change the judicial outcome of the host country. What it can provide is information on local lawyers, interpreters, medical services, and funeral providers, plus help contacting relatives and friends and accessing relief. The practical value of understanding this boundary is: prepare your money and insurance yourself before going abroad, and do not treat "the state will bail me out" as a plan + +### 4. Buy a policy that covers overseas medical care and medical evacuation, not just flight delay cover + +- Cost: tens to a few hundred yuan for short-term overseas travel insurance +- In plain terms: Medical bills abroad come out of your own pocket — domestic health insurance basically does not reimburse them, and the embassy or consulate will not front the money either. What really breaks a family is not the clinic fee but the hospital stay after a serious injury and getting the person back home — that takes a chartered flight or medical escort. When buying travel insurance, look mainly at two limits: overseas medical expenses, and emergency medical evacuation and repatriation. +- Benefit: Medical costs abroad are your own to pay; domestic health insurance largely does not reimburse care received abroad, and consular protection does not front the money either (see Article 26 of the regulations in the previous entry). What can genuinely drag a family down is not the outpatient bill but the hospital stay after a serious injury and the medical evacuation — moving a person from a hospital abroad back home requires a chartered aircraft or medical escort, among the most expensive of self-paid items. When buying insurance, check two limits first: the overseas medical expenses limit and the emergency medical evacuation and repatriation limit +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国务院 (2023). 领事保护与协助条例（国令第 763 号）. （第二十六条）；作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: TODO (to verify: typical cost ranges for overseas medical care and medical evacuation; needs figures on an official or industry statistical basis). Before buying, confirm three things: whether the destination is inside the covered area, whether high-risk activities (diving, skiing, motorcycles) are excluded, and whether claims are paid upfront or reimbursed after you pay first. Visa-free entry is not exemption from liability — you need cover wherever you go + +### 5. Treat any "high-paying job overseas" offer as a scam — and if you are tricked into scam work abroad, you can be barred from leaving China when you return + +- Cost: 0 yuan; turn down one job that looks too good +- In plain terms: A job with an absurdly high monthly salary, no questions about education or experience, no proper contract, asking you to gather first in a border city, and holding your passport for you — go there and both you and your passport end up in someone else's hands. Falsified documents get you stopped at the border and refused exit; if you took part in illegal or criminal activity abroad, you can also be barred from leaving China for 6 months to 3 years after you return. +- Benefit: The official characterization of these cases is blunt: in recent years people have been "tricked into going abroad or leaving the country illegally under false pretenses to take part in cross-border gambling, telecom and online fraud, and other unlawful activities, seriously endangering people's lives and property." The new rules tighten both ends of this. On exit: "the stated grounds for applying to exit or enter, stay, or reside must be true and lawful"; where false documents are provided or false statements made, the immigration authorities have the power to refuse to issue documents or refuse exit. After return: "where a Chinese citizen engages in unlawful or criminal activity abroad that endangers national security or interests, the authorities may... decide to bar that person from exiting for 6 months to 3 years from the date of return"; the same 6-month-to-3-year exit bar applies to anyone administratively detained for fraudulently obtaining documents or illegally exiting or entering +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 关于出境入境管理的规定（国令第 841 号）. （第三、四条）；司法部、公安部、国家移民局 (2026). 就《国务院关于出境入境管理的规定》答记者问. +- Notes: The tell-tale signs are largely fixed: a monthly salary far above the same role anywhere else, no education or experience required, no proper contract, an instruction to gather first in a border city, visa handling done for you plus custody of your passport. There is already a dedicated consular warning for northern Myanmar. If you actually go, neither your freedom of movement nor your passport stays in your own hands — "I can leave whenever I want" does not hold + +### 6. Photograph your passport, visa, and ID card and store copies in the cloud; if they are lost, report to the police first, then apply for a travel document + +- Cost: 0 yuan; take a few photos before departure +- In plain terms: If your passport is lost, the embassy or consulate can issue you a travel document to get home — but only if you can prove who you are. With photos of the data page and visa pages plus your entry-exit records, the replacement goes far faster. You also have to report to the local police first and get a report receipt; exit checks and insurance claims both accept that piece of paper. The phone usually gets lost with the passport, so do not keep the photos on the phone alone. +- Benefit: When a passport is lost, the embassy or consulate abroad can issue a travel document for the trip home, but you need to prove your identity; with clear photos of the passport data page and visa pages plus entry-exit records, the replacement is vastly faster. You must also report to the local police first and obtain a report receipt — in many countries both exit checks and insurance claims require this document. The way to reach the embassy or consulate is the two numbers you saved above +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国务院 (2023). 领事保护与协助条例（国令第 763 号）. （第十六条）；作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: How to store: after photographing, put the images in two different places (cloud drive plus a copy sent to one family member), and also print one paper copy kept separately from the originals. Photograph bank cards and prescriptions for regular medications as well. The phone and the passport are usually lost together — stored only on the phone is as good as not stored + +### 7. Before driving abroad, confirm whether the destination accepts a Chinese driver's license — most "international driving permits" sold online are worthless paper + +- Cost: 0 yuan; check the destination's rules once before departure +- In plain terms: The "international driving permit" sold through agents does not exist for mainland China: that document is a translation recognized between parties to the 1949 Geneva convention, and mainland China is not among the 103 contracting parties, so no version issued at home has any legal force. Whether you can drive on a Chinese license depends on the destination's own rules. Driving without a valid license is heavily penalized or a criminal matter in most countries, and after an accident the insurer will most likely refuse to pay. +- Benefit: The so-called "international driving permit" (IDP) is a translation recognized between states party to the 1949 Road Traffic Convention. That convention was concluded at Geneva on September 19, 1949 and entered into force on March 26, 1952; it currently has 103 contracting parties, and mainland China is not on the list. China therefore does not issue such a permit, and any agency offering to "arrange an international driving permit" domestically produces no legal effect; whether a Chinese license can be used to drive depends on the rules of the destination country or region (some accept a Chinese license plus a notarized translation, some require exchanging for a local license, and some do not accept it at all) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: United Nations Treaty Collection. Convention on Road Traffic, Geneva, 19 September 1949 — status of treaties. +- Notes: Driving without a valid license is a criminal or heavily penalized offense in most countries, and after an accident the insurer will most likely refuse to pay — that is the real cost. How to check: find the destination country's "Information for Chinese Citizens" page on the Chinese Consular Service Network, or ask the rental car company directly for written confirmation. Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, along with some countries, have separate arrangements + +### 8. Before using an agent for visas, study abroad, or immigration, ask whether it is registered with the immigration administration + +- Cost: 0 yuan; ask one extra question and keep the written materials +- In plain terms: From September 15, 2026, agencies handling visas, study abroad, and immigration must register with the immigration administration within 15 days of being established, and those already operating have 90 days to catch up. Phrases like "guaranteed approval," "guaranteed visa," or "we'll prepare the materials for you" are themselves on the explicitly banned list. If you fill in the forms yourself and make a mistake, the worst case is a visa refusal; use fake materials and it counts as fraud, and the consequences land on your own future entry-exit record. +- Benefit: After the market-entry licensing for private exit-entry intermediary service agencies was abolished in 2018, the number of agencies grew rapidly, and problems appeared such as "an unclear count of agencies, some agencies handling business in violation of laws and regulations, and harm to the lawful rights and interests of people exiting and entering." From September 15, 2026, such intermediaries are placed under registration management: an agency shall register with the immigration administration at its location within 15 days of being established, and agencies already operating must complete registration within 90 days of the rules taking effect. Explicitly banned practices include "publishing false information, or soliciting clients through exaggerated or misleading publicity," "providing or helping to provide false materials, or helping others handle visas, stay or residence documents, passports, or other exit-entry documents or formalities in violation of regulations," "divulging, selling, or unlawfully providing... personal privacy or personal information," and "organizing or helping others engage in cross-border unlawful or criminal activities." Foreign enterprises and organizations may not provide such intermediary services within China +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 关于出境入境管理的规定（国令第 841 号）. （第七、八、十、十二、十三条） +- Notes: Anyone promising "guaranteed approval," "guaranteed visa," or "we'll prepare the materials for you" is already on the banned list; if it is exposed, what gets damaged is your own visa record. When you fill in the application yourself, a mistake only gets you refused; use fake materials and you can be found to have committed fraud, with far heavier consequences. Policy consultation and information lookups not conducted for profit do not count as intermediary services + +### 9. Do not issue invitation letters for strangers, and do not let anyone handle exit-entry formalities in your name + +- Cost: 0 yuan; decline one favor +- In plain terms: If you issue an invitation letter or application materials for someone and the contents are untrue, the penalty falls on the issuer: 5,000 to 10,000 yuan for an individual, with any illicit gains confiscated; 10,000 to 50,000 yuan for an organization, plus 5,000 to 10,000 yuan for the individuals who handled it. What you trade for one favor is paying that money yourself. +- Benefit: Whoever issues an invitation letter is responsible for the truthfulness of its contents: "where an individual issues a false invitation letter or other application materials for another person's application to exit or enter, or to stay or reside, the immigration administration shall impose a fine of 5,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan; any illicit gains shall be confiscated"; for an organization the fine is 10,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan, and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel are each fined 5,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 关于出境入境管理的规定（国令第 841 号）. （第三、十一条） +- Notes: This is the same class of risk as "do not carry things for strangers" in section 8: the signature, the stamp, the guarantee — the consequences land on you. Where public officials or military personnel entrust an intermediary to handle foreign nationality or overseas residence status in violation of regulations, the intermediary must refuse and report it to the supervisory authorities + +### 10. Send your itinerary, accommodation, and travel companions to one family member before departure, and agree on how often to check in + +- Cost: 0 yuan; send one message +- In plain terms: If you go missing abroad, your family can turn to the mission abroad for help; it will give them the local way to report to police and other channels for assistance, and once local police open a case the embassy or consulate follows up and presses for action. Whether that chain can start depends on whether someone back home knows where you are supposed to be and when you are supposed to make contact. Flight numbers, the address, your companions' phone numbers, and an agreed contact frequency — send it all to one person and that is enough. +- Benefit: When a Chinese citizen goes missing abroad, relatives can seek help from the diplomatic mission there; "the mission abroad shall provide the local means of reporting to police and other information on obtaining assistance," and after local police open a case the embassy or consulate will urge prompt handling. Whether this chain can be set in motion depends on whether someone at home knows where you were supposed to be and when you were supposed to make contact +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国务院 (2023). 领事保护与协助条例（国令第 763 号）. （第十三条）；作者经验，无直接文献 +- Notes: Four things written down are enough: flight numbers, the accommodation address, companions' names and phone numbers, and the agreed contact frequency. If you are going somewhere with poor signal or poor public security, also make explicit "call the police if there is no news for X long." The cost of this is nearly zero, but it is the precondition for every assistance procedure above to be able to start From 720c5cdb11e6b6585ae5de9c37232bdf9addf6db Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:25:06 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 21/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch22:=20How=20To=20Relax=20=E2=80=94?= =?UTF-8?q?=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/22-How-To-Relax.md | 103 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 103 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/22-How-To-Relax.md diff --git a/book/en/22-How-To-Relax.md b/book/en/22-How-To-Relax.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..24b89e382 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/22-How-To-Relax.md @@ -0,0 +1,103 @@ +[← Back to master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 22. How to relax: entertainment venues and stress relief + +The first half of this chapter covers the money pits and safe exits of entertainment venues, measured in money and personal freedom; the second half covers stress-relief methods, measured in energy and all-cause mortality. Numbers in the two halves are not converted against each other. Section 3 already covered which few things to do first when you feel low; what follows here is a more specific prescription. +### 1. Check where the emergency exits are before entering KTV, bars, or escape rooms; switch venues if they are locked or blocked + +- Cost: 0 yuan; 10 seconds of looking up when you walk in +- In plain terms: By regulation, entertainment venues must keep evacuation routes and emergency exits clear while open — no sealing or locking them, no obstacles, no covering the signs. Internet cafes likewise may not seal doors or lock windows. If a venue fails to do this it is breaking the law and can be reported. If a private room is underground, has only one exit, or the corridors are piled with clutter, pick another place — in a fire these venues fill with thick smoke, narrow passages, crowded people, most of them drunk. +- Benefit: This is a legal obligation of the operator, which means failing to comply is illegal and reportable: "While in operation, entertainment venues shall keep evacuation routes and emergency exits clear, shall not seal off or lock evacuation routes and emergency exits, and shall not set up fences or other obstacles impeding evacuation on evacuation routes and at emergency exits," and "shall set up clearly visible direction signs on evacuation routes and at emergency exits and shall not obscure or cover the signs." Internet cafes are likewise required to "prohibit sealing or locking doors and windows, evacuation routes and emergency exits while in operation" and to "prohibit open-flame lighting and smoking" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2006). 娱乐场所管理条例（国令第 458 号，第二十、二十一条）. ；国务院 (2002). 互联网上网服务营业场所管理条例（国令第 363 号，第二十一条）. +- Notes: Underground private room, single exit, cluttered corridors, unlit exit signs — if a venue has any one of these, go elsewhere. Fires in such places involve thick smoke, narrow corridors, crowds, and alcohol, with escape time measured in seconds. Under the regulations the report hotline should be posted on the warning signs inside the venue + +### 2. Ask for the price list before ordering; entertainment venues must post clear prices and "play first, settle later" is not acceptable + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one request for the list +- In plain terms: By regulation, entertainment venues selling services and goods must post clear prices and show the price list on request; forcing or deceiving customers into spending is not allowed. Almost all "sky-high bar tab" disputes happen where nobody saw the price list and the bill is settled afterwards on verbal quotes. Ask for the list and photograph it when you enter the room, and get an itemized confirmation after ordering; if there is a dispute at checkout, call 12315 on the spot — recovering your money after paying is far harder. +- Benefit: "When providing entertainment services and selling goods, entertainment venues shall clearly mark prices and present a price list to consumers; they shall not force or deceive consumers into accepting services or purchasing goods." Violations of price laws and regulations are punished by the relevant departments according to law. The vast majority of "sky-high bar tab" disputes occur where no price list was shown and the bill was settled afterwards on verbal quotes +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2006). 娱乐场所管理条例（国令第 458 号，第二十九、五十三条）. +- Notes: How to apply it: ask for a paper or electronic price list when you enter the room and photograph it, get a confirmed itemized list after ordering, and ask the price of any "special cocktail" or "fruit platter" the server recommends before ordering it. If checkout is disputed, call 12315 on the spot — do not pay first and seek redress afterwards; once you have paid, the burden of proof becomes much harder + +### 3. Leave immediately if anyone offers you "something" in a venue; hosting and supplying are not "helping a friend" + +- Cost: 0 yuan; walking out +- In plain terms: Entertainment venues are banned from selling or providing drugs and from hosting others' drug use; violations bring confiscation of illegal gains and suspension of business for 3 to 6 months, with license revocation in serious cases. The personal side is heavier: using drugs yourself brings a public-security penalty, and letting someone "have a go" in a room you booked or at your place is the criminal offense of harboring another person's drug use. If someone takes out unknown powder, pills, or a vape cartridge and asks you to try, walk out on the spot. +- Benefit: Entertainment venues are explicitly prohibited from "selling or providing drugs, or organizing, coercing, instigating, inducing, deceiving, or harboring others to smoke or inject drugs"; staff likewise may not take drugs or provide conditions for customers to do the above. Violations are punished by the public security authorities with confiscation of illegal gains and property, an order to suspend business for rectification for 3 to 6 months, and revocation of the entertainment business license in serious cases. The regulations also require venues to hang warning signs against drugs, gambling, and prostitution in prominent positions in the lobby, private rooms, and booths, with the report hotline noted +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2006). 娱乐场所管理条例（国令第 458 号，第十四、三十、四十二条）. +- Notes: The risk on the personal side outweighs the venue's: drug use itself brings a public-security penalty, and "letting a friend use it here" in a room you booked or at your home constitutes harboring another person's drug use, a criminal offense. The judgment is simple — as soon as someone produces unknown powder, pills, or an e-cigarette cartridge and asks you to "try it," leave on the spot; do not stay to watch + +### 4. Do not eat candy or snacks from strangers, do not drink a beverage that left your sight, do not accept a vape cartridge handed to you + +- Cost: 0 yuan; refuse anything handed to you, and swap for a fresh drink if yours ever left your sight +- In plain terms: Drugs today do not look like drugs — "head-spinning" e-cigarettes laced with synthetic cannabinoids can be made in all colors and flavors and look basically identical to ordinary e-cigarettes, handed around to try in bars, KTVs, and hotels. Luring someone into taking drugs means 10 to 15 days of detention and a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 yuan; a person tricked into taking them is also detained 10 to 15 days and can be fined up to 3,000 yuan, and addiction brings 3 years of community-based rehabilitation. If a drink has left your sight, swap it for a new one. +- Benefit: Drugs today do not look like drugs. Synthetic cannabinoid substances have been controlled as an entire class since July 1, 2021, mixed into vape oil to make "head-spinning" e-cigarettes. In a case reported by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, investigators described the vape oil as able to "become various colors and various flavors with added food coloring" and as "basically identical in appearance to ordinary e-cigarettes"; sellers promoted it to friends and acquaintances in bars, KTVs, and hotels and induced others to use it, and in that locality's drug-use cases handled that year minors made up nearly forty percent of users. Etomidate was added to the Schedule II psychotropic substances list on October 1, 2023. Deceiving someone into taking drugs is itself an offense: inducing, instigating, deceiving, or coercing another person to smoke or inject drugs means 10 to 15 days of detention and a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 yuan; where it constitutes a crime the sentence is up to 3 years, 3 to 7 years in serious circumstances, 3 to 10 years for coercion, and heavier for offenses against minors. The consequences land on the person deceived: smoking or injecting drugs means 10 to 15 days of detention and a fine of up to 3,000 yuan (in minor circumstances, up to 5 days of detention or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan), and possibly an order barring entry to entertainment venues for 6 months to 1 year; those addicted are ordered into 3 years of community-based rehabilitation, and those who refuse it or use again during it face 2 years of compulsory isolation rehabilitation, extendable by at most 1 more year (nationwide, Public Security Administration Punishments Law, from January 2026) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 最高人民检察院 (2021). 江苏苏州吴江区：办案检察官揭秘披着潮流外衣的新型毒品. ；国家药监局、公安部、国家卫生健康委 (2023). 关于调整麻醉药品和精神药品目录的公告（2023 年第 120 号）. （上海市药监局转载，原文页 nmpa.gov.cn 在本机返回 412）；全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第八十四、八十五条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第三百五十三条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2007). 禁毒法（第三十三、三十八、四十七条）. （广东省人民政府转载） +- Notes: This is not only for entertainment venues: the same logic applies at school gates, at friends' gatherings, and on long-distance buses, whether the item handed over is candy, a drink, or a vape cartridge. Drugging is often followed by robbery, sexual assault, and extortion; there are no published official statistics on that part — it is experiential judgment. Swapping a drink that has left your sight costs far less than pursuing it afterwards. For what to do when someone produces unknown powder, pills, or a cartridge in a venue, see item 3 of this section; for carrying things for other people, see item 27 of section 8. + +### 5. Use your own ID card at internet cafes; never lend yours or use someone else's + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: By regulation, internet cafes must verify and register the ID card of each customer going online and record their internet activity, keeping it for no less than 60 days; the public security and cultural authorities can pull the records at any time, and nothing can be altered or deleted in that period. Whoever's card was used to log in is the person on whose account everything done on that machine during that time is recorded. +- Benefit: "Business operators of internet service venues shall verify and register valid identification such as the ID cards of customers going online, and shall record relevant information about their online activity. The registered content and record backups shall be kept for no less than 60 days," and shall be provided when the cultural administration department or public security organ makes a lawful inquiry; within the retention period they may not be modified or deleted. In other words, whoever's card was used to log in is the person on whose account what is done on that machine during that time is recorded +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2002). 互联网上网服务营业场所管理条例（国令第 363 号，第二十三条）. +- Notes: This is the concrete scenario of the same red line as section 9's "never lend your ID card." Operators may not admit minors and must hang a minors-prohibited sign in a prominent position at the entrance; song-and-dance entertainment venues likewise may not admit minors. If you "swipe your card to get a minor into an internet cafe," it is the cafe that gets fined, but the record stays on your ID + +### 6. Skip script-murder and escape-room venues located in residential buildings or below the second underground floor + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one question about the floor before booking +- In plain terms: The 2022 notice from five departments states that script-based entertainment venues may not open inside residential buildings or below the first basement level. Such venues are dark, full of partitions and flammable props, and doors often only open after solving a puzzle, so a fire is far harder to escape than in an ordinary shop. Check the address and floor on the review page before booking, and switch venues if it is non-compliant. +- Benefit: The dedicated 2022 notice from five departments is very specific: "Script-based entertainment business venues shall not be located inside residential buildings, below the first basement level of a building (excluding the first basement level), or similar places," and requires venues to implement the requirements of the Work Safety Law and the Fire Protection Law, "routinely conducting self-awareness, self-inspection, and self-correction of fire risks, and improving their ability to organize evacuation and escape in emergencies and to fight incipient fires." The same notice also requires age-appropriateness notices for scripts; minors may not be admitted to scenes unsuitable for them, and script-based entertainment activities may not be offered to minors except on statutory holidays, rest days, and winter and summer vacations +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 文化和旅游部、公安部、住房和城乡建设部、应急管理部、市场监管总局 (2022). 关于加强剧本娱乐经营场所管理的通知. +- Notes: The characteristics of these venues are darkness, many partitions, flammable props, and doors that often need a "puzzle solved" to open, so once a fire starts escape is harder than from an ordinary shop. The floor and whether it is a residential building can be seen on the review page before booking; if non-compliant, just pick another venue + +### 7. Walk or run when your mood is low; the antidepressant effect size scales with intensity + +- Cost: 0 yuan; about half an hour per session +- In plain terms: 218 randomized trials and more than 14,000 people meeting the criteria for major depression: compared with usual care and placebo pills, the clearest improvement came from brisk walking or jogging, followed by yoga, strength training, mixed aerobic exercise, and tai chi/qigong, with the gaps between them not large; the higher the intensity, the better the effect, and strength training and yoga are the easiest to keep up. The authors themselves say the evidence quality is low, so the usable takeaway is that moving beats not moving, and you should pick whichever one you can sustain. +- Benefit: A Bayesian network meta-analysis of 218 randomized trials, 495 arms, and 14,170 participants meeting clinical criteria for major depression, versus active controls (usual care, placebo pills): brisk walking or jogging Hedges' g −0.62 (95% credible interval −0.80 to −0.45), yoga −0.55 (−0.73 to −0.36), strength training −0.49 (−0.69 to −0.29), mixed aerobic exercise −0.43 (−0.61 to −0.24), tai chi or qigong −0.42 (−0.65 to −0.21). "The effects of exercise scale with the intensity prescribed," and strength training and yoga had the best acceptability +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Noetel M, Sanders T, Gallardo-Gómez D, et al. (2024). Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ, 384, e075847. +- Notes: Contested. The authors themselves state that of the 218 studies only 1 met Cochrane's low risk-of-bias standard, and under CINeMA grading confidence was "low" for brisk walking/jogging and "very low" for the rest; exercise trials cannot blind participants, so expectation effects are hard to rule out. The direction of the conclusion still holds: moving beats not moving, do not set the intensity too low, and pick the kind you can sustain. This expands on section 3's "start moving when your mood is low" and cannot replace proper treatment after diagnosis + +### 8. When anxiety disrupts your life, a mindfulness-based stress reduction course works no worse than the commonly prescribed anxiety medication + +- Cost: an 8-week course, one session per week plus daily practice at home +- In plain terms: 276 adults diagnosed with an anxiety disorder were randomized into two groups, one taking an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course and one taking escitalopram; at the end, symptom improvement was nearly identical. The difference was in side effects: nearly eighty percent of the medication group had at least one adverse reaction and 10 people dropped out because of it; in the course group it was about fifteen percent, with no dropouts from adverse effects. This used the standardized 8-week curriculum, which is not the same as just any meditation app. +- Benefit: A non-inferiority randomized controlled trial at 3 urban academic medical centers in the United States, in which 276 adults diagnosed with an anxiety disorder were randomized 1:1 to an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course or escitalopram (flexible dose 10 to 20 mg), with 208 completing. On the Clinical Global Impression of Severity scale at the endpoint, the mindfulness group dropped 1.35 and the medication group 1.43, a between-group difference of −0.07 (95% CI −0.38 to 0.23, P=0.65), with the lower bound of the credible interval inside the pre-set non-inferiority margin of −0.495. Adverse events differed sharply: 78.6% of the medication group had at least one study-related adverse event and 10 withdrew because of them; 15.4% of the mindfulness group, with no withdrawals from adverse events +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Hoge EA, Bui E, Mete M, Dutton MA, Baker AW, Simon NM (2023). Mindfulness-based stress reduction vs escitalopram for the treatment of adults with anxiety disorders: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 80(1), 13-21. +- Notes: The trial used the standardized 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) curriculum, not just any meditation app, and the two cannot be equated. This item concerns people who already meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder, and seeing a doctor is still needed where indicated; its practical use is that if you have been putting off treatment out of concern about medication side effects, there is an option of comparable evidence strength + +### 9. To calm down on the spot, use 5 minutes of "cyclic sighing": inhale in two beats, exhale long + +- Cost: 0 yuan; 5 minutes a day +- In plain terms: In a controlled trial of 5 minutes daily for a month, all three breathing exercises improved mood and lowered breathing rate more than mindfulness meditation of the same duration, with "cyclic sighing," which lengthens the exhale, the best of the three. The method: breathe in through the nose, take a second short sip of air to fill the lungs fully, then slowly breathe it all out through the mouth. It is a single trial with self-reported results, but the cost is zero. +- Benefit: A remote randomized controlled trial comparing three 5-minute daily breathing exercises with mindfulness meditation of equal duration, over 1 month. The three breathing methods were cyclic sighing (emphasizing a prolonged exhale), box breathing (equal-length inhale, hold, and exhale), and cyclic hyperventilation with holds (long inhale, short exhale). Mixed-effects models showed the breathing exercises, especially the exhale-focused cyclic sighing, outperformed mindfulness meditation on mood improvement (P<0.05) and reduction in respiratory rate (P<0.05) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Balban MY, Neri E, Kogon MM, et al. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895. +- Notes: A single trial, remote self-reported outcomes, a modest sample size, and the effect is "slightly better than meditation" rather than "solves the problem." But the cost is zero, it takes 5 minutes, and it can be done anywhere, so the value for effort is high. Method: breathe in through the nose, take a brief second sip of air to fill the lungs, then slowly and long breathe it all out through the mouth; repeat for 5 minutes + +### 10. Treat "regularly seeing people" as a health expense; do not reach out only when your mood is low + +- Cost: time to meet and a little money +- In plain terms: 70 studies, 3.4 million people, an average follow-up of 7 years: socially isolated people were about thirty percent more likely to die over the same period than non-isolated people, those who felt lonely about a quarter more, and those living alone about thirty percent more — all three of similar magnitude, and the effect was more pronounced in people under 65. These are observational data, so the reverse explanation that "people in worse health to begin with are more likely to live alone" cannot be removed. +- Benefit: A meta-analysis of 70 prospective studies, 3.4 million participants, and an average follow-up of 7 years: social isolation, loneliness, and living alone were all associated with higher mortality, with adjusted weighted average odds ratios of 1.29 for social isolation, 1.26 for loneliness, and 1.32 for living alone after controlling for confounders; the three effect sizes were comparable, and larger in populations under 65 than in older populations +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Baker M, Harris T, Stephenson D (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: a meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 227-237. +- Notes: Contested. All the data are observational and reverse causation cannot be removed — people in already poorer health are more likely to live alone and socialize less. The authors' interpretation is to treat social relationships as a public-health factor on the same scale as smoking and obesity, but no randomized trial has shown that "adding social contact lowers mortality." This item does not conflict with section 3's "cut down on relationships that drain you": that one is about cutting off relationships that consume you, this one is about keeping the few that restore you + +### 11. Use nearby green space if you live close to it; walking, strolling, and sitting all count + +- Cost: 0 yuan; on your way anyway +- In plain terms: 9 studies, 7 countries, 8.32 million people: for every 0.1 increase in the vegetation index of greenery within 500 meters of your home, the probability of dying over the same period was about 4% lower. What was measured is the greenery around the home, not how often you visit a park, and people living in greener areas also tend to be wealthier and enjoy better air. So do not read this as "going to the park extends your life"; the usable part is to factor nearby green space into where you choose to live. +- Benefit: A meta-analysis of 9 cohort studies, 7 countries, and 8.32 million people: for every 0.1 increase in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of surrounding greenery within 500 meters of the residence, the pooled hazard ratio for all-cause mortality was 0.96 (95% CI 0.94–0.97). Seven of the 9 studies found a significant negative association, 2 found none +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Rojas-Rueda D, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Gascon M, Perez-Leon D, Mudu P (2019). Green spaces and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. The Lancet Planetary Health, 3(11), e469-e477. +- Notes: Contested. Between-study heterogeneity is extremely high (I²=95%), and what was measured is the greenery around the residence, not "how often you go to the park" — people living in greener areas also tend to be richer, have better air, and exercise more, so confounding is hard to rule out. Do not read this as "going to the park extends your life"; the usable part is: factor nearby green space into choosing where to live, at zero cost From 4169e84a490cb718c922e438558b7425c0ad65a0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:32:04 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 22/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch23:=20Which=20Skills=20To=20Learn?= =?UTF-8?q?=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/23-Which-Skills-To-Learn.md | 121 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 121 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/23-Which-Skills-To-Learn.md diff --git a/book/en/23-Which-Skills-To-Learn.md b/book/en/23-Which-Skills-To-Learn.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..50fa6c46d --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/23-Which-Skills-To-Learn.md @@ -0,0 +1,121 @@ +[← Back to the master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 23. Which Skills Are Worth Learning + +The frame here is monetary return versus time cost; item 2 additionally factors in mortality. The first six items answer "should I keep studying or not" — the law first rules out a portion of the options, then come the longevity accounting, how scarce each education level is within the population, subsidies for those who cannot afford school, the pathways for people who never entered general academic high school, and finally a method for running the numbers yourself. The last seven answer "once you have decided to learn something, how to choose it". Wage statistics broken down by occupation in China are difficult to verify item by item through public official channels, so this chapter covers only what has a traceable source: the evidence on returns to education, how to verify whether a certificate is legitimate, where training subsidies come from, and which dimensions of a skill are more resistant to replacement. As for how much a specific trade earns per month, this book gives no numbers. +### 1. Under 16 there is no "go get a job" option: whoever hires you is fined 5,000 yuan per month, and anyone willing to hire you is off the books + +- Cost: 0 yuan; first work out your own age +- In plain terms: People usually finish junior high at 15 to 16, exactly on this line. The law on compulsory education states that parents must send their children to school to receive and complete compulsory education, and forbids employers from hiring children who should still be in school; the state regulation prohibiting child labor adds another layer: state organs, social organizations, enterprises and public institutions, private non-enterprise entities, and individually owned businesses may not hire anyone under 16, with a fine of 5,000 yuan per child laborer per month, rising to 10,000 yuan per person per month if not corrected after the deadline, and a 5,000-yuan fine for brokering even one person into child labor. So the only work you can find under 16 will come from units that knowingly break the law to use you — no contract, no social insurance contributions, and if something goes wrong, compensation is negotiated privately rather than handled as a work injury. +- Benefit: Article 11 of the law on compulsory education: "children who have reached the age of six must have their parents or other legal guardians send them to school to receive and complete compulsory education"; Article 14: "employers are prohibited from hiring school-age children and adolescents who should be receiving compulsory education"; Article 58: where there is no justifiable reason for failing to enroll school-age children or adolescents in school as required by the law, the local township people's government or the education administrative department of the county-level people's government shall "give criticism and education and order correction within a time limit". The state regulation prohibiting child labor, Article 2: state organs, social organizations, enterprises and public institutions, private non-enterprise entities, and individually owned businesses "may not hire minors under the age of 16"; Article 6: penalties are imposed "at the standard of a fine of 5,000 yuan per child laborer per month", and if not corrected after the deadline, 10,000 yuan per person per month; Article 7: for brokering child-labor employment "a fine of 5,000 yuan is imposed for each person introduced"; Article 10: if a child laborer falls ill or is injured, the employer "must take responsibility for sending them to a medical institution for treatment and bear all medical and living expenses during the treatment period", with a one-time compensation payment additionally owed in case of disability or death. Article 13 leaves a single exception: with the consent of parents or other guardians, culture and arts organizations and sports organizations may hire professional performers and athletes under 16 (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2018). 义务教育法（2018 年第二次修正，第十一、十四、五十八条）. （教育部刊登）；国务院 (2002). 禁止使用童工规定（国务院令第 364 号，第二、六、七、十、十三条）. +- Notes: The beneficiary is yourself. After 16, working is legal, but the jobs willing to take a 16-year-old with no credentials are exactly the category covered in item 10 of this section: fixed routines and the highest replaceability. The overtime pay, annual leave, and work-injury benefits discussed in section 19 all presuppose an employment relationship and evidence; off-the-books jobs have neither + +### 2. Put "is schooling useful" into the mortality ledger too: each additional year of education lowers adult death risk by about 1.9% + +- Cost: the extra years of time and energy spent studying; for tuition, see item 4 of this section +- In plain terms: Pooling 603 studies from 59 countries with more than ten thousand observation points gives this result: years of education and mortality have a dose relationship — each additional year of schooling means an average of about 1.9% lower death risk in adulthood. The effect is most visible at ages 18 to 49, about 2.9% lower per extra year, dropping to 0.8% past age 70. No difference was seen between men and women, or between poor and rich countries. In other words, the difference between finishing high school and stopping at junior high is not just wages. +- Benefit: Systematic review and meta-analysis, searching January 1980 to May 2023, finally including 603 studies, 70 sites in 59 countries, and 10,355 observations: education shows a dose-response relationship with all-cause adult mortality, with each additional year of education lowering the risk of death by an average of 1.9% (95% uncertainty interval 1.8–2.0); among people aged 18 to 49, each additional year lowers it by 2.9% (2.8–3.0), and among people over 70, by 0.8% (0.6–1.0); no differences in effect were found by sex or by sociodemographic index +- Evidence grade: A (contested) +- Sources: IHME-CHAIN Collaborators (2024). Effects of education on adult mortality: a global systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health, 9(3), e155-e165. +- Notes: Contested. The authors themselves report publication bias (p<0.0001) and high heterogeneity across studies; all included studies are observational, and years of education are highly entangled with family circumstances, region, and occupation — how much of this 1.9% comes from education itself and how much from "people who can keep studying in the first place already had better conditions" cannot be separated with this kind of research. So it is strong evidence that "more schooling and living longer move in the same direction", not a causal guarantee that "sending you to school extends life by 1.9%". The beneficiary is yourself + +### 3. Before judging "has a degree lost value", first look at the national education structure: only 15,467 people per 100,000 have a college-level education + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a look at the numbers +- In plain terms: The 2020 seventh national census found that per 100,000 people nationwide, only 15,467 have junior college or above (about 15%), 15,088 have senior high including vocational secondary school, 34,507 have junior high, and 24,767 have primary school; the average years of schooling for people aged 15 and over is 9.91 years, which is just past junior high graduation. A junior high education in China is not "enough" — it is the largest and most easily replaced bracket. "985 graduates delivering takeout" and "junior high dropouts becoming bosses" get repeated over and over precisely because they are unusual; being talked about a lot does not mean it happens a lot. +- Benefit: Seventh national population census (reference time 00:00 November 1, 2020): among the national population, 218,360,767 people have a college education (junior college or above), 213,005,258 have senior high (including vocational secondary school), 487,163,489 have junior high, and 349,658,828 have primary school. Compared with the 2010 sixth census, per 100,000 people those with a college education rose from 8,930 to 15,467, senior high rose from 14,032 to 15,088, junior high fell from 38,788 to 34,507, and primary school fell from 26,779 to 24,767; average years of schooling for those aged 15 and over rose from 9.08 to 9.91 years, and the illiteracy rate fell from 4.08% to 2.67% +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家统计局、国务院第七次全国人口普查领导小组办公室 (2021). 第七次全国人口普查公报（第六号）——人口受教育情况. +- Notes: This item answers only "how scarce is each education level in the population", not "is schooling worth it for one particular person" — the latter you must calculate yourself by the method in item 6 of this section. One caveat: the census measures the stock of the whole national population, and the proportion among young people is far higher than this average, so comparing yourself against your own age group using it overstates your advantage; conversely, using it to rebut "schooling is useless" is valid, because the denominator is the entire labor force you are competing against. The beneficiary is yourself + +### 4. Run "can't afford school" through the policy ledger first: vocational school tuition is mostly waived, grants are 2,300 yuan, student loans up to 20,000 yuan a year + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one inquiry at the school's student aid office before the semester starts, one submission of paperwork +- In plain terms: Compulsory education already waives tuition and fees. On the vocational secondary school side, at public schools tuition is already waived for rural students (including those from county towns), for urban students in agriculture-related programs, and for students from families in financial difficulty. The national grants for vocational secondary school and academic senior high school rise from 2,000 yuan to 2,300 yuan per year starting from the spring semester of 2025. Once at university, the national grant for undergraduate and junior college students rises from 3,300 to 3,700 yuan, the national encouragement scholarship from 5,000 to 6,000 yuan, the national student loan cap for undergraduates and junior college students from 16,000 to 20,000 yuan a year and for graduate students from 20,000 to 25,000 yuan, with the interest rate at the same-term, same-tier LPR minus 70 basis points. Not enough money can mean postponing or changing paths, but run against these figures it rarely amounts to "must drop out and work right now". +- Benefit: From the fall semester of 2012, "tuition is waived for all rural students (including those from county towns), urban students in agriculture-related programs, and students from families in financial difficulty among formally enrolled full-time first-, second-, and third-year students at public secondary vocational schools (excluding students in related performing programs in the arts)". The 2024 adjustment of student aid policies: the national grant for undergraduate and junior college students rises from 3,300 yuan to 3,700 yuan per student per year, the national encouragement scholarship from 5,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan, effective from the fall semester of 2024 (the encouragement scholarship from 2024); the national grants for secondary vocational schools and for academic senior high schools both rise from 2,000 yuan to 2,300 yuan per student per year, effective from the spring semester of 2025. For national student loans from the fall semester of 2024, for undergraduate and junior college students "the annual loan application limit per person rises from no more than 16,000 yuan to no more than 20,000 yuan", and for graduate students "from no more than 20,000 yuan to no more than 25,000 yuan", with the interest rate at the same-term, same-tier LPR minus 70 basis points (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 财政部、发展改革委、教育部、人力资源社会保障部 (2012). 关于扩大中等职业教育免学费政策范围 进一步完善国家助学金制度的意见（财教〔2012〕376 号）. ；财政部、教育部、人力资源社会保障部有关司局负责人 (2024). 就调整学生资助政策有关问题答记者问. ；财政部、教育部、人民银行、金融监管总局 (2024). 关于调整完善国家助学贷款有关政策的通知（财教〔2024〕188 号）. +- Notes: The beneficiaries are yourself and your children. The exact coverage of tuition waivers and the tiering ratios of grants are set by each province; private schools are subsidized at the local public rate for the same type of program and the shortfall is still paid out of pocket, so verify against local documents before enrolling. A student loan is a loan, not a grant, and must be repaid after graduation — but it splits "can't pay tuition right now" from "are these years worth it", so don't treat the funding problem as the conclusion. Section 7 covered training subsidies and temporary assistance during unemployment; when the family's income truly stops, take that route first + +### 5. Failing to get into academic senior high does not mean the road is cut: vocational schools have through-track admissions and separate exams, and skill-job hiring can lower degree requirements + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one check of your province's vocational education admissions platform before submitting senior high school preferences +- In plain terms: The law on vocational education, revised in 2022, defines vocational education as "a type of education of equal importance with general education", and gives explicit pathways upward: secondary vocational schools can run through-track admissions and training with higher vocational colleges in relevant majors, higher vocational colleges can admit students through a combination of academic attainment plus vocational skills, and higher vocational colleges and ordinary universities that run vocational education must also set aside a proportion of their enrollment plans, or hold separate exams, specifically for secondary vocational graduates. Employment has explicit provisions too: employers may not set application, hiring, or recruitment conditions that obstruct equal employment for vocational school graduates, and in open recruitment by public institutions, positions requiring vocational skill levels may appropriately lower their degree requirements. Scoring too low for academic senior high means switching to another road, not stopping at a junior high education. +- Benefit: Law on Vocational Education (in force from May 1, 2022), Article 3: "vocational education is a type of education of equal importance with general education". Article 37: secondary vocational schools "may, in accordance with relevant state provisions, implement through-track admissions and training with higher vocational school education in relevant majors"; higher vocational schools "may, in accordance with relevant state provisions, admit students through an assessment method combining academic attainment and vocational skills"; education administrative departments at the provincial level and above must establish a unified vocational education admissions platform that aggregates and publishes schools, program offerings, and admissions information and provides inquiry and application services. Article 53: "vocational school students enjoy equal opportunities with same-level ordinary school students in further study, employment, and career development"; higher vocational schools and ordinary universities implementing vocational education "must set a corresponding proportion in their enrollment plans or adopt separate examination methods to recruit vocational school graduates specifically"; "employers may not set application, hiring, or recruitment conditions that obstruct equal employment and fair competition for vocational school graduates", and in open recruitment by public institutions, positions with vocational skill level requirements "may appropriately lower the degree requirement" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2022). 职业教育法（2022 年修订，第三、三十七、五十三条）. （教育部刊登） +- Notes: The beneficiaries are yourself and your children. These are statutory pathways, not guaranteed admission: the range of majors in through-track training, the proportion of separate admissions, and the subjects of the vocational education exam are all set by each province — before submitting preferences you must check your own province's vocational education admissions platform and enrollment plan for that year, and not extrapolate from another province's experience. When picking a secondary vocational major, screen it with the dimensions in item 10 of this section — majors requiring presence on site and in non-standard environments are more resistant to replacement. Before choosing a school, first verify its operating credentials with the three steps in item 8; treat any admissions pitch promising "guaranteed job placement" or "guaranteed pass" as an automatic no + +### 6. Turn "study or work" into a problem you compute: three years of early wages set against decades of annual income difference + +- Cost: 0 yuan; sit down and compute it once, half an hour +- In plain terms: Lay both roads out on paper. The work-now road: the gain is three years of wages from a low-barrier job, and the cost is the slice you lose from every year after. The keep-studying road: the cost is tuition plus living expenses, minus the tuition waivers, grants, and student loans from item 4 of this section, plus the wages not earned during those years; the gain is the income difference brought by each extra year of education, multiplied by the remaining thirty or forty years of working life — plus the mortality ledger from item 2 of this section. The key is that the early earnings are one-off, while the annual income difference gets multiplied by your years of work. China's urban estimates rose from 4.0% a year in 1988 to 10.2% in 2001; the data are old and usable only as an order of magnitude. +- Benefit: Estimates for urban China 1988 to 2001: the return to education "rose sharply from 4.0% per year of education in 1988 to 10.2% in 2001", with the increase occurring mainly after 1992, reflecting the rise in the wage premium for higher education. This is the locally available Chinese order of magnitude for converting "one more year of schooling" into an annual income difference; for the global average, see item 7 of this section +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Zhang J, Zhao Y, Park A, Song X (2005). Economic returns to schooling in urban China, 1988 to 2001. Journal of Comparative Economics, 33(4), 730-752. +- Notes: The data end in 2001 and cover only urban areas, so they cannot be used directly as today's numbers; the same applies to the 9% global average in item 7 of this section. This item gives a method, not an answer: computed this way, the conclusion varies from person to person — high tuition, a mismatch between major and job, and a long duration of study can genuinely come out as not worth it, which does not amount to "schooling is useless", only to "this specific program isn't worth it". Don't conflate the two. Beyond the income difference, several items exist that won't fit in the formula but are real: statutory degree thresholds (item 5 of this section), resistance to replacement (item 10), and the ability to switch industries. The beneficiary is yourself + +### 7. Memorize the baseline first: each additional year of education yields a global average private return of about 9% a year + +- Cost: 0 yuan; use it as the baseline for comparing any "learn something" plan +- In plain terms: A review covering 139 countries and 1,120 estimates works out that each additional year of schooling means personal income about 9% higher on average per year, and the return for women is consistently higher than for men. This is the average for "one more year of formal education", not the payoff of "signing up for a course". Use it as a ruler: a program asks you for 30,000 yuan and half a year — ask whether the income change it brings matches a year of formal education. +- Benefit: A review covering 1950 to 2014, 139 countries, and 1,120 estimates: "the global average private return to an additional year of education is 9% a year"; the private return to higher education is rising, and the social return to education remains high; the average return to education for women is consistently higher than for men +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Psacharopoulos G, Patrinos HA (2018). Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature. Education Economics, 26(5), 445-458. ；世界银行政策研究工作论文 8402. +- Notes: This is the average for "one more year of schooling", not the payoff of "signing up for a course", and not a China-specific number — it serves only as an order-of-magnitude reference. Its use is to give every training plan a ruler: a course asking 30,000 yuan and half a year of your time should be asked whether it can deliver an income change equivalent to a year of formal education. The global average masks enormous differences across fields and across countries + +### 8. Before paying for a certificate, first check whether it is in the national occupational qualification catalog or on the MOHRSS roster of registered assessment bodies + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one check, a dozen or so minutes +- In plain terms: The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has run dedicated crackdowns on exactly this mess — organizations using the names of new occupations and skill levels to run courses haphazardly, charge fees arbitrarily, and hand out certificates indiscriminately, even impersonating authoritative bodies; enforcement was carried out jointly with cyberspace, public security, and market regulation authorities, shutting down non-compliant advertising. Before signing up, check in three steps: whether the occupation is in the national occupational qualification catalog, whether the issuing body is an assessment body registered with the human resources and social security departments, and whether the certificate number can be looked up on the official platform. If it can't be found, the registration fee is money thrown away. +- Benefit: The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has run a nationwide special crackdown for this reason: "some institutions and units, under the names of new-occupation qualifications and vocational skill levels, arbitrarily conduct training, assessment, and certificate-issuing activities, charging fees indiscriminately and issuing certificates indiscriminately; some institutions and units engage in false or exaggerated publicity, and even organize training, assessment, and certificate issuance in the name of authoritative bodies". Measures included enforcement jointly with cyberspace, public security, and market regulation departments, "severely cracking down on certificate-issuing and assessment activities impersonating appraisal institutions and assessment bodies registered with human resources and social security departments", and lawfully shutting down non-compliant promotion on websites and new media. It also required "guiding the public to learn the channels and methods for verifying certificates and to judge whether a certificate is lawful, compliant, and worth anything" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 人力资源社会保障部 (2022). 关于开展技术技能类「山寨证书」专项治理工作的通知. +- Notes: Verification order: first check whether the occupation is in the national occupational qualification catalog — if it is not in the catalog, it is not a national occupational qualification; then check whether the issuing body is an assessment body registered with the human resources and social security departments; finally, look up the certificate number on the official skill-talent assessment certificate verification platform. If it can't be found, do not enroll. Certificates bearing the words "international", "senior", or "registered", or promising "guaranteed pass" or "rent it out to an employer for income", carry the highest risk + +### 9. For training, take the government-subsidized channel first; don't start by paying out of pocket for a commercial course + +- Cost: 0 yuan or a large reduction; the training itself takes time +- In plain terms: From 2025 to the end of 2027, the state plans to run subsidized training for more than 30 million person-times, with the money coming through multiple channels — employment subsidy funds, the unemployment insurance fund, enterprise employee education funds, and others — and subsidy levels set by how short-handed the occupation is and by training cost. Enterprises are also required to spend more than sixty percent of their employee education funds on front-line workers. If you're employed, ask your employer first; everyone else should read their local human resources and social security bureau's subsidy catalog before deciding what to learn — cheaper than choosing first and hunting for a subsidy afterward. +- Benefit: The national scale is explicit: from 2025 to the end of 2027, "carry out subsidized training for more than 30 million person-times, focusing on high-end, cutting-edge industries and high-demand sectors, key employment groups, and so on". Funding sources are consolidated into one package: employment subsidy funds, the unemployment insurance fund, industry development funds, east-west collaboration funds, enterprise employee education funds, and so on; subsidies are set differentially by how urgently and critically in demand the occupation (job type) is and by training cost. On the enterprise side it is also required to "withdraw and use employee education funds in full as prescribed, ensuring that more than 60% goes to the education and training of front-line workers" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院就业促进和劳动保护工作领导小组 (2025). 关于开展大规模职业技能提升培训行动的指导意见. +- Notes: Claim procedures and amounts are set by each province; the entry points are the "vocational training subsidy catalog" on the local human resources and social security bureau website and the public practical training bases. Section 7 covered vocational training subsidies during unemployment (a maximum of 3 per person) and social insurance subsidies; employed people should ask about their employer's employee education funds first. Checking the subsidy catalog before choosing what to learn saves far more money than choosing first and then looking for a subsidy + +### 10. When picking a skill, prioritize "does it need hands-on work and on-the-spot judgment" — these are the hardest to displace with automation + +- Cost: 0 yuan; screen candidates against this dimension before choosing +- In plain terms: In an assessment of 702 US occupations, about 47% of jobs fell in the high-risk band, and what holds the machines back is three things: manual dexterity, creativity, and the ability to deal with people. So work that requires being on site, in non-standard environments, and making judgment calls on the spot is harder to displace, while jobs with fixed routines centered on processing information carry the highest risk. This research scored entire occupations; later estimates that split jobs into specific tasks come out much lower — don't fixate on the 47% figure, look at those three dimensions. +- Benefit: Assessment of the computerization probability of 702 US occupations: about 47% of employment is in the high-risk band. In the model, the level of risk is decided by three kinds of "engineering bottlenecks" — perception and manipulation (finger and hand dexterity, working in confined spaces and awkward positions), creative intelligence, and social intelligence. That is, work in non-standard environments requiring manual skill and on-the-spot judgment is systematically less likely to be replaced, while jobs with fixed routines centered on information processing carry the highest risk +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Frey CB, Osborne MA (2017). The future of employment: how susceptible are jobs to computerisation? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 114, 254-280. +- Notes: Contested. This research is a 2013 working paper that scored "whether an entire occupation can be automated"; later research (such as estimates splitting by task rather than occupation) finds far lower high-risk shares; it also does not predict in which year anything will happen. The correct way to use it is not the 47% figure but the three bottleneck dimensions it identified — these explain why on-site installation, repair, and care work resists replacement better than pure paperwork, and why "learning a skill" should first mean the kind that requires being on site, facing non-standard environments + +### 11. Before learning, confirm whether the skill has a graded assessment and whether the grade can be converted into money + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one check +- In plain terms: The state is promoting the "new eight-grade worker" system, requiring enterprises to link both position pay and skill grades, and to expand the evaluation and appointment of senior workers and above; qualifying employees can even have their grade determined directly without regard to years of service or seniority. This is a policy direction, not a wage number already delivered — it varies a lot by region and by enterprise. The usable judgment: only skills with a national occupational standard and a grading track can later be discussed in terms of pay raises tied to grades. +- Benefit: The state is promoting the "new eight-grade worker" vocational skill grade system and explicitly requires linking grades to pay: "strengthen the skill-oriented pay distribution system... guide enterprises to adopt distribution methods linking position pay to both position value and skill grade"; each locality is to "increase the intensity and frequency of evaluation and appointment for senior workers and above"; qualifying enterprises may conduct employee skill grade evaluations on their own, and for outstanding employees "may set aside conditions such as length of service, grade, and seniority, and directly recognize the corresponding vocational skill grade" +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国务院就业促进和劳动保护工作领导小组 (2025). 关于开展大规模职业技能提升培训行动的指导意见. ；人力资源社会保障部 (2021). 「技能中国行动」实施方案. +- Notes: This is a policy direction, not a wage number already delivered, and the degree of implementation varies greatly by region and by enterprise. The actionable part: when choosing a skill, check whether it has a corresponding national occupational standard and grading track — only skills with a track can later involve pay raises by grade; a "skill" with neither grades nor an industry entry threshold leaves you finding work entirely on your own after finishing + +### 12. Don't take "the internet says the pay is high" as evidence of labor shortage; look up your locality's in-demand occupation catalog and subsidy catalog + +- Cost: 0 yuan; look up two local documents +- In plain terms: How much subsidy each locality pays is itself the official pricing of "which job types are short of people" — subsidy amounts are set by urgency of shortage and training cost. How differently the same job type is subsidized across cities directly reflects differences in how short-handed each place is. Online claims like "this trade makes X a month" mostly come from recruitment-platform listing prices or personal accounts; they overrepresent winners and exclude hours, commuting, occupational disease, and slack versus peak seasons. +- Benefit: The subsidy amounts themselves are the official pricing of "which job types are short of people": policy requires "improving the differentiated subsidy mechanism determined by the urgency and shortage level of the occupation (job type), training costs, and similar factors", with each locality using this to determine the scope of its local subsidized vocational skills training programs. So the difference in subsidy amounts for the same job type across cities directly reflects the local degree of shortage +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国务院就业促进和劳动保护工作领导小组 (2025). 关于开展大规模职业技能提升培训行动的指导意见. +- Notes: TODO (to be verified: official data sources for national average wages by occupation and rankings of in-demand occupations; the relevant MOHRSS pages could not be retrieved this time). Online claims of "this trade makes X a month" almost all come from recruitment-platform listing prices or personal accounts, carrying survivorship bias while excluding hours, commuting, occupational disease, and slack versus peak seasons. To see real demand, check the subsidy catalog and the job-demand rankings of public employment service agencies on the local human resources and social security bureau website, then go to actual construction sites, factories, and shops and ask the people working there + +### 13. For the same money and time, prefer short-cycle programs that lead directly to employable work + +- Cost: tuition and time for the short course +- In plain terms: What policy encourages is "quick, short, effective" training that achieves employment in a short time, and micro-majors at vocational colleges. Screen a program on one question only: after finishing, is there a specific position to send a resume to. Something that takes a year and a half and still requires "accumulating more experience" after completion actually costs far more time than its sticker price. Write the exit condition before starting: at what point without finding work do you stop. +- Benefit: The policy line is consistent with this: support for "private training institutions offering market-oriented, high-quality vocational skills training programs and 'quick, short, effective' vocational skills training programs that can achieve employment in a short time", and for vocational colleges to "focus on the knowledge and skills the job market urgently needs... open micro-majors and vocational competency training courses" +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 国务院就业促进和劳动保护工作领导小组 (2025). 关于开展大规模职业技能提升培训行动的指导意见. +- Notes: The judging criterion is a single one: after finishing, is there a specific position to send a resume to. Programs that take a year and a half and still require "accumulating more experience" after completion cost far more than the stated price. The exit conditions from section 4 apply equally — write clearly before starting "at what point without finding work I stop" From 1f7e49e8437ccb51ff3059240687ede8e0cd4d43 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:32:04 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 23/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch24:=20Seeing=20The=20Doctor=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/24-Seeing-The-Doctor.md | 116 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 116 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/24-Seeing-The-Doctor.md diff --git a/book/en/24-Seeing-The-Doctor.md b/book/en/24-Seeing-The-Doctor.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..3e7ed7145 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/24-Seeing-The-Doctor.md @@ -0,0 +1,116 @@ +[← Back to master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 24. Seeing a doctor: how to spend less and take fewer detours + +Scope: money and time. This section is about how the process of seeking care itself works — where to go first, how referrals work, where the savings are, how to queue in the emergency department, and which assessments and certificates to obtain after treatment for a serious injury. For what benefits you can claim, see Section 7; for long-term management of chronic illness, see Section 16; for what to do first at the scene of an emergency, see Section 13. + +This section is based mainly on the measures issued by the General Office of the State Council in April 2026 on accelerating the building of a tiered diagnosis and treatment system. That document ties "starting at the primary (community) level" directly to "spending less", but implementation timelines differ by locality. The main text sets out national-level rules; for the specifics of the pooling region (统筹地区 — the locality where your medical insurance is pooled and paid out) where you live, follow the guidance of the local medical-insurance and health authorities. +### 1. Start common ailments at the community clinic, get referred up through primary care tier by tier, and the inpatient deductible carries over + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the price is one extra trip to the community clinic first, and accepting that you will not book a specialist slot directly +- In plain terms: when you are admitted upward to a higher-level hospital through step-by-step referral from primary care, the deductible you must cover out of pocket for each hospital stay counts only once. If you walk straight into a tertiary hospital on your own and later transfer back to a community facility to recover, you may end up paying it twice. And when a hospital refers you back down to primary care to continue the same stay, no new deductible is set within the same illness episode. +- Benefit: for insured patients referred up through primary care, the inpatient deductible at the higher-level hospital can be counted consecutively; for patients referred back down from a higher-level hospital to primary care, no additional deductible is set within the same disease cycle +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2026). 关于加快建设分级诊疗体系的若干措施. ：「统筹地区内经基层医疗卫生机构逐级转诊的参保患者，在上级医院的住院起付线可连续计算；由上级医院下转至基层医疗卫生机构的住院患者，同一疾病周期内不再另设住院起付线。」 +- Notes: the deductible is the portion you pay yourself each admission. Going straight to a tertiary hospital on your own and then transferring back down to primary care for recovery can mean paying it twice; going through the referral route means it is counted once. Referral rules are set separately by each province, city and medical consortium, so ask the community clinic before you go. + +### 2. Within the same pooling region, the lower the hospital tier, the higher the reimbursement rate — a gap of about 10 percentage points + + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: for the same hospital bill, the lower the hospital's tier, the more gets reimbursed. Localities are widening the gap in the direction of roughly ten percentage points per tier, and newly added medical-insurance funds are also tilted toward primary care. If you take something a community clinic could handle to a big hospital instead, the difference you pay yourself can run to several thousand yuan. +- Benefit: the document requires localities to widen the gap in inpatient reimbursement levels across tiers of medical institutions, in principle by about 10 percentage points per tier; annual increases in medical-insurance funds are also tilted toward primary care +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2026). 关于加快建设分级诊疗体系的若干措施. ：「因地制宜适当拉开参保人员在不同等级医疗卫生机构的住院报销水平，原则上统筹地区内医疗卫生机构住院报销比例逐级拉开10个百分点左右的差距。」「具备条件的地方，可按分级诊疗导向酌情拉开参保人员在不同等级医疗卫生机构的门诊报销水平。」 +- Notes: for the same hospital bill, the difference in what you pay out of pocket at a primary facility versus a tertiary hospital can be several thousand yuan. This does not say every illness should be treated at the community level — it says do not go up-tier for what can be handled at the primary level. + +### 3. To get into a big hospital, use primary-care referral or the hospital's referral center — never ticket scalpers + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one extra referral procedure +- In plain terms: big hospitals have to set aside a share of appointment slots and beds for people referred up from primary care, and must set up a referral center or a designated department to handle referrals, with full coverage by 2027. Failing to snag a booking does not mean there is no route. A scalper's slot is not just expensive — it can also land you in a department that does not match your condition. +- Benefit: lead hospitals of close-knit medical consortia must reserve a certain proportion of appointment slots and beds for primary care and promptly receive patients referred up from primary level; medical institutions must set up a referral center or designate a fixed department, with full coverage by 2027 +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2026). 关于加快建设分级诊疗体系的若干措施. ：「牵头医院要为基层医疗卫生机构预留一定比例的号源和床位，并及时接诊经基层转诊患者。」「医疗机构要强化转诊服务统一管理，设立转诊中心或指定固定部门承担患者转诊服务工作，到2027年实现全覆盖。」 +- Notes: reserved slots are a dedicated channel for referred patients — not winning one in the open booking rush does not mean there is no route. The scalper route is expensive and can drop you into the wrong department. If you cannot find the referral center, call the hospital's service line and ask. + +### 4. Before seeking care across provinces, ask once at home first — the necessity is in principle assessed by a doctor of associate-chief-physician rank or above + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one extra question asked +- In plain terms: whether you should travel elsewhere for treatment is in principle assessed by a doctor of associate chief physician (副主任医师 — the second-highest full-time physician rank in Chinese hospitals) title or above at a secondary or tertiary hospital. And for care sought while temporarily away, the reimbursement level runs a notch below what the same-tier hospital in your insurance enrollment area would pay. Asking at home before you set off beats discovering after arrival that it will not be reimbursed. +- Benefit: the necessity of cross-region or cross-province medical care is in principle assessed by personnel with the title of associate chief physician or above at secondary or tertiary hospitals; the reimbursement level for people seeking care temporarily outside the province is kept at a reasonable difference from same-tier institutions in the enrollment area +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2026). 关于加快建设分级诊疗体系的若干措施. ：「原则上由二、三级医院副主任医师及以上职称人员评估患者跨统筹地区、跨省异地就医的必要性。」「进一步强化异地就医直接结算管理服务，跨省临时外出就医人员报销水平与参保地同级别医疗机构报销水平保持合理差异。」 +- Notes: "temporary out-of-town care" and "long-term residence elsewhere" are two different filings (备案 — registration with your insurance authority before seeking care outside your home region), with different reimbursement levels. How to file, and which categories of illness can be settled directly, are in Section 16. Do not wait until you are already out of town to think about reimbursement. + +### 5. Stop using tertiary hospitals as prescription counters — bring stable chronic conditions back to primary care + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; requires dropping the "only big hospitals can be trusted" habit +- In plain terms: tertiary hospitals are being steered toward acute, critical and complex cases; routine follow-up visits for common ailments and outpatient care for diagnosed, stable chronic conditions will be phased down, while specialist teams' routine outpatient services shift toward extending into community settings. If you treat a big hospital as your prescription counter, booking a slot will get harder and harder. +- Benefit: tertiary hospitals are to focus on acute, critical, and difficult and complex diseases, gradually reducing routine outpatient services such as follow-up visits for common ailments and chronic diseases that are clearly diagnosed and stable; higher-level hospitals will extend specialist teams' routine outpatient services down to the primary level +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2026). 关于加快建设分级诊疗体系的若干措施. ：「三级医院要聚焦急危重症和疑难复杂疾病，加强转诊会诊和住院服务，逐步酌减常见病复诊和诊断明确、病情稳定的慢性病等普通门诊。」「紧密型医联体内上级医院要在基层医疗卫生机构开设高血压、糖尿病、慢性阻塞性肺疾病等常见病、慢性病门诊，提供诊疗和健康管理服务，并将专家团队普通门诊向基层医疗卫生机构延伸。」 +- Notes: this is a policy direction, not advice: routine outpatient slots at big hospitals will keep getting harder to book. For stable chronic conditions, primary care can prescribe up to 12 weeks of medication at a time — see Section 16. + +### 6. After every visit, keep your own copy of the medical record, test reports and imaging + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the hospital may charge a copying cost fee as permitted, and the fee schedule must be public +- In plain terms: reviewing and copying your own medical record is a right granted by law, covering outpatient records, inpatient notes, lab slips, imaging, surgery and anesthesia records, pathology material and itemized bills; the hospital has a dedicated window to handle requests, may only charge a copying cost fee, and the standard must be published. Changing hospitals, seeking a second opinion, claiming on commercial insurance, or actually ending up in a dispute — all of these rest on this stack of paper. +- Benefit: regulations explicitly list reviewing and copying medical records as a patient's right, with scope covering outpatient records, inpatient notes, lab reports, medical imaging, surgery and anesthesia records, pathology material, medical expenses and all other records; changing hospitals, getting a second opinion, claiming on commercial insurance, or handling a dispute all rely on these +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2018). 医疗纠纷预防和处理条例（国务院令第 701 号）第十六条：「患者有权查阅、复制其门诊病历、住院志、体温单、医嘱单、化验单（检验报告）、医学影像检查资料、特殊检查同意书、手术同意书、手术及麻醉记录、病理资料、护理记录、医疗费用以及国务院卫生主管部门规定的其他属于病历的全部资料。」「患者要求复制病历资料的，医疗机构应当提供复制服务，并在复制的病历资料上加盖证明印记……可以收取工本费，收费标准应当公开。」「患者死亡的，其近亲属可以依照本条例的规定，查阅、复制病历资料。」第十五条「任何单位和个人不得篡改、伪造、隐匿、毁灭或者抢夺病历资料。」；国家卫生计生委、国家中医药管理局 (2013). 医疗机构病历管理规定（2013 年版）：医疗机构「应当指定部门或者专（兼）职人员负责受理复制病历资料的申请」，复制在申请人在场的情况下进行并加盖证明印记. +- Notes: copying is handled at a dedicated window — you do not need to plead with a doctor. For the list of items to copy, just read out Article 16 of the medical-record regulation. Keep one folder in chronological order; the discharge summary, surgery record, pathology report and key imaging matter most. Log each round of chronic-disease test values in the same notebook — see Section 16. + +### 7. If you have doubts about your treatment, demand the record be sealed on the spot — both parties present, an itemized list drawn up, one copy each + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; submit the sealing request to the medical institution and wait for both parties to complete the formalities together +- In plain terms: if you have doubts about your treatment, you can demand that the medical record be sealed: done with both parties present, with an itemized list drawn up, signatures or stamps applied, and one copy held by each side; if the record is not yet finished, the completed part is sealed first. If you suspect a problem with an infusion, blood transfusion, injection or medication, that bag of fluid, that vial and the infusion set must be sealed together as physical evidence. Once sealed, no one can add to or alter it afterward. +- Benefit: the regulation states that "where a medical dispute requires sealing or unsealing of medical record materials, it shall be carried out in the presence of both the medical and patient sides"; what is sealed may be the original or copies, kept by the medical institution; where a record is not yet complete and needs sealing, the completed portion is sealed first, and the rest sealed after completion; the medical institution must draw up a sealing list for the sealed record, signed or stamped by both sides, one copy each. Where infusion, blood transfusion, injection, medication or the like is suspected of causing adverse consequences, both sides shall jointly seal and unseal the physical items on site; where testing is needed, both sides shall jointly entrust a qualified testing institution, and if they cannot agree, the health authority of the county-level people's government where the medical institution is located designates one; where a blood transfusion is suspected and blood must be sealed, the medical institution shall notify the blood station to send personnel on site. One more hard constraint: "No organization or individual may tamper with, forge, conceal, destroy or seize medical record materials." After sealing, once the dispute is resolved, or if 3 years pass with no further request to resolve it, the medical institution may unseal it on its own (nationwide, effective October 1, 2018) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2018). 医疗纠纷预防和处理条例（国务院令第 701 号，第十五、二十四、二十五条）. +- Notes: sealing and copying are two different things: copying is what you do routinely (see item 6), sealing is what fixes the evidence in place when a dispute arises, guarding against after-the-fact additions and alterations. If infusion, transfusion or medication is suspected, seal that bag of fluid, that vial and the infusion set along with the record — do not let anyone take them away and throw them out. Medical institutions must publish the channels, procedures and contact points for resolving medical disputes in a prominent place and set up a unified complaint-handling department — go to that department first rather than arguing with the doctor on duty. + +### 8. For an urgent or critical injury or illness, head straight to the emergency triage desk — do not queue at the registration window + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; walk a few extra steps to the triage desk after entering and state the most dangerous symptom in one sentence +- In plain terms: the emergency department does not work first-come-first-served; it sorts patients into four levels by severity. Level 1, the critically dying, go straight into the resuscitation or emergency room; level 2, critical, must be treated within 10 minutes; level 3, urgent, are seen ahead of level 4 and re-assessed if waiting more than 30 minutes; level 4, non-urgent, wait in order and get re-assessed only after 4 hours of waiting. The place your level is assigned is the pre-hospital triage desk at the emergency entrance, not the registration window — skip triage and you have no level in the system at all, and however badly you are hurt you will only inch along with the queue. When you arrive, report the most dangerous item first: heavy bleeding, gasping for breath, altered consciousness, something impaled in the body, crushing chest pain. Conversely, if you only need a prescription, stitches removed or a look at an old complaint, you will be classed level 4, and the emergency department will just mean a longer wait. +- Benefit: the National Health Commission's 2024 emergency-medicine quality-control indicators stipulate that emergency pre-hospital triage "classifies patients into four levels by severity of condition: Level I, critically urgent patients who require immediate treatment; Level II, acute and severe patients, for whom assessment and treatment usually proceed simultaneously; Level III, acute patients who need diagnosis and treatment within a short time; Level IV, non-urgent or sub-acute patients, who are seen in order in the general care area". Beijing's implementing standard sets the response requirements for each level: level 1, "assess and treat immediately, place the patient in the resuscitation or emergency room"; level 2, "monitor vital signs immediately, treat within 10 minutes, place the patient in the emergency room"; level 3, "treat ahead of level 4 patients, have the patient wait in the general care area; if waiting exceeds 30 minutes, re-assess"; level 4, "be seen in order, with long waits unless the condition changes; if waiting exceeds 4 hours, re-assessment may be performed"; triage must "adhere to the principle that acute, critical and severe cases are seen first", and a pre-hospital triage area must be set up in a prominent position at the emergency department entrance (the four-level standard is national; the response times are Beijing's standard) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2024). 关于印发急诊医学等 6 个专业医疗质量控制指标（2024 年版）的通知（国卫办医政函〔2024〕150 号）附件 1，指标四「急诊分级分诊执行率」. ；北京市卫生健康委员会 (2019). 北京市加强急诊预检分诊分级工作方案及附件《北京市医院急诊预检分诊分级标准（试行）》：「坚持急危重症优先就诊原则。按照患者病情的严重程度，遵循从重到轻、从病情迅速变化到相对稳定的原则，合理安排患者就诊顺序。」「在急诊科入口的显著位置，设置急诊预检分诊区域」. +- Notes: four-level triage is the national standard, but the response time at each level is set by each province and city — the Beijing document is a version that can be checked word for word. Classification looks at vital signs and symptoms, not how much pain you feel you are in: hard indicators for level 1 include heart rate above 180 beats/min or below 40 beats/min, systolic blood pressure below 70 mmHg, blood oxygen below 80%, shock, confirmed myocardial infarction, and acute altered consciousness. If you think your triage level was set too low, add the most dangerous symptom in plain words; if your condition changes while waiting, return to the triage desk for re-assessment immediately. When things are truly critical, calling 120 is faster than getting there yourself — the pre-hospital physician applies the same standard for an initial classification and alerts the hospital in advance (see Section 13). + +### 9. With no money, no documents, or unable to say who you are, the emergency department must still treat you first + + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: the state runs a disease emergency relief fund that specifically pays the emergency-care costs of two kinds of people: those whose identity cannot be established, and those whose identity is clear but who cannot pay. Medical institutions must not refuse, pass off or delay treatment for any reason, and emergency centers must not refuse or delay dispatching an ambulance over cost. So do not tough it out at home just because you have no money on you, and do not hold back from calling an ambulance for fear of an unpaid bill. This money covers only the emergency segment; hospitalization that follows still goes through medical insurance and medical assistance. +- Benefit: the beneficiaries of the disease emergency relief system are "patients within China who suffer an acute, severe or critical illness or injury requiring emergency care but whose identity is unclear or who are unable to pay the corresponding costs"; the fund pays "emergency costs incurred for patients whose identity cannot be established" and "emergency costs unpaid by patients whose identity is clear but who are unable to pay"; "medical institutions of all levels and types and their staff must promptly and effectively treat patients with acute, severe or critical conditions, and must not refuse, pass off or delay treatment for any reason". On the pre-hospital side: the national pre-hospital medical emergency call number is "120"; emergency centers (stations) "must not refuse, pass off or delay pre-hospital medical emergency services on grounds of command or dispatch", nor "refuse or delay pre-hospital medical emergency services over cost issues"; transport follows "the principles of nearest facility, most urgent need, satisfying professional requirements, while taking the patient's wishes into account" (nationwide, from 2013) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅 (2013). 关于建立疾病应急救助制度的指导意见（国办发〔2013〕15 号）. ；国家卫生和计划生育委员会 (2014). 院前医疗急救管理办法（委令第 3 号，第十三、二十二、二十三、二十五条）. +- Notes: the fund covers only the "emergency costs" segment, and treatment comes first — the medical institution applies to the fund afterward; you do not collect money at a window. Those with medical insurance still go through insurance first as usual, and each province's application procedure and limits differ. In the transport principles, "nearest and most urgent" rank ahead of "patient's wishes", so the ambulance will not necessarily take you to the hospital you name — when critical, the nearest one that can handle the case prevails. If the out-of-pocket burden afterward is still too heavy, turn to medical assistance (see Section 7). + +### 10. Get the disability assessment after treatment has concluded — assessed too early, the grade comes out lower + + +- Cost: an assessment fee from a few hundred to 2,000 yuan, generally advanced by the applicant; requires waiting until treatment has concluded or the clinical outcome is stable — usually three to six months after the injury or longer +- In plain terms: how much compensation you get depends mainly on the grade assessed, and the grade depends on how much functional impairment remains once treatment is done. The standard states the assessment must be done after treatment has concluded or the clinical outcome is stable; if you go get assessed while the bone has not yet healed or the plate has not yet been removed, what gets assessed is how you look at that moment — you are effectively pushing your own grade down. Grade 10 corresponds to a disability rate of 10%, each level up adds 10%, and grade 1 is 100%. For a fracture to reach grade 10 it must fall under a specific clause — for example one vertebral body compressed by one third, fractures in two or more places in the pelvis healing with deformity, or loss of 25% or more of function in a major limb joint. An ordinary fracture that heals without affecting function does not qualify. +- Benefit: the grading of disability caused by human body injury specifies that the timing of assessment "shall be after treatment of the primary injury and its clearly related complications has concluded or the clinical treatment outcome has stabilized"; "this standard divides the degree of disability from human body injury into 10 grades, from Grade 1 (disability rate 100%) to Grade 10 (disability rate 10%), with each grade differing by 10% in disability rate"; the basis of judgment is "destruction of the structure of human tissues and organs, functional impairment, and the degree of dependence on medical care and nursing, with due consideration of the social-interaction and psychological effects caused by the disability"; the grade-10 clauses related to fractures include "a compression fracture of one vertebral body (compression reaching 1/3) or a comminuted fracture", "fractures in two or more sites of the pelvis or comminuted pelvic fractures, healing with deformity", and "loss of 25% or more of function in any major joint of the limbs (excluding the ankle)"; disability of the same site and nature must not be counted twice, and where two or more disabling injuries exist, the grade for each shall be stated separately (nationwide, effective January 1, 2017) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部、国家安全部、司法部 (2016). 关于发布《人体损伤致残程度分级》的公告（2016 年 4 月 18 日发布，2017 年 1 月 1 日施行），标准第 4.2、4.4、4.5、5.10.6、6.2 条. +- Notes: the three disability-rating systems are not interchangeable — do not mix them up: injuries from assault, traffic accidents and other personal injury go through judicial appraisal under the grading of disability caused by human body injury, used to calculate disability compensation (see Section 9); work injuries go through labor-capacity assessment, which uses a different set of ten disability grades and governs work-injury benefits (see Section 19); to enjoy policy benefits for persons with disabilities you must separately obtain a disabled-persons certificate (see item 11). Before the assessment, have the medical record, surgery record and follow-up imaging ready (see item 6); missing imaging is the most common cause of a lower grade. Where an injury coexists with a pre-existing condition, the appraisal opinion must also state how much the injury contributed to the disability outcome — this entry directly affects the compensation ratio. + +### 11. Once treatment leaves real functional impairment behind, apply for a disabled-persons certificate at the county-level disabled persons' federation where your household is registered + + +- Cost: the certificate itself carries no fee; the assessment and photo costs are in principle borne by the applicant, with waivers available for those in hardship; bring your ID card, household registration book and 3 two-inch white-background photos to the county-level disabled persons' federation at your place of household registration; after passing the assessment there is a 5-working-day public notice in the village (community), and the federation completes review within 10 working days +- In plain terms: the disabled-persons certificate is the threshold for receiving disability benefits — it is not a proof of injury. It covers seven categories — vision, hearing, speech, physical, intellectual, mental and multiple — each graded one to four, with assessment done to the national standard. The process is: apply, have the application accepted, get assessed at a designated institution, public notice, review and approval, issuance of the certificate; it is valid for ten years and renewed free at expiry. If you do not qualify, you do not qualify — this is not something a well-placed acquaintance can get done. If the condition later changes, you can apply for re-assessment; if you dispute the conclusion, you have ten working days to apply to the city-level federation for re-assessment. +- Benefit: the disabled-persons certificate "is the legal credential for identifying persons with disabilities and their category and grade of disability, and an important basis for persons with disabilities to enjoy preferential national and local government policies according to law"; the assessment standard is the national standard Classification and Grading of Disabilities of Persons with Disabilities (GB/T 26341-2010); the principles are voluntary application and territorial management; persons with disabilities in all seven categories — vision, hearing, speech, physical, intellectual, mental and multiple — may apply, with disability grades of one to four; the county-level federation handles application acceptance and issuance based on assessment conclusions issued by a hospital or professional institution designated by the province; conclusions meeting the standard are posted publicly in the village (community) for five working days, and the county-level federation "completes review within ten working days"; "no fee is charged for processing the disabled-persons certificate", while assessment and photo costs "are in principle borne by the applicant personally; localities with the means may subsidize them from local finances, and for applicants in exceptional hardship the relevant departments shall be coordinated to reduce or waive them"; validity is ten years with free renewal at expiry; where the disability category or grade changes, re-assessment may be requested; if you dispute the assessment conclusion you may apply within ten working days to the prefecture-city-level federation for re-assessment, and any remaining dispute is decided finally by the provincial expert committee on disability assessment (nationwide, effective January 1, 2018) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 中国残疾人联合会、国家卫生和计划生育委员会 (2017). 中华人民共和国残疾人证管理办法（2017 年 5 月 27 日发布，2018 年 1 月 1 日施行；第二、三、五、七、九、十七、十九、二十二、二十五条）. +- Notes: run the numbers before deciding whether to apply: the certificate itself pays out nothing directly; what it connects to is the two disability subsidies (people with disabilities in dibao (低保 — means-tested subsistence allowance) families receive the living subsidy; those at grade one or two who need long-term care receive the care subsidy — see Section 7, item 9), plus local concessions on rehabilitation, assistive devices, taxes, employment and transport. Standards vary greatly by province, so check the local federation's website first before deciding whether to make the trip. It is one of three separate systems — alongside the judicial-appraisal disability grade and the work-injury labor-capacity assessment — and none substitutes for another (see item 10). The certificate is for the holder's use only and must not be lent out; it will be cancelled if the disability no longer meets the standard, and reapplication is barred for one year after cancellation. For multiple disabilities, the grade is set by the most severe category. From 56913d4e368c34030e3eba137b06a92563c95774 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:32:04 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 24/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch25:=20After=20Someone=20Dies=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/25-After-Someone-Dies.md | 96 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 96 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/25-After-Someone-Dies.md diff --git a/book/en/25-After-Someone-Dies.md b/book/en/25-After-Someone-Dies.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..650ef4dcc --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/25-After-Someone-Dies.md @@ -0,0 +1,96 @@ +[← Back to the main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 25. What needs to be done after a person dies + +Scope: money. This section covers only procedures and money: what to do first at the moment a person dies, which costs have a published fee schedule to go by, which money in accounts can be recovered, and which rights are exercised by close relatives. The first five items are ordered by when things happen — the scene, the death certificate, the body and cremation, disputing the cause of death, canceling the household registration — and the items after that are ordered by cost-effectiveness. Arrangements an older person should make while still alive (guardianship by agreement, wills, accounts) are covered in Section 17; the three payments for a death from a work injury are covered in Section 19. + +The funeral material follows the newly revised funeral management regulations (殡葬管理条例) in force from March 30, 2026. The standards for the funeral grant and the survivor's pension under the old-age insurance system are set separately by the human resources and social security departments; no original text that could be checked word for word was obtained for this edition, so the body text gives no specific amounts. +### 1. Tell first whether a death at home or elsewhere is normal or unnatural: for an accident, an unknown cause of death, or a death discovered late in someone living alone, call the police immediately and do not move the body or the scene + +- Cost: 0 yuan, one phone call +- In plain terms: for an accident, an unknown cause of death, or a death discovered only after someone had been living alone for a long time, only the public security organs can issue the death certificate; once the scene has been disturbed, the case is both hard to explain and hard to certify. Without that one sheet of paper, everything downstream — cremation, canceling the household registration, the insurance claim — gets stuck. If you cannot tell which situation this is, call 110 first; after the police arrive and finish their investigation they can still issue the certificate. +- Benefit: Article 8, paragraph 2 of the household registration regulation (户口登记条例): "Where a citizen dies in an accident or the cause of death is unknown, the head of the household or the person who discovers the death shall immediately report it to the local public security police station or the township or town people's committee"; Article 23 of the funeral management regulations (殡葬管理条例): "Where a natural person dies a normal death, the medical and health institution shall issue a death certificate without delay. For a deceased person in an unnatural-death case (incident) that the public security organs handle according to law and who received no treatment from a medical and health institution, the death certificate is issued by the public security organs." For an unnatural death only the public security organs can issue the certificate; once the scene has been disturbed, the case is both hard to explain and hard to certify, and everything downstream — cremation, canceling the household registration, the insurance claim — gets stuck on that one sheet of paper +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (1958). 中华人民共和国户口登记条例（第八条）. （广东省人民政府门户网站刊登）；国务院 (2026). 殡葬管理条例（国务院令第 824 号，自 2026 年 3 月 30 日起施行，第二十三条）. +- Notes: for a normal death such as someone long bedridden or dying at home under care, contact the institution that treated them in life, or the community health service center or township health center for the district, to issue the certificate (see the next item). If you cannot tell which situation this is, treat it as unnatural and call 110 first — after the police arrive and finish their investigation they can still issue the certificate; on the other hand, if you tidy up the scene before reporting, no one can help you. Do not move the body yourself, do not wash or dress it, and do not take away pill bottles or written notes. + +### 2. The death certificate is the key to everything that follows: whoever provided treatment issues it, for a normal death at home go to the community health institution, issued within one day + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: for a death in a medical institution, the institution responsible for treatment issues the certificate; for a normal death at home or elsewhere, go to the community health institution or township health center for the district; where the cause of death is clear it is issued within one day, and paper and electronic versions carry equal legal effect. Canceling the household registration, cremation, withdrawing the housing provident fund, claiming social insurance benefits, the insurance claim, handling inheritance — every one of these requires it, so as soon as you get it, make several photocopies; if it is lost it can be reissued only once, and if the information on it is wrong it can be re-issued only once. +- Benefit: the standard for registration and management of population death information (trial) (人口死亡信息登记管理规范（试行）): for a death inside a medical and health institution, the certificate is "issued by the medical and health institution responsible for treatment"; for a normal death at home or in another location, it is "issued by the community health institution or township (street) health center for the district"; where the public security or judicial organs determine the death to be unnatural, the public security and judicial departments handle it under current rules and procedures. The 2026 notice from five departments: the death certificate's "paper version and electronic version have the same legal effect," and a normal death with a clear cause should be certified within one day of the death occurring; if the certificate is lost, a reissue may be requested once from the original issuing institution, and where the basic information is wrong, a new issue may be requested once with supporting materials +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家卫生计生委办公厅 (2014). 人口死亡信息登记管理规范（试行）（国卫办规划发〔2014〕68 号，第九条）. （深圳市民政局转发）；国家卫生健康委、公安部、民政部、国家中医药局、国家疾控局 (2026). 关于加强居民死亡医学证明信息登记和电子证照管理工作的通知（国卫规划发〔2026〕5 号）. （福建省卫生健康委员会转发） +- Notes: canceling the household registration, cremation, withdrawing the housing provident fund, claiming social insurance benefits, the insurance claim, handling inheritance — every one of these requires it. As soon as you have it, make several photocopies, and apply for the electronic version too where the institution can issue one. There is only one chance at a reissue, so do not lose the original; if the name or ID number is wrong, have it corrected on the spot — if it is only discovered when handling the inheritance, every window will have to be visited all over again. + +### 3. Transport, storage, and cremation of the body can only go through the funeral parlor: a hospital morgue does not handle funeral services, and storage generally does not exceed 3 days + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: transport, storage, preservation, cosmetic preparation, and cremation can only be done by the funeral parlor; a hospital morgue may not be outsourced and may not hold funeral services, at most it provides temporary placement of the body; funeral parlor storage generally does not exceed 3 days, and an extension requires going through the procedures. Cremation requires the death certificate and the cremation confirmation form, and the cremation certificate issued afterward is still needed for the inheritance, the insurance claim, and moving the ashes. The "one-stop service" people who approach you at the hospital are in most cases not from the funeral parlor. +- Benefit: Article 25 of the funeral management regulations (殡葬管理条例): "transport, storage, preservation, cosmetic preparation, and cremation services for the body are provided exclusively by the funeral parlor"; Article 24: "the morgue of a medical and health institution may not be outsourced and may not conduct funeral services; it may provide convenience services for temporary placement of the body"; Article 27: "a funeral parlor stores a body generally for no more than 3 days; where extended storage is needed, the family members or the party handing over the body shall complete extension procedures at the funeral parlor"; Article 28: "a funeral parlor shall cremate the body upon presentation of the death certificate and the cremation confirmation form, and shall issue a cremation certificate"; Article 29: "in areas where cremation is practiced, the body shall be cremated at or near the place of death, at a funeral parlor" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 殡葬管理条例（国务院令第 824 号，自 2026 年 3 月 30 日起施行，第八、九、二十四、二十五、二十七、二十八、二十九条）. +- Notes: the "one-stop service" people who approach you after a death in hospital are in most cases not from the funeral parlor; transport itself is a basic service item with a set price (see item 6). Keep the cremation certificate safe — it is needed for the inheritance, for insurance, and for moving the ashes. Cremation areas and burial areas are designated by provincial-level governments, and the funeral customs of ethnic minorities are protected under Article 9 of the regulations; burying instead of cremating where cremation is required, or building a grave for burial outside cemeteries and ecological burial areas, will draw an order from the civil affairs department to correct it within a time limit. + +### 4. If you dispute the cause of death, request an autopsy within 48 hours and have the medical records sealed at the same time + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the hard part is remembering to make the request at that moment +- In plain terms: if you dispute the cause of death, you must request an autopsy within 48 hours of the death; where cold-storage conditions exist it can be extended to 7 days, and the signed consent of close relatives is required. If relatives refuse, or the deadline passes and the determination of the cause of death is affected, the responsibility falls on the party that refused or delayed. Once the body is cremated there is no longer any possibility of an autopsy, so settle this before contacting the funeral parlor. +- Benefit: Article 26 of the regulation on the prevention and handling of medical disputes (医疗纠纷预防和处理条例): "where a patient dies and the medical and the patient's side dispute the cause of death, an autopsy shall be performed within 48 hours of the patient's death; where the body can be kept in frozen storage, this may be extended to 7 days"; "an autopsy requires the consent and signature of the deceased's close relatives; where they refuse to sign, this is treated as the close relatives not consenting to the autopsy"; "where a party refuses or delays the autopsy and, past the prescribed time limit, the determination of the cause of death is affected, the party that refused or delayed bears responsibility"; Article 24: sealing and unsealing of medical records "shall be done with both the medical side and the patient's side present" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2018). 医疗纠纷预防和处理条例（国务院令第 701 号，第二十四、二十六条）. +- Notes: after this window has passed, saying "I felt something was wrong at the time" backfires — the responsibility falls on the party that delayed. Once the body is cremated there is no longer any possibility of an autopsy, so this must be settled before contacting the funeral parlor. How to have the medical records sealed is covered in Section 24. + +### 5. Canceling the household registration has a statutory deadline: before burial in cities, within one month in the countryside + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one trip to the police station with the death certificate and the household registration booklet +- In plain terms: before burial in cities, within one month in the countryside, you must take the death certificate and the household registration booklet to the police station to cancel the registration. Putting it off stalls the transfer of inherited property, the claiming of benefits, and the surrender of insurance on the household registration status; if the pension keeps being paid, that counts as fraudulent claiming and will have to be paid back sooner or later. +- Benefit: Article 8, paragraph 1 of the household registration regulation (户口登记条例): "when a citizen dies, the head of the household, a relative, the person providing support, or a neighbor shall report the death to the household registration authority and cancel the registration — before burial in cities, within one month in the countryside. If a citizen dies at their temporary place of residence, the household registration authority there notifies the household registration authority of the place of permanent residence to cancel the registration" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (1958). 中华人民共和国户口登记条例（第八条）. （广东省人民政府门户网站刊登） +- Notes: putting off the cancellation stalls the transfer of inherited property, the claiming of benefits, and the surrender of insurance on the household registration status; if the pension keeps being paid it constitutes fraudulent claiming and will have to be repaid sooner or later. While at the police station, also ask how to stop the pension and medical insurance benefits and how to apply for the funeral grant — those payments are covered in item 9. + +### 6. Funeral services are split into basic and non-basic items; basic items have a published schedule and fees set by law + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a few minutes to look over the schedule before setting out +- In plain terms: transport, storage of the body, the farewell ceremony, cremation, ash deposit, ecological burial, and niche burial at publicly run institutions are all on the national list of basic items, their fees are set by law, and no extra items may be charged outside the list. Before setting out, ask which items count as basic and what the local standards are, then discuss everything else. +- Benefit: transport of the body, storage of the body, the farewell ceremony, cremation, ash deposit, ecological burial, and niche burial provided by government-run funeral service institutions are all on the national list of basic items, with fee standards set by law; the list of non-basic items is determined by civil affairs departments at the level of cities divided into districts or above +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 殡葬管理条例（国务院令第 824 号，2025 年 11 月 14 日国务院第 72 次常务会议修订通过，「自2026年3月30日起施行」）. 第五条：「殡葬服务分为基础项目和非基础项目，收费政策由国务院发展改革部门、财政部门会同国务院民政等部门制定。」「国家制定殡葬服务基础项目清单，将遗体接运、遗体存放、遗体告别、遗体火化、骨灰寄存、生态安葬以及政府举办的殡葬服务机构提供的骨灰格位安葬等纳入清单范围」；第五十条「殡葬服务实行清单化管理并动态调整，禁止在清单之外设立项目、收取费用。」 +- Notes: provinces, autonomous regions, and directly administered municipalities may add items on top of the national list. First find out which items are basic and what the local fee standards are, then discuss everything else. + +### 7. If you run into forced bundling, charges beyond the listed price, or one service split into several billed items, write it down and complain + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the hard part is being willing to push back at that moment +- In plain terms: not marking prices clearly, adding charges beyond the listed price, tying funeral goods to a purchase or forcing sales through unreasonable conditions, and pushing you to accept paid third-party services are price violations named in the regulations; splitting one item into several billed items or charging beyond the proper scope also counts as a disguised price increase. On the spot, first ask for the price list and keep the receipts and chat records — complaining afterward is still in time. For price issues go to market regulation, for funeral services go to civil affairs. +- Benefit: the regulations list five types of price violations, including not marking prices clearly, charging beyond the listed price, forcing sales through bundling or attaching unreasonable conditions, and forcing acceptance of paid third-party services; in addition, they prohibit "disguised increases in fee standards through forms such as splitting items and charging beyond the proper scope" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 殡葬管理条例（国务院令第 824 号，2025 年 11 月 14 日国务院第 72 次常务会议修订通过，「自2026年3月30日起施行」）. 第四十二条：「殡葬服务机构不得违反有关规定擅自设立收费项目，或者采取分解项目、扩大范围收费等形式变相提高收费标准。」第四十三条列举的价格违法行为含「（一）不按规定明码标价，或者在标价之外加价或者收取未标明的费用」「（三）采取捆绑、附加不合理条件或者不合理限制等方式，强制或者变相强制销售丧葬用品、提供殡葬相关服务并收取费用」「（四）强制或者变相强制丧属接受第三方的有偿服务，或者利用相关服务网点重复收取费用」；第五十一条要求民政部门与政务服务便民热线建立信息共享监督机制，「对丧属反映的殡葬服务问题，应当会同有关部门及时予以处理并将处理结果告知丧属」 +- Notes: investigating and punishing price violations falls to the market regulation department; funeral services themselves fall to the civil affairs department. On the spot, first ask for the price list and keep the receipts and chat records — complaining afterward is still in time. + +### 8. Intermediaries such as funeral agents, goods purchasing services, and ceremony planners must register with county-level civil affairs + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one question about whether they are registered +- In plain terms: intermediaries such as funeral agents, goods purchasing services, ceremony planning and officiating, and information consulting must register with the county-level civil affairs department; those that have not registered are not in the funeral service information system. Those who overcharge through deception, push families into lavish ceremonies, force services on people, or traffic in deceased persons' information will be dealt with according to law, flagged in the system, and publicly named. If a stream of sales calls arrives right after you finished the paperwork, in most cases your information was sold. +- Benefit: unregistered intermediaries are not in the funeral service information system; those who charge improperly by deception, induce lavish ceremonies, force services on people, or traffic in deceased persons' information will be dealt with according to law, flagged in the system, and made public +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 殡葬管理条例（国务院令第 824 号，2025 年 11 月 14 日国务院第 72 次常务会议修订通过，「自2026年3月30日起施行」）. 第四十一条：「除殡葬服务机构外，从事殡葬服务代理、用品代购、策划主持、信息咨询等殡葬相关服务活动的组织和个人，应当向县级人民政府民政部门备案。」「对存在以欺骗等手段违规收费、诱导大操大办、强迫接受服务、倒卖逝者信息等损害丧属权益行为的依法处置，并在殡葬服务信息系统中进行标注，向社会公开。」 +- Notes: "trafficking in deceased persons' information" is the most common trap in this trade: a stream of sales calls right after you finished the paperwork usually means the information was resold. Online memorial platforms are covered by the same constraints; Article 45 of the regulations prohibits inducing consumption and unlawful handling of deceased persons' information. + +### 9. Money scattered in different places must be claimed one by one: housing provident fund balance, social insurance benefits, work injury benefits + +- Cost: trips to several windows, with the death certificate and proof of kinship prepared +- In plain terms: the balance in a housing provident fund account can be withdrawn by heirs and legatees — this money is not in a bank account and does not automatically enter the division of the estate, so it is the easiest to miss. A death from a work injury carries three separate payments: the funeral grant, the dependents' pension, and the one-time death benefit. For the balance of the old-age insurance individual account and survivor benefits, ask the social insurance agency where the person was insured; the required documents differ from place to place. +- Benefit: the balance in a housing provident fund account may be withdrawn by heirs and legatees; a death from a work injury carries three payments — the funeral grant, the dependents' pension, and the one-time death benefit +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2026). 住房公积金管理条例（国务院令第 844 号修改，2026 年 9 月 20 日起施行）第二十四条末款. ：「职工死亡或者被宣告死亡的，职工的继承人、受遗赠人可以提取职工住房公积金账户内的存储余额；无继承人也无受遗赠人的，职工住房公积金账户内的存储余额纳入住房公积金的增值收益。」；工伤保险条例第三十九条的三笔待遇见第 19 节. ；TODO（待核实：基本养老保险个人账户余额的继承规则，以及丧葬补助金与遗属抚恤金的具体标准，人社部相关文件本次未取得） +- Notes: the housing provident fund money is often forgotten, because it is not in a bank account and does not automatically enter the division of the estate. For the balance of the old-age insurance individual account and survivor benefits, ask the social insurance agency where the person was insured; document lists differ from place to place. The formal requirements for wills and inheritance are covered in Section 17. + +### 10. For the deceased's accounts and personal information, close relatives may demand to inspect, copy, correct, and delete + +- Cost: 0 yuan; a complaint or a lawsuit is needed only if the platform does not cooperate +- In plain terms: after a person dies, close relatives may, for their own lawful and legitimate interests, demand that platforms let them inspect, copy, correct, and delete the deceased's personal information; if the platform refuses it must give reasons, and the relatives can also sue in court. The exception is where the deceased made other arrangements in life — if an account heir was designated or clear wishes were left, those take precedence. +- Benefit: the law states expressly: where a natural person dies, close relatives may, for their own lawful and legitimate interests, exercise rights such as inspecting, copying, correcting, and deleting the deceased's relevant personal information +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 个人信息保护法. 中国人大网. 第四十九条：「自然人死亡的，其近亲属为了自身的合法、正当利益，可以对死者的相关个人信息行使本章规定的查阅、复制、更正、删除等权利；死者生前另有安排的除外。」；第五十条「个人信息处理者应当建立便捷的个人行使权利的申请受理和处理机制。拒绝个人行使权利的请求的，应当说明理由」「个人可以依法向人民法院提起诉讼」 +- Notes: "except where the deceased made other arrangements in life" — if an account heir was designated or clear wishes were recorded, those take precedence. This is also why it is worth writing down, while still of sound mind, where the accounts and passwords are kept; see Section 17. Closing an account and deleting personal information are two different matters; see Section 14. From 3a4c36821aa6587f6d36db4e05473944a22e1c7e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:32:04 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 25/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch26:=20Building=20A=20Website=20Or?= =?UTF-8?q?=20Platform=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-?= =?UTF-8?q?identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/26-Building-A-Website-Or-Platform.md | 118 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 118 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/26-Building-A-Website-Or-Platform.md diff --git a/book/en/26-Building-A-Website-Or-Platform.md b/book/en/26-Building-A-Website-Or-Platform.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..4b4f69b20 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/26-Building-A-Website-Or-Platform.md @@ -0,0 +1,118 @@ +[← Back to the main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 26. Building a Website or Platform: Licenses, Filing, and Servers + +This section answers one question: what kind of business, in legal terms, the website or app you want to build actually is, which license it needs, where the servers should be hosted, and who is responsible for what users post on it and the money it collects. The yardstick throughout is personal freedom and money: first the things that can run into criminal red lines, then those that require administrative licenses, then the platform's day-to-day obligations, and finally experience-based items — such as choosing a server — where only judgment, not rules, can be offered. The red lines for salaried technical staff are covered in Section 11, and how to register a company and file taxes in Section 12; this section does not repeat them. For a comparison table of the various licenses and a decision table for choosing a server, see [docs/做平台要办哪些证.md](../docs/做平台要办哪些证.md). +### 1. Don't collect money yourself and pass it on to sellers; route payments through a licensed payment institution that settles directly + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; connect to a licensed payment institution's split-settlement or escrow-transaction product, so that the buyer's money is settled directly to the seller and never lands in the platform's own account +- In plain terms: if the buyer's money first enters the platform's own account before being passed to the seller, what you are running is a payment business: this requires approval from the People's Bank of China, with registered capital of at least 100 million yuan, fully paid in. Doing it without approval means being shut down, confiscation of illegal gains, and fines from several hundred thousand to several million yuan, with the legal representative and directly responsible persons fined another 100,000 to 500,000 yuan; where it is treated as illegal business operation, serious cases get up to five years and especially serious ones more than five years. There is exactly one safe approach: the money does not enter the platform account. +- Benefit: the payment business is defined as "transferring monetary funds according to electronic payment instructions submitted by the payee or the payer"; setting up a payment institution "requires approval from the People's Bank of China and a payment business permit", with minimum registered capital of 100 million yuan in fully paid-in money capital; "whoever, without legal approval, establishes a non-bank payment institution without authorization, or engages in or engages in disguised payment business, shall be banned by the People's Bank of China according to law, and illegal gains confiscated"; where illegal gains reach 500,000 yuan or more, a fine of 1 to 5 times that amount is imposed concurrently; where there are no illegal gains or they are under 500,000 yuan, a fine of 500,000 to 2 million yuan applies; the legal representative and directly responsible persons are separately fined 100,000 to 500,000 yuan; the criminal law lists "illegally engaging in fund payment and settlement business" as illegal business operation, punished with up to 5 years for serious cases and more than 5 years for especially serious ones; under the interpretation jointly issued by the two Supreme bodies, the "serious circumstances" threshold is an illegal business volume of 5 million yuan or more, or illegal gains of 100,000 yuan or more (nationwide, from May 2024) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2023). 非银行支付机构监督管理条例（国务院令第 768 号，第二、六、八、二十七、四十七条）. ; 中国人民银行 (2024). 非银行支付机构监督管理条例实施细则（中国人民银行令〔2024〕第 4 号，第六十八条）. ; 全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百二十五条第三项）. ; 最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2019). 关于办理非法从事资金支付结算业务、非法买卖外汇刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（第一、三、四条）. +- Notes: the term "erqing" (二清 — "second clearing", unofficial slang for a platform holding and re-paying out transaction funds without a payment license) does not appear in official documents; the implementation rules phrase it as "engaging in payment business in disguised form", meaning transferring monetary funds based on electronic payment instructions submitted by users without approval. The three situations enumerated in the two Supreme bodies' interpretation are cashing out via fabricated transactions, cashing out via corporate accounts, and cheque cashing out; platform collection-and-payment on behalf of others is not named, so this item is written strictly to the letter of the statute and does not claim it "definitely constitutes a crime". The safe approach is still only one: the money does not enter the platform account + +### 2. Paid websites need a license, transaction-matching needs a different class of license, and free ones only need filing + + +- Cost: filing is free; applying for a value-added telecom business operation license requires a company, with registered capital of no less than 1 million yuan for operations within one province and no less than 10 million yuan for cross-province operations; the review period is 60 days and the license is valid for 5 years +- In plain terms: a website that charges users counts as commercial and needs a value-added telecom business operation license: the applicant must be a company — an individual cannot get one — registered capital of no less than 1 million yuan for operating within one province and no less than 10 million yuan for cross-province operation, a 60-day review, and the license is good for 5 years. Free websites only need filing, and filing costs nothing. Operating without a license or beyond its scope means confiscation of illegal gains plus a fine of 3 to 5 times that amount; with no illegal gains, a fine of 100,000 to 1 million yuan; in serious cases the site is shut down. +- Benefit: "the State applies a licensing system to commercial internet information services and a filing system to non-commercial internet information services; no one may engage in internet information services without obtaining a license or completing filing"; commercial means "providing information or webpage creation and other such services to internet users for compensation over the internet"; online data processing and transaction processing business means "using various data and transaction/affairs processing application platforms connected to public telecommunications networks or the internet to provide users with online data processing and transaction/affairs processing via public telecom networks or the internet", and it "includes transaction processing business, electronic data interchange business, and network/electronic equipment data processing business"; operating without a license or beyond its scope brings confiscation of illegal gains plus a fine of 3 to 5 times that amount, or a fine of 100,000 to 1 million yuan where there are no illegal gains or they are under 50,000 yuan, with the website ordered closed in serious cases (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (2000). 互联网信息服务管理办法（国务院令第 292 号，2024 年 12 月 6 日第二次修订，第三、四、七、十九条）. ; 国务院 (2024). 关于修改和废止部分行政法规的决定（国务院令第 797 号，第十八项）. ; 国务院 (2000). 电信条例（2016 年第二次修订，第七、九、十三、六十九条）. ; 工业和信息化部 (2017). 电信业务经营许可管理办法（工信部令第 42 号，第六、九、十一、十四条）. +- Notes: no official sentence states outright that "an e-commerce platform with matching and funds processing must obtain an EDI license"; the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's service guide only says to "apply for the corresponding telecom business operation license according to the business classification", and the basis for judgment is the business definition itself in the classification catalogue, so this item states only the definition and does not draw the conclusion for you. An individual cannot obtain this license: the applicant must be a lawfully established company + +### 3. Livestreaming needs a network culture business license; the audiovisual program license is essentially out of reach for private companies + + +- Cost: the network culture business license is approved by the provincial-level culture administrative department, with a decision within 20 days of acceptance; it is valid for 3 years and must be renewed 30 days before expiry; the audiovisual program license requires the applicant to be a solely state-owned or state-controlled entity +- In plain terms: running livestreaming, game commentary and the like — online performance — requires a network culture business license issued by the provincial culture department, with online performance written explicitly in the business scope; the result comes within 20 days of acceptance, the license lasts 3 years, and performance videos must be kept for at least 60 days. Doing it without approval brings an order to stop, a warning and a fine of up to 30,000 yuan; refusing to stop lands you on the cultural market blacklist. The audiovisual program license requires the applicant to be a solely state-owned or state-controlled entity, so private companies essentially cannot get it. +- Benefit: online performance business operators "shall, under the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Culture, apply to the provincial-level culture administrative department for a Network Culture Business License, whose business scope must explicitly include online performance"; game skill demonstrations or commentary "shall be governed by reference to these measures"; all online performance video material "must be retained for no less than 60 days"; engaging in commercial internet cultural activities without approval brings an order to stop, a warning and a fine of up to 30,000 yuan, and inclusion on the cultural market blacklist for those who refuse to stop; providing internet audiovisual program services requires the Permit for Dissemination of Audiovisual Programs through Information Networks, for which the applicant must "have legal-person status and be a solely state-owned or state-controlled entity"; doing so without authorization brings a warning, an order to correct, and a fine of up to 30,000 yuan, with penalties under the Broadcasting and Television Administration Regulations in serious cases (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 文化部 (2016). 网络表演经营活动管理办法（文市发〔2016〕33 号，第二、四、六、十三、二十条）. ; 文化部 (2011). 互联网文化管理暂行规定（文化部令第 51 号，2017 年经文化部令第 57 号修订，第七、八、九、十六、二十一、二十八条）. ; 广电总局、信息产业部 (2007). 互联网视听节目服务管理规定（第 56 号令，2015 年修订，第二、七、八、二十四条）. ; 国家网信办等七部门 (2021). 关于加强网络直播规范管理工作的指导意见（国信办发文〔2021〕3 号，第 9 项）. +- Notes: the seven-department document states the correspondence most clearly: platforms running commercial online performance need the network culture license plus ICP filing; online audiovisual requires the audiovisual program permit or completed registration; internet news information requires a news information service license. The text of the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Culture reposted on the central government website in 2025 is the unrevised 2011 original; cite the current version published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism + +### 4. Servers inside mainland China require filing, and the access provider must itself hold a value-added telecom license + + +- Cost: filing is free, submitted with the server at the provider, usually taking a few days to a few weeks; checking a provider's credentials takes ten minutes +- In plain terms: a server inside mainland China means filing, which is free, submitted through the provider along with the server, and usually takes a few days to a few weeks. Operating without filing brings an order to correct within a time limit plus a 10,000 yuan fine, and site closure if you don't; not displaying the filing number on the homepage means another fine of 5,000 to 50,000 yuan. Data-center hosting, cloud hosting, and broadband access are themselves all licensed businesses, so check whether the provider holds a license in the MIIT system before discussing price. Moving the machines abroad sidesteps filing, but the users and the money are still inside mainland China, so every obligation in the items that follow still applies in full — plus an extra layer of data-export cost. +- Benefit: "without filing, no one may provide non-commercial internet information services within the People's Republic of China"; operating without filing brings an order to correct within a time limit plus a 10,000 yuan fine, and closure of the website for refusal to correct; "internet access service providers may not provide internet access services to organizations or individuals that have not filed and provide non-commercial internet information services", and value-added telecom operators providing access services "may not provide access, collection on behalf of others, or similar services to entities or individuals that have not lawfully obtained an operating license or completed filing for non-commercial internet information services"; data-center hosting and cloud hosting (internet data center business) and broadband access (internet access service business) are themselves value-added telecom businesses requiring licenses; a website homepage that does not display its filing number brings an order to correct plus a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 yuan (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 信息产业部 (2005). 非经营性互联网信息服务备案管理办法（信产部令第 33 号，2024 年经工信部令第 68 号修订，第五、十三、十八、二十二条）. ; 工业和信息化部 (2017). 电信业务经营许可管理办法（工信部令第 42 号，第二十、二十四条）. ; 工业和信息化部 (2015). 电信业务分类目录（2015 年版，B11、B14、B21、B25）. +- Notes: to check whether a provider holds a license, use the MIIT's comprehensive telecom business market management information system at tsm.miit.gov.cn, searching by the company's full name or license number; for website filing checks use beian.miit.gov.cn. Verify the license before talking price — if an unlicensed "data center" has an incident, you won't even have anyone to appeal to. Putting machines abroad sidesteps filing, but with users in mainland China and money in mainland China, none of the obligations in items 5 through 10 of this section goes away, and there is an added layer of data-export cost + +### 5. Once users sell things on your platform, you must verify and register them, report information, and keep records for three years + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the back end must handle credential verification and registration files, report tax-related information quarterly, and keep transaction data for three years +- In plain terms: letting others come and sell on your platform means verifying and registering each seller's identity, address, contact details and administrative licenses, building files that are re-checked and updated at least once every six months, reporting identity information to market regulation authorities and tax-related information to the tax authorities quarterly, and keeping product and transaction information for three years. Missing any one of these brings an order to correct first, then a fine of 20,000 to 100,000 yuan if the deadline passes, and in serious cases suspension of business for rectification plus a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 yuan. +- Benefit: platforms "shall require operators applying to sell goods or provide services on the platform to submit true information on their identity, address, contact details, administrative licenses and so on, verify and register it, establish registration files, and verify and update them regularly", which departmental rules refine as "at least once every six months"; the platform must report the identity information of on-platform operators to the market regulation department and "report the identity information and tax-related information of on-platform operators to the tax authorities in accordance with the laws and administrative regulations on tax collection and administration"; product and service information and transaction information "must be kept for no less than three years from the date the transaction is completed"; violating any of the above brings an order to correct within a time limit, a fine of 20,000 to 100,000 yuan for missing the deadline, and in serious cases an order to suspend business for rectification plus a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 yuan; tax-related information must be reported "within the month following the end of each quarter", with the same penalties for late reporting (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2018). 电子商务法（第十、二十七、二十八、三十一、八十条）. ; 市场监管总局 (2021). 网络交易监督管理办法（市场监管总局令第 37 号，第八、二十四、二十五、三十一条）. ; 国务院 (2025). 互联网平台企业涉税信息报送规定（国务院令第 810 号，第二、三、四、十条）. ; 国家税务总局 (2025). 关于互联网平台企业报送涉税信息有关事项的公告（税务总局公告 2025 年第 15 号）. +- Notes: sellers also carry registration obligations; the statutory exceptions are "individuals selling self-produced agricultural and sideline products or household handicrafts, individuals using their own skills to provide convenience services that lawfully require no license, and occasional small-value transactions"; the quantitative threshold for occasional small-value transactions is in Article 8 of the network transaction supervision and administration measures — annual transaction volume of 100,000 yuan. The platform must also distinguish and label registered and unregistered operators, and must not delete consumer reviews + +### 6. You are responsible for what users post: moderation mechanisms, a complaint entry point, immediate suspension and reporting on discovering illegal content + + +- Cost: moderation staffing and mechanisms are the platform's largest long-term expense; the complaint entry point and disposition records must all leave an audit trail +- In plain terms: content posted by users is the platform's responsibility to manage: you must build the whole set of mechanisms — registration, review before publishing, comment review, real-time patrols, emergency response — put a complaint entry point in a prominent position, and upon discovering illegal information immediately stop its transmission, keep records, and report to the competent authorities. Failing to do this brings an order to correct, a public warning and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan; refusing to correct or serious cases mean 500,000 to 2 million yuan, plus possible suspension for rectification, site closure, or license revocation, with the directly responsible person fined another 50,000 to 200,000 yuan. Moderation staffing is the largest ongoing expense. +- Benefit: platforms "shall bear primary responsibility for information content management", "shall improve the systems for user registration, account management, review of published information, review of comments and replies, management of page and layout ecology, real-time patrols, emergency response, and handling of internet rumors and black-industry-chain information", and "shall set up a convenient complaint and reporting entry point in a prominent position"; those discovering illegal information "shall immediately take disposition measures according to law, preserve relevant records, and report to the relevant competent authorities"; the Cybersecurity Law requires that on "discovering information prohibited from publication or transmission by laws or administrative regulations, [an operator] shall immediately stop transmitting that information, take elimination and other disposition measures to prevent its spread, preserve relevant records, and report to the relevant competent authorities"; failure brings an order to correct, a warning, public notification, and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan; refusal to correct or serious circumstances bring 500,000 to 2 million yuan, plus possible orders to suspend business for rectification, close the website or app, or revoke the license or business registration, with the directly responsible person fined 50,000 to 200,000 yuan (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家互联网信息办公室 (2019). 网络信息内容生态治理规定（网信办令第 5 号，第八、九、十、十六、三十七条）. ; 全国人大常委会 (2025). 网络安全法（2025 年修正，2026 年 1 月 1 日施行，第四十九、六十九条）. ; 国务院 (2000). 互联网信息服务管理办法（第十五、十六、二十三条）. +- Notes: the nine-item list of prohibited content is in Article 15 of the internet information service management measures; write your moderation rules against it. Livestreaming platforms must also "establish a livestream content review platform" and have "the technical capability to block internet livestreams in real time"; livestream content and logs are kept for 60 days, and online performance video material likewise for no less than 60 days + +### 7. Services that publish information or carry instant messaging must require users to provide real identity information + + +- Cost: connecting to a real-name verification channel charges per check; design the product on the principle of "real names in the back end, free choice in the front end" +- In plain terms: if you offer information publishing, instant messaging and the like, require users to provide real identity information when signing the agreement or activating the service, and don't serve those who won't. Design the product with real names in the back end and free choice on the front end, verifying by mobile phone number or similar means. Skipping real-name checks — or serving unverified users anyway — brings an order to correct first; refusing, or serious cases, mean a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan, possible suspension of the relevant business, suspension for rectification, site closure or license revocation, and the directly responsible person fined another 10,000 to 100,000 yuan. +- Benefit: "when a network operator handles network access or domain name registration for users, handles subscription procedures for landline or mobile telephone services, or provides users with services such as information publishing or instant messaging, it shall require users to provide real identity information when signing the agreement or confirming provision of the service. Where a user does not provide real identity information, the network operator shall not provide the relevant services"; failing to require real-name verification, or still providing services to users who do not provide real identity information, brings an order to correct, and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan for refusal to correct or serious circumstances, plus possible orders to suspend the relevant business, suspend operations for rectification, close the website or app, or revoke the license or business registration, with the directly responsible person fined 10,000 to 100,000 yuan; livestreaming services verify "real identity information based on mobile phone numbers and other such means" under the principle of "real names in the back end, free choice in the front end"; on the livestream e-commerce side the verification standard is "real identity information authentication based on ID card information, unified social credit code, and the like" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 网络安全法（2025 年修正，2026 年 1 月 1 日施行，第二十六、六十四条；2016 年文本为第二十四、六十一条）. ; 国家互联网信息办公室 (2016). 互联网直播服务管理规定（第十二、十六条）. ; 国家网信办等七部门 (2021). 网络直播营销管理办法（试行）（国信办发文〔2021〕5 号，第八条）. +- Notes: the Cybersecurity Law was amended in 2025 and takes effect on January 1, 2026; the real-name article moved from Article 24 to Article 26 and the penalty provision from Article 61 to Article 64, with the wording unchanged — update materials citing the old article numbers + +### 8. Do not open livestream accounts to anyone under 16, and handle tipping in age-based tiers + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; add an age check and guardian-consent flow at registration and payment +- In plain terms: people under 16 cannot register as livestream publisher accounts; those 16 and older need identity verification and consent from a parent or other guardian. Tipping is now split into three tiers by age: no tipping under 8, guardian consent from 8 to 16, and guardian consent or verified proof of income above 16. If a child with limited civil capacity tips without guardian consent and the guardian asks for the money back, the courts will support the claim. +- Benefit: "providers of internet livestreaming services shall not provide livestream publisher account registration services to minors under the age of sixteen; when providing such registration to minors aged sixteen or above, they shall verify the minor's identity information and obtain the consent of the minor's parents or other guardians"; the regulations require "establishing a dynamic verification mechanism for the real identity information of livestream publishers" and "reasonably limiting the per-transaction and per-day cumulative spending amounts of minors of different age groups when using their services"; the current tipping tiers are "tipping services shall not be provided to minors under the age of eight; tipping services may be provided to minors aged eight to sixteen with the consent of their guardian; tipping services may be provided to minors aged sixteen or above with the consent of their guardian or after verifying their proof-of-income documents"; where a person with limited civil capacity tips without guardian consent and the guardian requests restitution, the courts shall support the request (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2020). 未成年人保护法（第七十四、七十六条）. ; 国务院 (2023). 未成年人网络保护条例（国务院令第 766 号，第三十一、四十四条）. ; 中央网信办秘书局 (2026). 关于加强网络直播打赏规范管理的通知（第 7 项）. ; 最高人民法院 (2020). 关于依法妥善审理涉新冠肺炎疫情民事案件若干问题的指导意见（二）（法发〔2020〕17 号，第九条）. +- Notes: the standard has changed. The 2022 four-department opinion and the 2020 notice from the National Radio and Television Administration said minors were barred from tipping outright; the April 2026 notice changed this to tiers at ages 8 and 16, without stating that the two earlier documents were repealed, and no official transition explanation was given — so the statement "tipping by minors is banned outright" is no longer accurate. Refund disputes are handled under the principle of the best interests of the minor + +### 9. Handle infringement notices promptly; if nothing follows within 15 days of forwarding the counter-notice, restore the listing + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; build a notice, forwarding, counter-notice, and publication workflow, with all records archived +- In plain terms: when a rights holder sends an infringement notice with preliminary evidence, the platform must promptly delete, block, or disconnect the link and forward the notice to the seller; failing to act promptly means joint liability with the seller for the portion of losses caused by the delay. After the seller's counter-notice is forwarded to the rights holder, if no complaint or lawsuit notice arrives within 15 days, restore the listing. Knowing about an infringement and not acting brings joint liability in damages, plus an order to correct and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan, or 500,000 to 2 million yuan in serious cases; sending a bad-faith false notice that causes a seller losses doubles the damages. +- Benefit: the rights holder "has the right to notify the e-commerce platform operator to take necessary measures such as deletion, blocking, disconnection of links, and termination of transactions and services. The notice shall include preliminary evidence of the infringement"; upon receiving the notice the platform "shall promptly take the necessary measures and forward the notice to the on-platform operator; if it fails to take the necessary measures promptly, it bears joint liability with the on-platform operator for the enlarged portion of the harm"; the platform "shall promptly terminate the measures it has taken if, within fifteen days after the counter-notice reaches the intellectual property rights holder, it receives no notice that the rights holder has complained or filed suit"; where the platform knows or should know of an infringement and fails to take necessary measures, it bears joint liability with the infringer, and the intellectual property authority may order correction within a time limit, with a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan for missing the deadline and 500,000 to 2 million yuan in serious cases; "anyone who sends an erroneous notice in bad faith, causing losses to an on-platform operator, bears doubled liability in damages" (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2018). 电子商务法（第四十二、四十三、四十四、四十五、八十四条）. ; 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千一百九十五、一千一百九十六、一千一百九十七条）. +- Notes: outside e-commerce law, general network services follow the Civil Code's notice-and-takedown rules; the difference is that the counter-notice waiting period there is a "reasonable period" rather than 15 days. Publishing the notices, counter-notices, and outcomes received is an explicit requirement of Article 44 of the e-commerce law + +### 10. Don't casually send user information abroad; cross-border transfer has statutory conditions and headcount thresholds + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; keeping user data inside mainland China is the simplest option; where transfer abroad is genuinely needed, use the standard contract or certification +- In plain terms: sending mainland users' information to a machine outside mainland China counts as an outbound transfer — a server located abroad doesn't mean the data hasn't left. You must go down one of four routes: a security assessment organized by the cyberspace authority, certification by a professional body, signing the standard contract, or another route provided by law; you must also tell users who the overseas recipient is and how the data will be handled, and obtain their separate consent. The tiers are set by headcount accumulated since January 1 of the current year: under 100,000 people with no sensitive information exempts you from all three; 100,000 to 1 million requires the standard contract or certification; over 1 million, or 10,000 or more people whose sensitive information is involved, requires declaring a security assessment. +- Benefit: providing personal information abroad requires meeting one of four conditions: passing a security assessment organized by the cyberspace authority, obtaining personal information protection certification from a professional body, concluding a contract with the overseas recipient under the standard contract drawn up by the cyberspace authority, or another condition provided by laws and administrative regulations; and the platform must inform the individual of the overseas recipient's name, contact details, processing purpose, processing methods, categories of personal information, and how to exercise their rights, "and obtain the individual's separate consent"; the thresholds are tiered by cumulative headcount: for data processors other than critical information infrastructure operators, "having provided abroad, cumulatively since January 1 of the current year, the personal information of fewer than 100,000 people (not including sensitive personal information)" exempts them from declaring an assessment, concluding the standard contract, and certification; 100,000 or more but fewer than 1 million people requires concluding the standard contract or passing certification; 1 million or more people, or sensitive personal information of 10,000 or more people, requires declaring a security assessment (nationwide, from March 2024) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 个人信息保护法（第三十八、三十九、四十条）. ; 国家互联网信息办公室 (2024). 促进和规范数据跨境流动规定（网信办令第 16 号，第三、四、五、七、八条）. ; 国家互联网信息办公室 (2022). 数据出境安全评估办法（网信办令第 11 号，第四条）. +- Notes: a server abroad does not mean "the data hasn't left the country" — users registering inside mainland China while you transmit their information to a machine abroad is an outbound transfer. Where provision abroad is genuinely needed "for concluding or performing a contract to which the individual is a party" — cross-border shopping, cross-border delivery, flight and hotel bookings — the three routes are waived. The headcount is counted "cumulatively from January 1 of the current year", not over any rolling twelve months + +### 11. Choose a server by first asking whether you can tolerate downtime, then whether anyone will maintain it, and only then comparing prices + + +- Cost: a starter VPS runs tens of yuan per month, a cloud host that can carry real traffic runs hundreds to thousands of yuan per month, and dedicated server hosting starts at several thousand yuan per year with hardware you buy yourself +- In plain terms: what separates the three tiers is not price but what you have in hand on the day something breaks: mainstream cloud providers have a filing channel, public credentials, incident announcements and compensation clauses; small providers can be half the price, but when overselling, a disappearing operator, or an upstream ban hits, you have no one to appeal to; dedicated server hosting only makes sense when bandwidth and hardware are clearly cheaper and you have your own people to maintain it. A static site with no user data is fine on a VPS costing tens of yuan a month; anything with registration and transactions should go on a cloud host that scales elastically and takes snapshot backups, with the backups kept in two places. +- Benefit: what separates the three tiers is not price but what you have when things break. Mainstream cloud providers have a filing channel, public credentials, incident announcements and compensation clauses, and someone to turn to when problems arise; small providers can be half the price, but when overselling, a disappearing operator, or an upstream ban hits, you have no one to appeal to — check whether they hold a value-added telecom business operation license in the MIIT system before discussing price; dedicated server hosting only pays off when bandwidth or hardware costs are clearly cheaper and you have your own staff to maintain it. A static site with no user data is fine on the cheapest VPS; anything with user registration and transactions should go on a cloud host that scales elastically and takes snapshot backups, with backups kept in at least two places +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；服务商资质与备案的法定要求见本节第 4 条，日志留存 6 个月和等级保护义务见第 11 节第 14 条 +- Notes: this item is judgment, not evidence. The only thing you can verify is the provider's license. The right place to save money is configuration and bandwidth, not credentials + +## License + +[Unlicense](../LICENSE), public domain. From 2f8f0acb490c92bdbec38ed2140de64f6115677f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:32:04 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 26/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch27:=20Pregnancy=20And=20Birth=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md | 166 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 166 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md diff --git a/book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md b/book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c8c3580a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md @@ -0,0 +1,166 @@ +[← Back to main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 27. Pregnancy and childbirth: from finding out you are pregnant to discharge and paperwork + +The units mix two different yardsticks: the first half is about mortality (maternal and fetal), the second half is about money and time spent on paperwork, with no conversion between the two. This section only covers "points in time" and "what to do"; it does not cover prenatal nutrition, prenatal education, and similar topics that lack hard evidence or have tiny effect sizes. For maternity benefits, maternity leave, and the money side of raising a child, see Section 18; for care after the baby is born, see Section 20; for emergencies, see Section 13. + +The World Health Organization's figures: in 2023, about 260,000 women worldwide died from pregnancy and childbirth, of which about 75% died from five categories — postpartum hemorrhage, infections, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (preeclampsia and eclampsia), childbirth complications, and unsafe abortion — and "most maternal deaths are preventable, because the health-care solutions to prevent and manage complications are well known." The items with the largest effect sizes in this section are the ones that intercept these problems in advance. +### 1. Start taking 0.4 mg of folic acid daily when preparing for pregnancy, and keep taking it until the end of the first 3 months + + +- Cost: a few dozen yuan per bottle; rural women can get it free through the national folic acid supplementation program. One tablet a day, and you have to remember to take it +- In plain terms: taking one folic acid tablet a day before and around conception cuts the chance of the baby having a neural tube defect (the anencephaly and spina bifida family) by roughly seventy percent; for those who have already had an affected child, the risk of it happening again drops to about a third of what it was. +- Benefit: Cochrane systematic review (5 trials, 6708 births, high-quality evidence): daily periconceptional folic acid supplementation, fetal neural tube defect risk RR 0.31 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.58), i.e. a reduction of about seventy percent; for those who have previously had a child with a neural tube defect, recurrence risk RR 0.34 (95% CI 0.18 to 0.64). Subgroup analyses showed no difference in effect between 0.4 mg and higher doses, nor between folic acid alone and a multivitamin +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: De-Regil LM, Peña-Rosas JP, Fernández-Gaxiola AC, Rayco-Solon P (2015). Effects and safety of periconceptional oral folate supplementation for preventing birth defects. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (12), CD007950. +- Notes: the key is "starting before pregnancy" — the neural tube closes within 28 days of conception, so by the time a test shows you are pregnant, most of the window has already passed. That is why you start 3 months ahead if you plan to conceive. In the same review, folic acid showed no clear effect on cleft lip and palate, congenital heart disease, or miscarriage — do not expect it to fix anything else + +### 2. Set up the Maternal and Child Health Handbook at the community health service center before week 13, and use up the free prenatal check quota + + +- Cost: 0 yuan, this is part of the national basic public health service program; it takes several trips according to gestational week +- In plain terms: at least five prenatal visits during pregnancy, plus a postpartum home visit and a 42-day postpartum check, are paid for by the state. Register at the community clinic before week 13 and get the Maternal and Child Health Handbook to unlock them; skip it and you lose them for nothing. +- Benefit: the maternal health management services under the national basic public health service specification (third edition) give permanently resident expectant mothers in the district 1 first-trimester health check, 2 second-trimester health checks, 2 third-trimester health checks, 1 postpartum home visit, and 1 postpartum health check at 42 days. Register and have the first prenatal check before week 13; the two second-trimester visits fall at weeks 16 to 20 and 21 to 24, and the two third-trimester visits at weeks 28 to 36 and 37 to 40. Locally published service lists also include a full set of initial lab tests and postpartum depression screening +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家卫生计生委 (2017). 国家基本公共卫生服务规范（第三版）. ；靖江市人民政府. 国家基本公共卫生服务项目——孕产妇健康管理服务（地方服务清单公开）. +- Notes: these 5 visits are the free floor, not the whole of prenatal care; the hospital will add ultrasound, blood glucose, fetal heart monitoring, and other self-paid items as needed. The earlier you register, the earlier the pregnancy risk grading gets done, and only then can high-risk women be referred to a hospital equipped to handle them. If you live across district lines, register at your current address — there is no need to go back to your place of household registration + +### 3. Have HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B tested at the very first prenatal visit; free blocking treatment exists even if you test positive + + +- Cost: 0 yuan, the program for preventing mother-to-child transmission provides free testing +- In plain terms: get HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B tested at the first prenatal visit — the tests are free; even if something comes back positive it is not a dead end, the state provides the blocking drugs and protocols free of charge, which can push down the chance of passing it to the child. +- Benefit: the national work specification for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B (2020 edition) requires that relevant information be explained at the first trimester or the first prenatal visit and that "appropriate, standardized free testing" be provided, with post-test counselling or referral according to the result. A positive result is not a dead end either: Article 44 of the State Council regulation on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment stipulates that pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV be "provided free of charge with treatment and counselling for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV"; Article 43 requires the provision of blocking, treatment, postpartum home visits, infant follow-up, and testing services. If the mother is hepatitis B surface antigen positive, the newborn should receive both the hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immunoglobulin at birth (see Section 20, item 2) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2020). 预防艾滋病、梅毒和乙肝母婴传播工作规范（2020 年版）. （新疆维吾尔自治区卫生健康委员会转载）；国务院 (2006). 艾滋病防治条例（第四十三、四十四条）. （北京市卫生健康委员会转载） +- Notes: the earlier these three are tested, the more the tests matter, because every intervention needs time. Article 3 of the same regulation also states that "no organization or individual may discriminate against people living with HIV, AIDS patients, and their family members", whose lawful rights in marriage, employment, medical care, schooling, and so on are protected by law. For everyday prevention and testing see Section 1, for post-exposure prophylaxis see Section 13 + +### 4. Avoid every cigarette and every drop of alcohol throughout pregnancy, and keep household members from smoking indoors + + +- Cost: 0 yuan, it actually saves money; the hard part is getting everyone in the household to quit together +- In plain terms: smoking during pregnancy raises the chances of preterm birth, of the baby being born too small, and of cleft lip and palate, doubles the risk of abnormal bleeding during pregnancy and delivery, and raises the risk of sudden infant death as well. A family member smoking indoors counts the same. Whenever you quit, it still pays off. +- Benefit: the position of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: smoking during pregnancy means the baby "may be born too small even at full term" and "may be born too early", it "doubles the risk of abnormal bleeding during pregnancy and delivery", it raises the risk of birth defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate, and it "damages the tissues of the unborn baby's developing lungs and brain, and the damage can last through childhood"; infants born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy, and infants exposed to smoke after birth, face a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome. The official advice is "the best time to quit smoking is before you get pregnant. But quitting at any time during pregnancy can still help" and "it is never too late to quit" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking During Pregnancy. +- Notes: secondhand smoke counts against the fetus too, so this item concerns the whole household, not just the pregnant woman herself. There is no known safe amount of alcohol; the simplest course during pregnancy is not to drink at all. For the toll tobacco and alcohol take on the adults themselves, see Section 2 + +### 5. If you have high-risk factors for preeclampsia, start one low-dose aspirin a day after week 12 + + +- Cost: a few dozen yuan; one tablet a day, taken until delivery +- In plain terms: if you fall into one of the high-risk groups, one low-dose aspirin a day from week 12 cuts the chance of preeclampsia by about fifteen percent, preterm birth by about twenty percent, and the chance of the baby dying in the perinatal period by about twenty percent. If you are not in these groups, do not take it on your own. +- Benefit: a Grade B recommendation of the United States Preventive Services Task Force: for women at high risk of preeclampsia, begin low-dose aspirin (81 mg/day) after week 12 of pregnancy as prophylaxis. Pooled effects: preeclampsia RR 0.85 (95% CI 0.75 to 0.95, 16 studies), preterm birth RR 0.80 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.95, 13 studies), perinatal death RR 0.79 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.96, 11 studies), small for gestational age / intrauterine growth restriction RR 0.82 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.99, 16 studies) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: US Preventive Services Task Force (2021). Aspirin Use to Prevent Preeclampsia and Related Morbidity and Mortality: Preventive Medication. +- Notes: the high-risk list is a history of preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, chronic hypertension, pre-existing type 1 or type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, and autoimmune disease (systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome). If you do not belong to these groups, do not take it on your own — this is a prescription decision; lay out your history clearly at the prenatal visit and let the doctor judge. Domestic tablets are mostly 100 mg enteric-coated, so follow the doctor's instructions + +### 6. Get screened for gestational diabetes at week 24 and after; do not skip it because the sugar drink is a nuisance + + +- Cost: a few dozen to over a hundred yuan; several fasting blood draws, taking up half a morning +- In plain terms: after week 24, half a morning spent drinking a sugar solution and giving blood finds gestational diabetes. Leave it unfound and unmanaged, and the risks of a very large baby, difficult labor, ending up with a cesarean, preeclampsia, and newborn low blood sugar all go up. +- Benefit: a Grade B recommendation of the United States Preventive Services Task Force: screen asymptomatic pregnant women for gestational diabetes at week 24 and after, and a one-time screen should be done at week 24 or later. On screening before week 24, the Task Force concluded that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms (Grade I). Unmanaged gestational diabetes pushes up the risks of macrosomia, difficult labor, cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, and neonatal hypoglycemia +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: US Preventive Services Task Force (2021). Gestational Diabetes: Screening. +- Notes: once found, most cases are controlled with diet and exercise alone; the minority need insulin. Do not skip this screen out of fear that a positive result means injections. Blood glucose should be rechecked after delivery — women who have had gestational diabetes face a markedly higher risk of type 2 diabetes later on + +### 7. Memorize this "go to the hospital right now" list; it applies through pregnancy and for a year after delivery + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; five minutes to memorize, and it is best if everyone in the household knows it too +- In plain terms: if any item on this list shows up, go to the hospital the same day; do not wait at home through the night. Do not let your guard down after the birth either — the same items still count for a year after delivery. +- Benefit: the pregnancy and postpartum emergency warning signs listed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: a headache that will not go away or keeps getting worse; dizziness or fainting; changes in vision; a fever of 38 °C or higher; severe swelling of the hands or face; thoughts of harming yourself or the baby; trouble breathing; chest pain or a racing heart; severe nausea and vomiting; severe abdominal pain that will not go away; the baby's movements stopping or clearly decreasing during pregnancy; vaginal bleeding or fluid leaking during pregnancy; vaginal bleeding or abnormal discharge after delivery; severe swelling, redness, or pain in one arm or leg. These problems can occur within a year after delivery — they are not something that "ends once the confinement month is over" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hear Her — Urgent Maternal Warning Signs. ；World Health Organization. Maternal mortality fact sheet. +- Notes: the value of this list is that it separates "endure it" from "must go now". A headache plus blurred vision plus abdominal pain points to preeclampsia; one-sided calf swelling and pain points to deep vein thrombosis (see Section 13); and by the World Health Organization's account, postpartum hemorrhage can kill a healthy woman within hours. If any item appears, go straight to the hospital — do not first wait at home through the night + +### 8. If your water breaks, lie flat where you are, raise the hips, and call 120; do not walk around and do not bathe + + +- Cost: 0 yuan +- In plain terms: your water breaking is not a moment to tidy up and set out at leisure — it means lie down on the spot, prop up your hips, and call 120. Standing and walking drains the amniotic fluid faster, and the umbilical cord can be swept down along with it; that is an emergency that can cost the baby's life. +- Benefit: the handling guidance of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission: once the water breaks, "immediately find somewhere to lie down flat, to keep the amniotic fluid from flowing out", "do not walk around at will", and "immediately dial the 120 emergency number"; while waiting for the ambulance, notify family members to bring the bags and meet at the hospital. Public health communication from medical institutions explains why further: in an upright position the amniotic fluid is lost faster, and the umbilical cord can slip down with it, causing umbilical cord prolapse — an emergency that endangers the fetus — which is why you should stay in bed with the hips raised, lying on the left side if possible +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 北京市卫生健康委员会. 每周急救话题：准妈妈羊水早破怎样办？ ；北京市顺义区妇幼保健院. 孕晚期在家破水怎么办？ +- Notes: of the three signs of impending labor, regular contractions and bloody show allow time to prepare; a broken water is the only one of them that means "lie down on the spot and call for a ride". After the water breaks, bathing, squatting over the toilet, and driving yourself are all classic mistakes. Note the time the water broke and the color of the fluid and tell the doctor — amniotic fluid that is yellow-green or contains meconium particles suggests fetal distress. If it comes with regular contractions, a marked drop in fetal movement, or fever and chills, stress all the more that it is an emergency + +### 9. Ask for an epidural outright if you want one; it does not raise the risk of cesarean + + +- Cost: a few hundred to over a thousand yuan, prices vary by region; confirm with the hospital and the anesthesiology department in advance that it is available +- In plain terms: an epidural works better than other pain relief options, and it does not make a cesarean more likely; the claim that "an epidural leaves your back aching for life" has no basis either. It now has its own separate billing item, and hospitals are more willing to provide it. +- Benefit: the conclusion of a Cochrane systematic review is that epidural analgesia is more effective than non-epidemic methods in relieving labor pain and improving maternal satisfaction with pain relief, and that "epidural analgesia had no effect on the risk of caesarean section or long-term backache"; the increase in assisted vaginal deliveries seen earlier is no longer visible in studies after 2005. From 2024, the pricing project establishment guide for obstetric medical service items of the National Healthcare Security Administration made "labor analgesia", "doula delivery", and "family-accompanied birth" separately priced items, precisely because the absence of an independent price item had suppressed hospitals' willingness to provide labor analgesia +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Anim-Somuah M, Smyth RMD, Cyna AM, Cuthbert A (2018). Epidural versus non-epidural or no analgesia for pain management in labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (5), CD000331. ；国家医疗保障局 (2024). 重构产科服务价格项目 助力构建生育友好型社会. +- Notes: of the two most widely circulated claims — "an epidural leaves you with lifelong back pain" and "an epidural causes difficult labor and a cesarean" — neither finds support in the review above. The real side effects are hypotension, fever, leg weakness, urinary retention, longer first and second stages of labor, and a greater likelihood of oxytocin use. Whether to have one is your call, but do not give it up because of rumors. Whether it is available also depends on the hospital having anesthesiologists on site around the clock, so ask clearly at the prenatal visit + +### 10. Do not request a cesarean without a medical indication, and do not schedule surgery to pick an auspicious date + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the hard part is standing up to what the family says +- In plain terms: looking at whole populations, once the cesarean share goes above about ten percent, maternal and newborn deaths stop falling. A cesarean that is needed should absolutely be done; having one to pick a date or out of fear of pain just means going through a major abdominal surgery for nothing, and it affects the next pregnancy too. +- Benefit: the 2015 statement of the World Health Organization: at the population level, maternal and newborn deaths fall as the cesarean rate rises to about 10%; beyond 10%, there is no evidence that mortality improves further. The World Health Organization also stresses that every effort should be made to provide cesarean sections to women who need them — not to hit any particular rate +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: World Health Organization (2015). WHO Statement on Caesarean Section Rates（WHO/RHR/15.02）. +- Notes: this item is not an argument against cesarean — with a proper indication it is life-saving surgery, so have it when it is needed and do not tough it out. What it argues against is cesarean without a medical indication: fear of pain, auspicious timing, calculating school-entry dates. The costs are on record: a cesarean is major abdominal surgery with a slower recovery, and in a subsequent pregnancy the risks of placenta previa, placenta accreta, and uterine rupture are higher — which directly affects whether you would want a second child + +### 11. Confirm your maternity insurance enrollment status before pregnancy; an unemployed spouse can also claim childbirth medical expenses + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one call to the social insurance or medical insurance hotline +- In plain terms: when the employer pays into maternity insurance, the medical costs of childbirth and the allowance during maternity leave both come out of the fund; if the spouse has no job, the medical-expense side can still be claimed. Whether enough months have been paid in, and whether giving birth out of town requires filing in advance, must be asked ahead of time — afterwards it cannot be fixed. +- Benefit: Article 54 of the Social Insurance Law: where an employer has paid maternity insurance premiums, its employees are entitled to maternity insurance benefits; an employee's unemployed spouse receives childbirth medical expense benefits under state regulations, with the funds paid from the maternity insurance fund. Maternity insurance benefits consist of two parts: childbirth medical expenses and the maternity allowance. Article 56 lists the three situations qualifying for the maternity allowance (maternity leave taken by a female employee, leave for family-planning surgery, and other circumstances provided by laws and regulations), with the maternity allowance "paid according to the average monthly wage of employees of the employing unit in the previous year" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2010). 中华人民共和国社会保险法（第五十四、五十六条）. （国家税务总局广东省税务局转载） +- Notes: two things must be asked in advance, because they cannot be remedied afterwards: first, whether the months of continuous enrollment meet the local eligibility threshold; second, whether giving birth outside the enrollment location requires prior filing for out-of-town delivery — without the filing you may have to pay out of pocket first and claim reimbursement manually afterwards, or be unable to claim at all. For the number of maternity leave days and how the maternity allowance is calculated, see Section 18, item 2 + +### 12. Get the Medical Certificate of Birth done before discharge; decide the name in advance and do not get the characters wrong + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; done in passing with the discharge paperwork +- In plain terms: this certificate is the prerequisite for household registration, insurance enrollment, and schooling, and only the delivering institution can issue it the first time. Going back for it after discharge means a separate process and extra paperwork. Check in advance that the characters of the name can be typed into the household registration system. +- Benefit: Article 23 of the Maternal and Infant Health Care Law: medical and health care institutions and personnel engaged in home delivery issue the uniformly printed Medical Certificate of Birth for newborns in accordance with the regulations of the health administrative department under the State Council. This certificate is the precondition for everything that follows — household registration, insurance enrollment, the medical insurance card, kindergarten and school enrollment all require it — and the first issue can only be handled by the delivering institution; applying again after discharge means going through a separate process and providing additional supporting documents +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (1994, 2017 修正). 中华人民共和国母婴保健法（第二十三条）. +- Notes: before filling it in, check the parents' names, ID card numbers, and the child's name word by word. The characters used in the name must be typeable in the household registration system — rare characters cause endless trouble; changing the name or the certificate both require reissue or replacement, far more costly than checking on the spot. Once you have the certificate, store it separately and carefully; it ranks in the same tier as the household registration booklet and the ID card + +### 13. Do not refuse either the newborn heel-prick screening or the hearing screening + + +- Cost: free or a few dozen yuan in most regions, some extended items self-paid; one heel prick after birth +- In plain terms: one heel-prick blood sample and one hearing test can catch hypothyroidism, phenylketonuria, and hearing loss while the baby looks completely normal. By the time symptoms show, the intellectual damage can no longer be repaired. +- Benefit: Article 3 of the administrative measures for newborn disease screening: "The nationally screened conditions for newborns include congenital hypothyroidism, phenylketonuria, and other hereditary metabolic diseases of newborns, as well as hearing impairment." What these conditions share is that early on there is no visible abnormality at all; by the time symptoms become obvious the intellectual damage is irreversible, while early detection and early intervention (thyroid hormone supplementation, special formula, hearing aids or cochlear implants) work very well. Article 10 provides that when a screen is positive, the institution must promptly notify the guardian to come for diagnostic testing +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 卫生部 (2009). 新生儿疾病筛查管理办法（卫生部令第 64 号，第三、十、十一条）. +- Notes: Article 11 of the measures requires that before screening, the items, conditions, methods, sensitivity, and costs be truthfully explained to the guardian and signed consent obtained — so you will receive an informed consent form; read it carefully before signing to see which items are the national ones and which are self-paid add-ons. A positive initial screen is not a diagnosis; the great majority are ruled out on retesting, so do not fall apart at this step. If the initial hearing screen is not passed, go for the rescreen as notified — do not decide for yourself that "the child can hear, so never mind" + +### 14. Enroll the newborn in resident medical insurance as soon as you have the birth certificate; do not wait for household registration + + +- Cost: one year of resident medical insurance premiums, several hundred yuan +- In plain terms: with the birth certificate in hand you can enroll the child online, without waiting for household registration. Once enrolled, hospitalization costs from the delivery stay can be reimbursed on the spot — one hospital stay for a newborn easily runs to five figures in yuan. +- Benefit: the position published on the Chinese government website in 2024: "a newborn can enroll online with just the Medical Certificate of Birth", without household registration first; "after the newborn is discharged, medical expenses can be reimbursed directly". The earlier practice was to enroll only after household registration, with hospitalization costs paid in full out of pocket first and claimed back later; the average processing time for enrollment and payment was also cut from 28.7 working days at the start of the year to 6.4 working days +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 中国政府网 (2024). 健全基本医疗保险参保长效机制国务院政策例行吹风会. +- Notes: preterm birth, jaundice treated with blue light, and newborn pneumonia are common causes of newborn hospitalization, easily costing tens of thousands of yuan, so the difference between being enrolled and not is large. Local rules on "within how many days after birth one must enroll for coverage to start from the date of birth" are not entirely uniform; for the local implementation details defer to the local medical insurance department, and the easiest thing is to call 12393 before discharge + +### 15. Register the birth at the local police station within one month of the child's birth + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one trip to the household registration window +- In plain terms: the law gives you one month, not "whenever I get around to it". Household registration gates the later vaccinations, kindergarten, schooling, and getting an ID card, and the longer you drag it out, the more paperwork you have to make up. +- Benefit: Article 7 of the household registration regulations: "Within one month after an infant's birth, the head of the household, a relative, the person supporting the infant, or a neighbor shall declare the birth registration to the household registration authority at the infant's place of permanent residence." This is a statutory deadline, not a suggestion. Household registration is the precondition for later vaccinations, kindergarten, schooling, and applying for an ID card, and the longer it is delayed, the more documents have to be supplied afterwards +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (1958). 中华人民共和国户口登记条例（第七条）. （广东省人民政府转载） +- Notes: bring the Medical Certificate of Birth, both parents' ID cards and household registration booklet, and the marriage certificate. Registration under either the father or the mother is allowed, but the policies of the two places differ (school catchment and insurance enrollment location are both affected), so think it through before going — changing it later is a hassle. Children born outside marriage can equally have birth registration declared + +### 16. Do not skip the 42-day postpartum check; it doubles as the postpartum depression screening + + +- Cost: 0 yuan, part of basic public health services; half a day of time +- In plain terms: this check-up is free, and besides looking at the wound, the uterus's recovery, and the pelvic floor, it includes a postpartum depression screening. Serious problems can appear at any point within a year after delivery — do not assume you are safe once the confinement month is over. +- Benefit: under the maternal health management services of the national basic public health service specification (third edition), the postpartum period includes 1 postpartum home visit and 1 postpartum health check at 42 days; in locally published service lists, this visit includes lab tests (complete blood count, routine vaginal discharge test) and 1 postpartum depression screening. Serious complications can occur within a year after delivery — "thoughts of harming yourself or the baby", "vaginal bleeding or abnormal discharge after delivery", and "severe swelling and pain in one limb" on the list in item 7 all belong to the postpartum period +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国家卫生计生委 (2017). 国家基本公共卫生服务规范（第三版）. ；靖江市人民政府. 国家基本公共卫生服务项目——孕产妇健康管理服务（地方服务清单公开）. +- Notes: postpartum depression is not being dramatic, and it is not solved by family members telling you to look on the bright side — it has screening scales, it has treatment, and it can be recovered from. For what to do when suicidal thoughts appear, see Section 1; for lawful ways out when the child truly cannot be raised, see Section 9, item 20. This check also looks at wound healing, uterine involution, and pelvic floor function, and the contraception plan is discussed at this visit too — no period after delivery does not mean you cannot get pregnant From c068725ce7ab33a40b256d3a8ea25c09c56b88f5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:40:09 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 27/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch28:=20Do=20Not=20Ruin=20Health=20F?= =?UTF-8?q?or=20Looks=20=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-i?= =?UTF-8?q?dentical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/28-Do-Not-Ruin-Health-For-Looks.md | 78 ++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 78 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/28-Do-Not-Ruin-Health-For-Looks.md diff --git a/book/en/28-Do-Not-Ruin-Health-For-Looks.md b/book/en/28-Do-Not-Ruin-Health-For-Looks.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..5ae9b550f --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/28-Do-Not-Ruin-Health-For-Looks.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +[← Back to table of contents](../README.md) + +# 28. Don't wreck your body for the sake of your appearance + +This section collects practices that "do something to the body in order to change how it looks": starving, taking drugs, injections, surgery. What they have in common is that the decision mostly comes from comparing yourself with others, while the cost falls entirely on you — and a considerable share of it is irreversible. + +This section does not judge what anyone wants to turn themselves into — that is each person's own business. It answers only one question: for the same goal, how much do the risks differ between the road of "prescription, qualifications, follow-up" and the road of "online shopping, beauty salons, upping the dose yourself". The figures mostly use health endpoints; the two medical-cosmetic items also involve criminal liability for practising medicine without a licence. +### 1. Do not control weight with extreme dieting, fasting, or self-induced vomiting; if you want to lose weight, take it from the exercise side + +- Cost: 0 — in fact it saves the money spent on weight-loss products +- In plain terms: people with anorexia nervosa die at nearly 6 times the rate of their peers — 5.1 deaths per 1,000 person-years, and one in five of those deaths is suicide. And the entry point is dieting: a three-year study tracking students at 44 middle schools found that girls who dieted severely were 18 times more likely to develop an eating disorder than those who didn't, moderate dieters 5 times. Looked at on its own, neither body weight nor exercise predicted new cases — only "dieting" did. If you want to control your weight, move more; don't eat so little that you're hungry. +- Benefit: Meta-analysis of 36 studies (166,642 cumulative person-years of observation in anorexia nervosa): standardized mortality ratio for anorexia nervosa 5.86, 5.1 deaths per 1,000 person-years, about 1/5 of deaths by suicide; bulimia nervosa standardized mortality ratio 1.93, other eating disorders 1.92. A cohort of 14–15-year-olds in 44 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, surveyed in 6 waves over 3 years: new eating disorders in girls 21.8/1,000 person-years; risk of onset for severe dieters was 18 times that of non-dieters, for moderate dieters 5 times; after adjusting for prior dieting and psychiatric symptoms, BMI, exercise, and sex no longer predicted new eating disorders, and the authors concluded that "in adolescents, using exercise rather than dietary restriction to control weight appears to carry a lower risk of eating disorders" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Arcelus J et al. (2011). Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. A meta-analysis of 36 studies. Arch Gen Psychiatry. ；Patton GC et al. (1999). Onset of adolescent eating disorders: population based cohort study over 3 years. BMJ. +- Notes: "Severe dieting" here means chronically eating far below what you need, not skipping a meal or a late-night snack. If you are already vomiting after eating, blaming yourself after bingeing, or weighing yourself compulsively and unable to stop, see a psychiatrist or the clinical psychology department of a general hospital — this is an illness with standard treatments, not a matter of willpower. The relationship between BMI and mortality is covered in item 28 of section 2, which is about long-term weight ranges, not weight-loss methods. + +### 2. Check two things before injections, thread embedding, or surgery: whether the institution's licence lists "medical cosmetology", and whether the person operating is an attending physician + +- Cost: 0, checking two certificates takes a few minutes; the institution should display its medical institution practice licence in the lobby, and a physician's credentials can be verified through the health authority's licensed-physician lookup +- In plain terms: anything that breaks the skin or goes into the body — surgery, injections, medical devices — counts as a medical act, and it can only be done at an institution that holds a practice licence for medical institutions with "medical cosmetology" approved on it. The doctor doing it must hold a licensed-physician qualification and be registered; for cosmetic surgery the doctor also needs 6 or more years of clinical experience in plastic or cosmetic surgery. A beauty salon, a studio, or a hotel room doing these things is practising medicine illegally: serious cases get up to 3 years, injuring someone 3 to 10 years, causing death 10 or more. Before the procedure the doctor must tell you in writing the indications, contraindications, and risks and have you sign; if that step is skipped, the process itself is wrong. +- Benefit: Article 2 of the Chinese regulation on medical cosmetology services defines medical cosmetology as "the repair and reshaping of a person's appearance and the shape of various parts of the body by means of surgery, drugs, medical devices and other traumatic or invasive medical techniques"; Articles 8 and 24 require first obtaining a practice licence for medical institutions and having the medical cosmetology treatment category approved by the registration authority before services may be offered; Article 11 requires the attending physician to hold a licensed-physician qualification and be registered, with cosmetic surgery requiring 6 or more years, cosmetic dentistry 5 or more years, and cosmetic traditional Chinese medicine and cosmetic dermatology 3 or more years each of relevant clinical work; Article 20 requires written disclosure of indications, contraindications, medical risks, and precautions before the procedure and signed consent. Article 336 of the Chinese criminal law: a person who practises medicine without a physician's qualification and the circumstances are serious is sentenced to up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or public surveillance, with a fine imposed or imposed separately; where the patient's health is seriously harmed, 3 to 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment plus a fine; where the patient dies, 10 or more years of fixed-term imprisonment plus a fine +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 卫生部 (2002). 医疗美容服务管理办法（卫生部令第 19 号，第二条、第八条、第十一条、第十六条、第二十条、第二十四条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第三百三十六条）. +- Notes: Article 16 of the same regulation also requires medical cosmetology procedures to be performed in a medical cosmetology institution or a medical institution with a medical cosmetology department, so "home-visit services" and "private studio procedures" are non-compliant by definition. The wording of Article 20 states that "no medical cosmetology procedure may be performed on a person without or with limited legal capacity without the consent of a guardian" — a minor getting a cosmetic procedure requires a guardian's signature. Life beauty (facials, massage, manicures) is not covered, but the moment needles or scalpels are involved it becomes medical cosmetology. + +### 3. Keep facial fillers away from the nose bridge, glabella, and forehead, and don't cut corners with non-standard injections + +- Cost: 0 — just a different site, or not doing it at all +- In plain terms: when filler is pushed into a facial vessel and flows backward to block the ophthalmic artery, the person goes blind on the spot. Of 48 newly reported cases of blindness after injection between 2015 and 2018, the nose accounted for 56.3%, the glabella 27.1%, the forehead 18.8%, the nasolabial fold 14.6%, and over 80% were hyaluronic acid injections. Only 20.8% of these people fully recovered their vision, 16.7% partially recovered, and the rest did not; nearly one in five also developed brain complications. No rescue method has so far been shown to work reliably, so the only option is to avoid these sites beforehand. +- Benefit: Review of the world literature (48 new cases of partial or complete vision loss after filler injection from January 2015 to September 2018): highest-risk sites were the nose 56.3%, glabella 27.1%, forehead 18.8%, nasolabial fold 14.6%; the filler was hyaluronic acid in 81.3% of cases; 43.8% had skin changes, 18.8% central nervous system complications; 10 cases (20.8%) fully recovered vision, 8 cases (16.7%) partially; the authors concluded that management varies enormously and no treatment has been proven to work consistently +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Beleznay K et al. (2019). Update on Avoiding and Treating Blindness From Fillers: A Recent Review of the World Literature. Aesthet Surg J. +- Notes: This is an aggregate of cases reported in the literature with no denominator, so the "chance of going blind per injection" cannot be computed — what can be read out is only "which sites cause the most incidents and how little can be done afterwards". That is also why it is grade B. The risk-reducing practices are routine at a properly licensed institution: assessing vessel anatomy before the procedure, using blunt cannulas, injecting small amounts while withdrawing, and having hyaluronidase ready at all times — all of which require the operator to be a trained doctor, and are also the reason not to use informal channels. Verify credentials per item 2 of this section before the procedure. + +### 4. Do not buy weight-loss pills, diet coffee, slimming candies, or enzyme plums that promise "fast weight loss" + +- Cost: 0 — in fact it saves this money +- In plain terms: the illegal additive most often found in these products is sibutramine. It used to be a legitimate weight-loss drug until it was pulled in China in 2010: in a trial of nearly 10,000 people who took it for an average of over three years, those on the drug had roughly 30% more non-fatal heart attacks and roughly 36% more non-fatal strokes — 11.4% versus 10.0% having an event — while losing only 1.7 kg more over three-plus years. Adding it to foods and health foods is illegal, and sampling inspections that find it lead to severe penalties and referral to the police where a crime is suspected — but that all happens afterwards; you have already swallowed it. +- Benefit: SCOUT trial (9,804 people over 55 who were overweight or obese and had cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes, randomly assigned, mean treatment 3.4 years): primary endpoint (non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, resuscitation after cardiac arrest, cardiovascular death) occurred in 11.4% vs 10.0%, HR 1.16 (95% CI 1.03–1.31, P=0.02); non-fatal myocardial infarction 4.1% vs 3.2%, HR 1.28 (1.04–1.57); non-fatal stroke 2.6% vs 1.9%, HR 1.36 (1.04–1.77); cardiovascular death and all-cause death were not increased; after randomization the sibutramine group lost on average 1.7 kg more. On the basis of its safety assessment, the former State Food and Drug Administration judged that "the risks of the weight-loss treatment outweigh the benefits" and in October 2010 issued a notice halting the production, sale, and use of sibutramine preparations and APIs; sibutramine and phenolphthalein are both banned from being added to foods (including health foods) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: James WPT et al. (2010). Effect of sibutramine on cardiovascular outcomes in overweight and obese subjects. NEJM. ；天津市市场监督管理委员会. 警惕部分食品中违法添加「盐酸西布曲明」和「酚酞」. +- Notes: SCOUT enrolled high-risk people who already had cardiovascular disease or diabetes; the trial did not show that healthy young people suffer the same harm — but it is precisely because the at-risk population cannot be identified that the regulator withdrew it outright. Another common illegal additive is phenolphthalein (a laxative); long-term overdose can cause electrolyte disturbances and trigger arrhythmias. The test is simple: a legitimate weight-loss drug is a prescription drug, available at pharmacies and hospitals with a traceable approval number; anything sold as "coffee", "candy", "plums", or "meal replacement" that promises several jin a week by definition should have no drug effect — if it does, something was added. The original text of the notice (State Food and Drug Administration Office document 〔2010〕 No. 432) is on the National Medical Products Administration website; this machine's access to it consistently returns 412, so a provincial regulator's page reporting it is cited instead, and the two phrases "risks outweigh the benefits" and "halted production, sale, and use in October 2010" can be checked verbatim there. + +### 5. Do not use anabolic steroids ("muscle-building injections", "oral drugs") to gain muscle + +- Cost: 0 — it saves the drug money; the price is accepting that muscle grows slowly +- In plain terms: Denmark tracked 545 people who used steroids, identified through positive gym doping tests, and compared them with 5,450 people of the same age: their risk of death was 3 times the control group's, and their median number of hospital visits per year was 0.81 versus 0.36. More than one in ten of them each had acne, gynecomastia, or erectile dysfunction, and checking against a second group gave the same result. In China these drugs are prescription drugs and are also on the doping list — any unit or individual that illegally produces, sells, imports, or exports them is breaking the law. So a channel that will sell them to you is itself already illegal, and no one guarantees the drug is genuine either. +- Benefit: Danish retrospective matched cohort (545 men with positive androgenic steroid results on gym doping tests from 2006-01-03 to 2018-03-01, matched with 5,450 controls; verified against 644 refusers of testing with 6,440 controls): users' mortality was 3 times that of controls, HR 3.0 (95% CI 1.3–7.0); median hospitalizations/visits per year 0.81 vs 0.36 (P<0.0001); acne, gynecomastia, and erectile dysfunction each affected more than 10% of users, all significantly higher than controls (P<0.0001); the verification cohort gave consistent results. Article 7 of the Chinese anti-doping regulation: the state applies strict management to prohibited substances on the doping list, and no unit or individual may illegally produce, sell, import, or export them; the same regulation places anabolic agents and peptide hormones under prescription-drug management +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Horwitz H et al. (2019). Health consequences of androgenic anabolic steroid use. J Intern Med. ；国务院 (2004). 反兴奋剂条例（国务院令第 398 号，第七条、第九条）. +- Notes: Controversy: this is an observational cohort, and people who use steroids may be bigger risk-takers in other ways too, so the factor of 3 cannot be attributed entirely to the drug; the confidence interval of 1.3–7.0 is also wide. But "acne, gynecomastia, and erectile dysfunction in over one in ten" is a directly observable side effect, less affected by selection bias. "Anabolic agents" is the term these drugs go by in the regulation. Ordinary protein powder and creatine are not covered by this item; the problem is that products "claiming especially fast muscle gains" may be illegally spiked — the test is the same as in item 4. + +### 6. Get weight-loss drugs with a prescription at a hospital; don't buy them from online shops that ship without a prescription + +- Cost: one registration fee plus travel, a few dozen yuan and half a day +- In plain terms: by regulation, prescription drugs must be sold only against a prescription, and the pharmacy has to keep the prescription on file for at least five years; selling prescription drugs online also requires a genuine, reliable prescription under a real-name system, and the page must state clearly that "prescription drugs may be purchased and used only with a prescription, under a pharmacist's guidance". So when you see a seller that asks no questions, wants no prescription, and ships as soon as you order, there are only two possibilities: what they sell is not the drug they say it is, or the shop itself is breaking the rules — and in both cases, if something goes wrong, no one is answerable for your dose and contraindications. The few dozen yuan for the registration fee buys exactly that. +- Benefit: The Chinese regulation on the quality supervision and administration of drug trading and use requires drug retail enterprises to observe the prescription-drug/over-the-counter classification system, to sell prescription drugs only against a prescription as required, and to keep prescriptions for no less than five years; when the pharmacist or other pharmaceutical technical personnel is absent, a notice must be posted, and prescription drugs may not be sold without their review; prescription drugs may not be sold on open shelves. Article 9 of the Chinese regulation on the supervision and administration of online drug sales requires that anyone selling prescription drugs online to individuals ensure the prescription source is genuine and reliable and apply a real-name system; Article 10 requires prominent display of risk-warning information on every drug display page, and no display of the package insert and no purchasing service before the prescription review is passed; Article 8 states that vaccines, blood products, narcotic drugs, psychotropic drugs, medical toxic drugs, radioactive drugs, drug precursor chemicals, and other drugs under special state management may not be sold online +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国家市场监督管理总局 (2023). 药品经营和使用质量监督管理办法（总局令第 84 号）. ；国家市场监督管理总局 (2022). 药品网络销售监督管理办法（总局令第 58 号，第八条至第十条）. +- Notes: The legal provisions themselves can be checked verbatim, but there is no quantitative study of "how much harm taking a drug as prescribed avoids compared with buying it yourself", so this is graded B as "hard to quantify". This item is not only about weight-loss drugs: the steroids and sex hormones in items 5 and 7 of this section fall under the same rules. If you genuinely have an indication for weight loss, the doctor first looks at BMI, comorbidities, and contraindications before deciding whether to use a drug and which one — that judgment is not something you can buy. + +### 7. Use sex-hormone drugs only with a doctor's prescription and regular follow-up; don't buy them online or up the dose yourself + +- Cost: regular registration fees and blood-draw follow-up tests, a few hundred yuan and several half-days a year +- In plain terms: this item does not discuss whether to use them, only how. In a study of transgender people followed for about four years on average, transgender women (the vast majority taking estrogen) had clearly more venous thrombosis than age-matched controls: 4.1 extra cases per 1,000 people over two years, and 16.7 over eight years; among those who started hormones during follow-up, the gap in thrombosis and ischemic stroke was even more pronounced; no overall difference was seen for heart attack. The point is that thrombosis can be tested for and intercepted early — provided someone is testing you regularly. On the path of buying online and adjusting the dose yourself, that person is precisely what's missing. +- Benefit: Kaiser Permanente electronic health record cohort (2,842 transgender women and 2,118 transgender men, mean follow-up 4.0 and 3.6 years, each matched by birth year, race, site, and enrollment date with roughly 10 times as many cisgender controls — 48,686 cisgender men and 48,775 cisgender women in total): the 2-year and 8-year risk differences in venous thromboembolism for transgender women were 4.1 per 1,000 (95% CI 1.6–6.7) and 16.7 (6.4–27.5) relative to cisgender men, and 3.4 (1.1–5.6) and 13.7 (4.1–22.7) relative to cisgender women; ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction were close across groups overall, but among transgender women who began hormone therapy during follow-up, the differences in venous thrombosis and ischemic stroke were more pronounced; the evidence for transgender men was insufficient to draw conclusions. The authors concluded that "these results may suggest the need for long-term vigilance for vascular adverse effects of estrogen in transgender hormone therapy" +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Getahun D et al. (2018). Cross-sex Hormones and Acute Cardiovascular Events in Transgender Persons: A Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. ；国家市场监督管理总局 (2022). 药品网络销售监督管理办法（总局令第 58 号，第九条）. +- Notes: The study itself states its limitation: it cannot know how many people obtained drugs outside the system, so the split between "on hormones" and "not on hormones" was never clean — which is exactly why bringing hormone use into formal follow-up matters. It measured vascular events; it does not evaluate the indications and benefits of hormone therapy itself, which rest on a different body of evidence. The same logic applies to every use of sex hormones: contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapy, testosterone replacement — wherever people buy online, adjust doses based on forum posts, and never test for thrombosis or liver and kidney markers, the risk lies in the "no one is monitoring" part, not in the motivation for using them. The standard route in China is to be assessed, prescribed, and followed up by endocrinology or the relevant specialty at a regular medical institution. + +### 8. If "feeling ugly" has reached the point of checking the mirror and thinking about fixing it over and over, get a body-image assessment before talking surgery + +- Cost: one registration fee at a psychiatric or clinical psychology clinic, a few dozen yuan +- In plain terms: pooling 33 studies, 15.04% of people seeking plastic surgery met the criteria for body dysmorphic disorder — that is, magnifying a flaw that others can barely see until it disrupts life; among those seeking cosmetic dermatology it was 12.65%, with women making up over 70% on both sides. The source of this distress is not on the face; surgery changes the face but not the cycle of "checking again and again, never satisfied", so it is easy to keep going from one procedure to the next. Spend one registration fee first to find out whether you are in this group, then decide whether to go under. +- Benefit: Systematic review and meta-analysis of 33 studies: prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder among plastic surgery attendees 15.04% (2.21%–56.67% across studies), mean age 34.54±12.41 years, 74.38% female; dermatology attendees 12.65% (4.52%–35.16%), mean age 27.79±9.03 years, 76.09% female; the authors recommended that plastic surgeons and dermatologists actively assess and identify high-risk individuals and arrange multidisciplinary management +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Ribeiro RVE (2017). Prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder in Plastic Surgery and Dermatology Patients: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Aesthetic Plast Surg. +- Notes: The results range from 2.21% to 56.67% across studies — an enormous spread, with screening tools and populations not uniform — so all that can be read out is "this proportion is not low and is worth screening for once"; the 15.04% cannot be taken as an exact value, which is also why this is graded B. This item does not say that people who want cosmetic procedures have a psychological problem — the vast majority do not; it says that for the small group who are "repetitive, persistent, and already affected at work and in social life", surgery does not solve their problem. Cues to look for: spending long stretches of the day checking or covering up a body part, avoiding social events or photos because of it, and moving on to the next spot as soon as one is done. From 65db12451a8e51348da4a440b41483adcf008003 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:40:09 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 28/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch29:=20After=20A=20Major=20Blow=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/29-After-A-Major-Blow.md | 105 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 105 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/29-After-A-Major-Blow.md diff --git a/book/en/29-After-A-Major-Blow.md b/book/en/29-After-A-Major-Blow.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..37a721ac7 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/29-After-A-Major-Blow.md @@ -0,0 +1,105 @@ +[← Back to master table of contents](../README.md) + +# 29. After a Major Life Blow + +Death of a close relative, being told you have a serious illness, losing your job, divorce — these events share one thing in the research: what takes the hit is not only your mood but also your body, and the highest-risk window is concentrated in the first few weeks to the first year. This section does not explain how to "move on"; it only covers which things must have someone watching over them during this period, which decisions must be put off, and when to book a doctor's appointment. The first nine items are measured in mortality; the last two are about money. + +For the paperwork at the time of a relative's death, the body, and the money that should be claimed, see Section 25; for guardianship and wills while an elderly parent is alive, see Section 17; for what you can claim when unemployed, see Section 7; for exercise and light exposure when feeling low, see Sections 3 and 22; if you have thoughts of suicide, call 12356 first — see Section 1, item 25. This section does not repeat them. +### 1. Don't stay alone in the first days after a close relative dies; if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes, keep taking your medication as usual, and call 120 if you have crushing chest pain + +- Cost: 0 — just don't be alone, and don't stop your medication +- In plain terms: in the 24 hours after a relative's death, the chance of a heart attack is 21.1 times the usual level, then falls day by day. Among people aged 60 to 89, 0.16% of those who lost a spouse had a heart attack or stroke within 30 days, versus 0.08% among matched peers who hadn't — roughly double, and it falls back after a month. The absolute numbers are not large: for someone whose ten-year heart attack risk was 5% to begin with, about 1 extra case per 1,394 bereaved people; for someone at 20% to begin with, 1 extra case per 320 — so this item is mainly aimed at people who already have cardiovascular disease. Don't stop your medication these days. Crushing chest pain, breathlessness, or weakness on one side of the body: call 120 immediately. +- Benefit: case-crossover analysis of 1,985 patients with acute myocardial infarction: 270 (13.6%) had lost a significant person within 6 months before onset, 19 of them within 1 day before the heart attack; the rate of acute myocardial infarction rose 21.1-fold (95% CI 13.1–34.1) within 24 hours after the death of a significant person, then declined day by day; absolute risk was 1 extra case per 1,394 exposed people at a ten-year heart attack risk of 5%, and 1 per 320 at 20%. In the UK, 30,447 people aged 60–89 who lost a spouse versus 83,588 matched controls: heart attack or stroke within 30 days of bereavement occurred in 50 (0.16%) versus 67 (0.08%), IRR 2.20 (1.52–3.15) — heart attack 2.14 (1.20–3.81), stroke 2.40 (1.22–4.71) — weakening after 30 days; within 90 days, non-heart-attack acute coronary syndrome IRR 2.20 (1.12–4.29), pulmonary embolism 2.37 (1.18–4.75) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Mostofsky E, et al. (2012). Risk of acute myocardial infarction after the death of a significant person in one's life: the Determinants of Myocardial Infarction Onset Study. Circulation. ；Carey IM, et al. (2014). Increased risk of acute cardiovascular events after partner bereavement: a matched cohort study. JAMA Internal Medicine. +- Notes: both are observational studies and cannot strip out the component of "was about to fall ill anyway," but the direction and the window agree. What you can do is very concrete: hand the pill organizer to someone else to manage, don't rely on your own memory; don't drive long distances these days; don't prop yourself up with alcohol (the accounting for alcohol is in Section 2). Recognizing a heart attack or stroke and how to call for a ride is in Section 13. + +### 2. In the week you're told you have a serious diagnosis, don't go collect the report alone, and put off decisions other than treatment + +- Cost: 0 — find someone to go with you, and push the big decisions back a few days +- In plain terms: in the first week after a cancer diagnosis, the probability of suicide is 12.6 times that of people without a diagnosis, and the probability of dying from cardiovascular disease 5.6 times; by the end of the first year these fall to 3.1 and (for the first four weeks) 3.3, and the worse the prognosis of the cancer, the more pronounced it is. This is not a question of "mental fortitude" — it is a common reaction in the days after anyone receives bad news. So: bring someone with you on the day you collect the report, don't be alone at home afterward, and call 120 immediately for chest pain or breathlessness. Decisions about the treatment plan, whether to quit your job, whether to sell the house — leave all of them until after the next outpatient visit. +- Benefit: Swedish historical cohort of 6,073,240 people from 1991 to 2006: compared with people without a cancer diagnosis, relative risk of suicide in the first week after diagnosis was 12.6 (95% CI 8.6–17.8, incidence 2.50/1000 person-years), and 3.1 (2.7–3.5, 0.60/1000 person-years) in the first year; cardiovascular death was 5.6 (5.2–5.9, 116.80/1000 person-years) in the first week and 3.3 (3.1–3.4, 65.81/1000 person-years) in the first 4 weeks; the elevated risk fell back rapidly within the first year after diagnosis, with the largest elevations in cancers with poor prognosis; a self-controlled analysis of the same patients reached the same conclusions +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Fang F, et al. (2012). Suicide and cardiovascular death after a cancer diagnosis. New England Journal of Medicine. +- Notes: this is data on cancer; extrapolating it to other major diagnoses has no text of equal strength behind it. The absolute numbers are small (suicide rate of 2.50/1000 person-years in the first week); they are listed not to scare anyone but to show that "the first few days after finding out" require someone at your side. Long-term management, reimbursement, and follow-up after a diagnosis are in Sections 16 and 24. + +### 3. After losing your job, first fix your daily routine, health insurance, and job-search rhythm, and don't stay home all day + +- Cost: 0 — first register as unemployed and claim unemployment benefits, and put the job search on a fixed schedule +- In plain terms: unemployed people are about 60% more likely to die in the following years than people in work, more pronounced among men and people in the early and middle stages of their careers, and highest in the first ten years after job loss. Nearly a quarter of this gap can be explained by behaviors like smoking and drinking — which is to say, part of it is something you can hold down yourself. The order of things is: first register as unemployed and claim unemployment insurance benefits (while you are drawing them, your employee health insurance is paid on your behalf by the unemployment insurance fund — see Section 7); don't let your health insurance lapse; then fix a set schedule for getting up, sending out résumés, and meeting people. +- Benefit: random-effects meta-analysis of 42 studies, 235 mortality risk estimates, and over 20 million people: after adjusting for age and other covariates, the average HR for all-cause mortality among the unemployed was 1.63; higher in men than women; a clear effect for people in the early and middle career stages, smaller in the late stage; risk was highest in the first 10 years of follow-up and declined afterward; in the subset of studies that controlled for health-related behaviors, the average HR was 24% lower +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Roelfs DJ, et al. (2011). Losing life and livelihood: a systematic review and meta-analysis of unemployment and all-cause mortality. Social Science & Medicine. +- Notes: observational evidence; reverse causation cannot be removed — people whose health was already worse are more likely to become unemployed. But the finding that "the effect is 24% lower after controlling for health behaviors" points to something actionable. What you can claim when unemployed, where to claim it, and how to keep social insurance going is in Section 7; how much compensation you are owed if dismissed and why not to sign a voluntary resignation is in Section 19. + +### 4. If a relative died by suicide, an accident, or homicide, don't expect to tough it out; go find professional help on your own initiative + +- Cost: from 0 — calling 12356 is free; a psychology outpatient appointment costs the same as an ordinary clinic visit +- In plain terms: people whose spouse died by suicide are about 80% (men) and 70% (women) more likely to be diagnosed with a mental disorder within five years than the general population; compared with people whose spouse died of other causes, they are 70% to twice as likely, with more suicidal behavior, higher mortality, and a higher share needing social assistance. People bereaved by suicide also more often feel shunned and ashamed, and therefore speak up less — which is exactly the reason to go find someone proactively. Don't wait to "get better on your own." +- Benefit: national register cohort of 6.7 million Danish adults from 1980 to 2014, over 136 million person-years: among those widowed by a spouse's suicide, the IRR for a new mental disorder within 5 years was 1.8 (95% CI 1.6–2.0) for men and 1.7 (1.6–1.8) for women (versus the general population); versus those widowed by other causes of death, IRR was 1.7 (1.5–1.9) for men and 2.0 (1.9–2.2) for women, with suicidal behavior, mortality, and the share needing municipal assistance all higher, and elevated risk of somatic conditions such as liver cirrhosis and sleep disorders as well. A systematic narrative review of 57 studies: bereavement by suicide is associated with elevated risk of a partner's own suicide, elevated risk of psychiatric hospitalization in parents after a child's suicide, elevated risk of suicide in mothers after the suicide of an adult child, and elevated risk of depression in children after a parent's suicide; compared with people bereaved by other violent deaths, those bereaved by suicide more often report rejection and feelings of shame +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Erlangsen A, et al. (2017). Association Between Spousal Suicide and Mental, Physical, and Social Health Outcomes: A Longitudinal and Nationwide Register-Based Study. JAMA Psychiatry. ；Pitman A, et al. (2014). Effects of suicide bereavement on mental health and suicide risk. The Lancet Psychiatry. +- Notes: after sudden, violent deaths (accidents, homicide, disasters), the rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and grief getting stuck are all higher than after deaths from illness, and recovery is slower (Kristensen P, et al. (2012). Bereavement and mental health after sudden and violent losses: a review. Psychiatry. ). What to do if you yourself have thoughts of suicide is in Section 1, item 25. + +### 5. In the first six months after being widowed, put meals, sleep, chronic-disease medication, and follow-up visits under the watch of one fixed person + +- Cost: 0 — pick one specific person (child, sibling, friend) to visit or call on a set schedule +- In plain terms: within six months of being widowed, the probability of dying in the same period is about 40% higher than among people who haven't; after six months it drops to about 15% higher. For men it is about 23% higher; for women that figure is so small it may be coincidence. Another analysis pooling over 500 million people puts the overall figure at about 23% higher — men 27%, women 15%. This gap is not made up by "thinking positive"; it is made up by not stopping medication, eating on time, and going to follow-ups when due, so it has to land on one specific person. Don't count on remembering it yourself. +- Benefit: random-effects meta-analysis of 15 prospective cohorts and 2,263,888 people: RR for death when widowed less than 6 months was 1.41 (95% CI 1.26–1.57), and 1.14 (1.10–1.18) after 6 months; for men RR 1.23 (1.18–1.28), for women 1.04 (1.00–1.08, not statistically significant); no significant difference between those under 65 and those 65 and older. Another meta-analysis and meta-regression of 123 publications, 1,377 risk estimates, and over 500 million people: adjusted HR 1.23 (1.19–1.28), men 1.27 (1.19–1.35) higher than women 1.15 (1.08–1.22) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Moon JR, et al. (2011). Widowhood and mortality: a meta-analysis. PLoS ONE. ；Shor E, et al. (2012). Widowhood and mortality: a meta-analysis and meta-regression. Demography. +- Notes: observational studies; confounding cannot be removed (spouses' lifestyles and illnesses are similar to begin with). But the time shape — "the first six months far higher than afterward" — is consistent across two independent meta-analyses, and is worth treating as a care window. Men are at higher risk and also ask for help less often. If there is a newly widowed elderly parent at home, sort out accounts, guardianship, and the will together, per Section 17. + +### 6. After a parent dies, tell the child the truth, let them attend the farewell, and don't send them elsewhere to "change the environment" + +- Cost: 0 — the price is having to say things clearly to the child even when you are hurting yourself +- In plain terms: children who lose a father or mother before age 18 are about 50% more likely to die by early adulthood than people who haven't been through it; about 80% higher when the parent died of unnatural causes such as an accident or suicide, and about 30% higher when the parent died of illness. So this is not something "a small child forgets in a couple of days" — the effect lasts many years. What can be done: tell the truth, don't invent "they went away on a long trip"; let the child attend the farewell; don't interrupt schooling and don't send them to relatives "to change the environment"; put guardianship and support arrangements in writing. +- Benefit: entire populations born in Denmark 1968–2008 and Sweden 1973–2006, plus a 89.3% sample of those born in Finland 1987–2007, over 7.3 million people in total, of whom 189,094 lost a parent before 18: all-cause mortality 50% higher than among the non-bereaved (mortality rate ratio 1.50, 95% CI 1.43–1.58); 1.84 (1.71–2.00) when the parent died of unnatural causes and 1.33 (1.24–1.41) of natural causes; highest when the child's cause of death fell in the same category as the parent's +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: Li J, et al. (2014). Mortality after parental death in childhood: a nationwide cohort study from three Nordic countries. PLoS Medicine. +- Notes: the B is not because the numbers are weak — this is a three-country whole-population cohort, and the numbers themselves are A-grade — but because there is no direct trial evidence between this figure and the concrete practices of "how to talk to the child, whether to attend the farewell." The authors also state that data on parent-child relationship quality and lifestyle after bereavement are missing, and that the elevation contains both genetic susceptibility and the long-term impact of bereavement. Designating a guardian and property arrangements are in Section 17; child support and schooling are in Section 18. + +### 7. If grief is still stuck in place after six months and daily life is not working, book an appointment in psychiatry or clinical psychology + +- Cost: the registration fee plus treatment fees; this kind of treatment is done as a course — in the original trials, 16 sessions over an average of 19 weeks +- In plain terms: about one in every ten bereaved adults gets stuck: for more than six months, persistent longing so strong that they can't eat, can't work, can't look after their children; numbness, shock, a sense that life is meaningless, inability to accept it, avoiding everything connected to the deceased, no longer knowing who they are supposed to be. This is not "not being strong enough" — it has diagnostic criteria, and there is a treatment built for it: the targeted treatment works for 51%, compared with 28% for ordinary psychotherapy — on average, for every 4.3 people treated, one more person gets better — and it works faster. +- Benefit: systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 studies (non-psychiatric adults bereaved by non-violent loss): pooled prevalence of prolonged grief disorder 9.8% (95% CI 6.8–14.0), with prevalence rising the higher the average age. A validity study of the diagnostic criteria (291 bereaved people, interviewed three times at 0–6, 6–12, and 12–24 months): the core symptom is intense longing for the deceased, plus at least five of the following nine — emotional numbness, shock, a sense that life is meaningless, difficulty trusting others, bitterness over the loss, difficulty accepting it, confusion about identity, avoidance of reality, and inability to move on with life — occurring daily or at a disabling level, and still present with functional impairment at least 6 months after the death. A randomized controlled trial in 95 people (16 sessions, average 19 weeks): response rate 51% for treatment targeting complicated grief versus 28% for interpersonal psychotherapy (P=0.02), faster onset, number needed to treat 4.3 +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Lundorff M, et al. (2017). Prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in adult bereavement: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders. ；Prigerson HG, et al. (2009). Prolonged grief disorder: Psychometric validation of criteria proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11. PLoS Medicine. ；Shear MK, et al. (2005). Treatment of complicated grief: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. +- Notes: this diagnosis is called complicated grief or prolonged grief disorder in different publications, and different criteria require different durations (6 or 12 months); don't hold yourself to the month count yourself — the criterion for judgment is "it affects eating, sleeping, working, or caring for children"; if it matches, go book an appointment. The 9.8% prevalence comes from 14 studies with substantial methodological differences, and the authors caution that external validity is limited. The department is called psychiatry, psychology, or clinical psychology; public psychiatric specialty hospitals all have it. + +### 8. Don't pay for grief counseling right off the bat; first check whether you match the criteria in item 7 + +- Cost: 0 — you save the counseling fee instead +- In plain terms: arranging counseling universally for everyone who is bereaved has only a small effect at the end of the intervention, and by follow-up no benefit can be seen — the reason is that most people who receive no intervention recover on their own anyway. In a study that tracked 205 people from before to after widowhood, the most common pattern was precisely the "resilient" one; staying stuck the whole time is the minority. But for people who already show clear adjustment difficulties, the same treatment works as well as it does for other psychological problems, and keeps improving through the follow-up period. So the order is: first check yourself against item 7, and spend this money only if you match. Don't buy courses or counseling packages at the start. +- Benefit: meta-analysis of 61 controlled studies: psychological interventions for bereavement had a small effect size at treatment end and no statistically significant benefit at follow-up; interventions that enrolled only bereaved people "already showing clear adjustment difficulties" performed on a par with psychotherapy for other psychological problems; the poor results of studies without screening can be attributed to natural improvement over time in the control groups. Meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials: therapeutic interventions were significantly better than control both after treatment and at follow-up, with the effect still growing during follow-up; preventive interventions were ineffective. A prospective study of 205 people from before widowhood to 6 and 18 months after: five patterns were identified (common grief, chronic grief, chronic depression, improvement during bereavement, resilience), with the resilient pattern the most common and the common-grief pattern relatively rare +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Currier JM, et al. (2008). The effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions for bereaved persons: a comprehensive quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin. ；Wittouck C, et al. (2011). The prevention and treatment of complicated grief: a meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review. ；Bonanno GA, et al. (2002). Resilience to loss and chronic grief: a prospective study from preloss to 18-months postloss. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. +- Notes: this item says "not everyone needs it," not "no one should do it" — the high-risk bereaved in item 4 and the people already stuck in item 7 are exactly the populations the evidence supports treating. A Lancet review reaches the same conclusion: grief is not an illness, most people do not need professional intervention, and intervention should target those at high risk and those who have already developed complicated grief, bereavement-related depression, and stress disorders (Stroebe M, et al. (2007). Health outcomes of bereavement. Lancet. ). + +### 9. After separation or divorce, don't let your health insurance lapse and don't prop yourself up with alcohol + +- Cost: 0 — get the health insurance reinstated and stop the drinking +- In plain terms: in an analysis pooling 11 countries and 6.5 million people, separated or divorced people were clearly more likely to die early than the still-married, with a larger increase among men and younger people. The original authors did not treat this as causal — people who divorce may already differ in health and income. Of the four mechanisms the authors list, two are things you can hold down yourself: interruption of income and coverage (don't let health insurance or checkups lapse), and worsening health behaviors (alcohol and tobacco). +- Benefit: random-effects meta-analysis of 32 prospective studies, over 6.5 million people, 160,000 deaths, over 755,000 divorces, and 11 countries: compared with married adults, separated or divorced adults had a significantly elevated risk of early death; the increase was significantly larger in men and younger adults than in women and older people; the authors discussed four possible mechanisms — social selection, resource interruption, changes in health behaviors, and chronic psychological stress +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Sbarra DA, et al. (2011). Divorce and Death: A Meta-Analysis and Research Agenda for Clinical, Social, and Health Psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science. +- Notes: the original gives "significantly elevated" and subgroup comparisons; this item does not state a specific multiplier, and the benefit magnitude is set at medium per "direction only, with no relative reduction to which a threshold can be applied." Property, debts, and bride-price in divorce are in Sections 8 and 10; arrangements for the children's care are in Section 18. + +### 10. Call 12356 when you need someone to talk to, 12355 for minors and teenagers, and book a psychology outpatient appointment to see a doctor + +- Cost: 0 — both hotlines are free; the psychology outpatient clinic charges an ordinary outpatient registration fee +- In plain terms: two free lines: 12356 is the national psychological assistance hotline; minors and teenagers have a separate service, the 12355 comprehensive youth service platform; the two lines transfer to each other, and 12356 is also linked with 110. To see a doctor, book a psychology appointment in psychiatry, psychology, or clinical psychology — under the 2026 plan, by 2030 public psychiatric specialty hospitals at every level and at least one hospital in every county (district) are to provide psychology outpatient services, and over 80% of villages and communities are to set up psychological counseling rooms or social work stations. After a family upheaval, job loss, or dropping out of school, community grid workers and social workers are supposed to detect it proactively and make visits on their own initiative. +- Benefit: 2026 plan by the National Health Commission and 25 departments: improve the working system of the 12356 psychological assistance hotline, guarantee stable operation and raise the connection rate, promote the establishment of provincial-level 12356 information platforms, and strengthen the linkage mechanism with 110 and other service hotlines; build up and make good use of the 12355 comprehensive youth service platform, with coordination and collaboration with 12356; the goals are that by 2030, over 80% of administrative villages and urban communities will have psychological counseling rooms or social work stations providing psychological services, public psychiatric specialty hospitals at every level and at least 1 hospital in every county (district) will provide psychology outpatient services, and every province will have built a provincial-level 12356 psychological assistance platform; the psychological crisis intervention and psychological assistance workforce is to consist of psychiatrists, psychotherapy technicians, psychological counselors, social work professionals, and volunteers; grid workers, social work professionals, and volunteers are required to carry out front-line daily screening and promptly detect psychological crisis risks such as family upheaval, unemployment, and dropping out of school (nationwide, issued March 2026) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国家卫生健康委等 25 部门 (2026). 关于印发健全社会心理服务体系和危机干预机制实施方案的通知（国卫医政发〔2026〕8 号）. +- Notes: the B is because village and community counseling rooms and county-level psychology clinics are construction targets for 2030, not something already in place everywhere today; 12356 and 12355 are lines you can call right now. When 12356 opened and its daily hours are in Section 1, item 25. Psychological counseling and psychotherapy are not the same thing: diagnosis and prescribing require a psychiatrist, and therapy must be done at a qualified medical institution; the hourly-fee "healing" and "spiritual counseling" on the market are not part of this system. + +### 11. In the first three months after a life upheaval, push every irreversible major decision back + +- Cost: 0 — the decision is only deferred; the price is possibly missing certain opportunities +- In plain terms: the period right after an upheaval is when "opportunities" and scammers are most concentrated: people claiming they can contact the deceased, claiming they can help you win your money back, urging you to quit your job and start over in another city, urging you to sell the house quickly, pulling you into a partnership. Many decisions made in this period are irreversible — selling the house, quitting the job, investing a compensation payment in one lump, a hasty remarriage, guaranteeing a loan for someone. Set yourself one hard rule: anything costing more than one month's income, or carrying a heavy price to undo, gets pushed back three months without exception, and is first told to someone with no stake in the matter. +- Benefit: avoids irreversible property dispositions made during a period of acute stress — selling the house, quitting the job, investing a death gratuity or compensation payment in one lump, a hasty remarriage, guaranteeing a loan for someone. The amounts in such decisions usually run from tens of thousands up to the level of real estate, which is why the benefit of this item is rated medium. The official position likewise lists "family upheaval, unemployment, dropping out of school" as psychological crisis risks that communities should screen for proactively — that is, one's state during this period is considered to require outside support +- Evidence grade: C +- Sources: 作者经验，无直接文献；「家庭变故、失业、失学」作为心理危机风险的表述见国家卫生健康委等 25 部门 (2026). 健全社会心理服务体系和危机干预机制实施方案（国卫医政发〔2026〕8 号）. +- Notes: the "three months" is a threshold set by the author; no literature supports this specific duration, which is why this item is grade C. Common scams targeting the bereaved and the elderly are in Section 17 (retirement investment schemes, housing-for-pension schemes) and Section 6 (fortune-telling); the traps in guarantees and IOUs are in Section 8. Money you should actively go claim — the housing fund balance, social insurance entitlements, the three work-death payments — is in Sections 25 and 19; those are not on the "push it back" list. From 6995b016cd55abeddd785a2200e2ef90d7a758d5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:40:09 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 29/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch30:=20School-Age=20Kids=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/30-School-Age-Kids.md | 105 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 105 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/30-School-Age-Kids.md diff --git a/book/en/30-School-Age-Kids.md b/book/en/30-School-Age-Kids.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..8d8158bf3 --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/30-School-Age-Kids.md @@ -0,0 +1,105 @@ +[← Back to the main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 30. Children Once They Start School + +Section 20 covered the first year of life, and Section 18 counted the money and time it takes to raise a child; the stretch in between — the dozen or so years from age 3 to 18 — was left empty. This section fills that gap and answers only one question: when "don't let it interfere with studying" and "the body" collide, which things cannot wait — because they have time windows, and once a window closes it is irreversible. Whether schoolwork should be that much of a grind is outside the scope of this section; it only gives the windows and the numbers. + +The first six items are framed around mortality and health endpoints, item 7 is money, and items 8 and 9 are time. Drowning, traffic, helmets, and HPV vaccination are covered in Section 1, infants and toddlers in Section 20, children being scammed and in-game top-ups in Section 5, the red lines minors should not cross themselves in Section 9, recognizing acute illness and hailing a ride in Section 13, and children after a parent's death in Section 29; none of that is repeated here. +### 1. Take your child to the hospital immediately if they suddenly have severe, worsening pain — do not let them endure it until school ends + +- Cost: 0; take half a day off and go to the emergency department +- In plain terms: some illnesses are counted in hours. If a boy suddenly has severe pain on one side of the scrotum, often with nausea and vomiting, it is testicular torsion: treated within 6 hours, the testicle is saved in 97.2% of cases; delay to 7–12 hours and the rate drops to 79.3%, at 13–18 hours it is 61.3%, at 19–24 hours 42.5%, and past 48 hours only 7.4%. There is no "take a painkiller first and see," and no waiting for the school day or the exam to end. The same rule applies to any pain that comes on suddenly, keeps getting worse, and is unlike anything before. +- Benefit: a systematic review of 30 case series covering 2,116 testicular torsion patients: among 1,283 cases tallied in 6-hour intervals, testicular survival was 97.2% at 0–6 hours, 79.3% at 7–12 hours, 61.3% at 13–18 hours, 42.5% at 19–24 hours, 24.4% at 25–48 hours, and 7.4% beyond 48 hours; on the cumulative measure it was 90.4% within 12 hours, 54.0% at 13–24 hours, and 18.1% beyond 24 hours. The authors conclude that the organ can survive longer than the usual 6–8 hours cited, so aggressive treatment is warranted even if the pain has lasted a long time already +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Mellick LB, et al. (2019). A Systematic Review of Testicle Survival Time After a Torsion Event. Pediatric Emergency Care. +- Notes: testicular torsion is most common in adolescent boys, and many endure it because it is too embarrassing to mention — spell this out to boys in advance: when this happens, they must speak up at once. Other conditions also counted in hours are acute appendicitis (delayed, it perforates), diabetic ketoacidosis, and meningitis; this section does not verify their time curves one by one, and the shared signal is "sudden onset, continuously worsening, unlike any previous episode." For recognizing acute illness and how to get to a hospital, see Section 13. + +### 2. Do not postpone indicated treatment until after exams — some windows follow bone age, not the exam calendar + +- Cost: 0; the decision is about doing it early or late, not about whether to spend money; leave from school and follow-up visits take time, and the treatment itself is priced separately (a brace requires wearing it at least 18 hours a day) +- In plain terms: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has a clear window — bracing while the bones are still growing markedly lowers the share of curves that progress to needing surgery: in the randomized groups, bracing succeeded 75% of the time versus 42% for observation alone, and wearing it for enough hours worked better; the trial was stopped early because the brace clearly worked. That window tracks skeletal maturity, not the middle-school or college entrance exams. Wait until exams are over, and what you often get is "surgery is the only option left." +- Benefit: a multicenter trial of 242 adolescents with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis who had an indication for bracing (116 randomized, 126 self-selected), with the primary endpoints being curve progression beyond 50 degrees (treatment failure) versus not reaching that degree at skeletal maturity (treatment success): in the intention-to-treat analysis, success was 75% in the randomized bracing group versus 42% in the randomized observation group (OR 4.11, 95% CI 1.85–9.16); combining the randomized and self-selected cohorts gave 72% versus 48% (propensity-score-adjusted OR 1.93, 1.08–3.46); hours of wear per day were significantly positively associated with success (P<0.001); the trial was stopped early because bracing was effective +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Weinstein SL, et al. (2013). Effects of bracing in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis. New England Journal of Medicine. +- Notes: scoliosis is used as the example because it has a randomized trial, a clear time window, and happens to be one of the key items in student health checks (see item 5). In the same category are strabismus, amblyopia, dental caries, and elective surgery for congenital heart disease — the common thread is that the later they are done, the worse the outcome or the higher the cost; ask a specialist about the specific window. Missing school is not the problem: during compulsory education, a suspension of schooling can last up to 1 year with enrollment status preserved; see item 9. + +### 3. Report bullying to the school the same day and demand written handling; call the police directly if it involves beatings, money extortion, or spreading rumors + +- Cost: 0; go to the head teacher and the school's student-bullying governance body; call 110 for the police +- In plain terms: a child bullied by peers is about 2.2 times as likely to have suicidal thoughts as one who was not bullied, and about 2.6 times as likely to have attempted suicide; the link between cyberbullying and suicidal thoughts is stronger than for offline bullying, and this holds regardless of sex and age. Institutionally you have a firm handle: on receiving a bullying report, the school must investigate immediately, and if it determines that bullying occurred it must impose educational discipline or a disciplinary sanction on the offending student; for serious bullying that violates public-security administration or may constitute a crime, the school must not conceal it and must report it to the public security organs. So what you do is report it the same day, demand the formal determination procedure, and keep written records — not "have the teacher have a word with him." +- Benefit: a meta-analysis of 34 studies covering 284,375 children and adolescents: peer bullying was associated with suicidal ideation, OR 2.23 (95% CI 2.10–2.37); in 9 studies covering 70,102 people it was associated with suicide attempts, OR 2.55 (1.95–3.34); the results were not moderated by sex, age, or study quality, and the association between cyberbullying and suicidal ideation was stronger than for traditional bullying. Article 21 of the Regulations on School Protection of Minors lists five categories of conduct — beating, kicking, slapping, grabbing, biting, shoving, and pulling; verbal abuse, mockery, and insulting nicknames; seizing, forcibly taking, or deliberately damaging property; malicious exclusion and isolation; and fabricating facts to defame someone or spreading rumors online — and provides that bullying may be found where the side with the advantage in age, physical strength, or numbers acts deliberately or maliciously and causes personal injury, property loss, or mental harm. Article 22 requires school staff, upon noticing abnormal emotions or physical injuries in a student, to promptly inquire and report. Article 23 requires the school, upon receiving a report, to investigate immediately, submit it to the bullying governance body for determination and handling, and notify parents to take part; where bullying is found, it must impose educational discipline or a disciplinary sanction, and for serious bullying that violates public-security administration or may constitute a crime it must not conceal it and must promptly report to the public security organs and the education administrative department (nationwide, in force from September 1, 2021) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: van Geel M, et al. (2014). Relationship between peer victimization, cyberbullying, and suicide in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics. ；教育部 (2021). 未成年人学校保护规定（教育部令第 50 号，第二十一、二十二、二十三条）. +- Notes: the meta-analysis is observational evidence and cannot prove that bullying alone causes suicide, but the direction and magnitude of the risk are clear. The Plan for Strengthening the Comprehensive Governance of Bullying Among Primary and Secondary School Students additionally requires a strict distinction between bullying and ordinary roughhousing between students — meaning the school is obliged to make a determination and cannot wave it off with "kids just playing around." If a child has injuries no one can explain, suddenly refuses to go to school, or keeps losing belongings, start by asking about those signals from Article 22. + +### 4. Make sure the child spends at least 2 hours outdoors every day — the only myopia-prevention method currently backed by a randomized trial + +- Cost: 0, but it takes time out of every day, which mostly has to be squeezed out of homework and online classes +- In plain terms: a randomized trial across 12 primary schools in Guangzhou added a 40-minute outdoor activity class every day for first graders and encouraged more time outside after school; three years later, 30.4% were myopic versus 39.5% at the control schools — 9.1 percentage points less. The health commission's target is at least 2 hours of daytime outdoor time daily, or 14 hours accumulated per week; overcast days still count. What works is being outdoors itself, not any particular sport. +- Benefit: a cluster-randomized trial of first graders in 12 primary schools in Guangzhou (952 children in intervention schools, 951 in control schools, mean age 6.6): the intervention added one 40-minute outdoor activity class on every school day and encouraged parents to increase outdoor activity outside school; cumulative 3-year myopia incidence was 30.4% in the intervention group (259 of 853 eligible children) versus 39.5% in the control group (287 of 726), a difference of -9.1 percentage points (95% CI -14.1 to -4.1, P<0.001); 3-year change in spherical equivalent was -1.42 D versus -1.59 D (difference 0.17 D, P=0.04); axial-length growth did not differ significantly (P=0.07). The Ten Core Messages for Myopia Prevention and Control in Children and Adolescents requires at least 2 hours of daytime outdoor activity per day or 14 hours accumulated per week for children and adolescents, notes that outdoor activity has a protective effect even on overcast days, and requires avoiding the hot, high-sun period in the early afternoon +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: He M, et al. (2015). Effect of Time Spent Outdoors at School on the Development of Myopia Among Children in China: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. ；国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2023). 防控儿童青少年近视核心知识十条（国卫办妇幼函〔2023〕278 号）. +- Notes: this trial was tested only within a 3-year intervention window and only in children starting at age 6; the absolute difference in myopia incidence was 9.1 percentage points — not "no myopia." The same Ten Core Messages also give the reading-and-writing "one chi, one fist, one cun" posture rule, looking into the distance for at least 20 seconds after every 20 minutes of near work, and — for primary and secondary students — no more than 15 minutes per session and no more than 1 hour accumulated per day of screen use for non-learning purposes. "Being outdoors" and "having PE class" are not the same thing; standing outside during recess counts too. + +### 5. Read the annual student health check report yourself, and take any abnormal items to a hospital that same year + +- Cost: 0; during compulsory education the check fee is paid from the school's public operating funds, with no separate charge to parents +- In plain terms: primary and secondary schools organize 1 student health check each year. Surgery checks the spine, ophthalmology checks distance vision and refraction, and the report is required to list overweight, obesity, malnutrition, abnormal spinal curvature, poor vision, and dental caries as key guidance items — exactly the things most easily put off with "let's wait and see." So do not glance at height and weight and file the sheet away: if any of these items is abnormal, take the child to a specialist that same year to get it clarified, and do not wait for the next check. +- Benefit: the Administrative Measures for Health Checks of Primary and Secondary School Students (2021 edition) require primary and secondary schools to organize 1 health check per year for enrolled students; the surgical examination covers head, neck, chest, spine, limbs, skin, and lymph nodes, and the ophthalmic examination covers external eye, distance vision, and refraction; the individual report sheet must include objective results, an overall assessment, and health guidance recommendations, with overweight, obesity, malnutrition, abnormal spinal curvature, poor vision, and dental caries as mandatory guidance priorities; education administrative departments must keep files on students with health problems and follow up; during compulsory education, health check fees are paid from schools' public operating funds (nationwide, issued September 2021) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国家卫生健康委、教育部 (2021). 中小学生健康体检管理办法（2021 年版）（国卫医发〔2021〕29 号）. +- Notes: grade B because this is a work specification, not an effectiveness study — it guarantees "checked every year, these items checked, abnormalities followed up," not that a finding will definitely be dealt with. The health check is screening, not diagnosis: poor vision should go to ophthalmology for cycloplegic refraction (item 10), abnormal spinal curvature to orthopedics or spinal surgery (item 2), and a parent has to take the child to both of those steps personally. + +### 6. Have a 12-to-18-year-old screened once for depression, and do not treat the school's psychological assessment as a diagnosis + +- Cost: 0 to a few dozen yuan for a questionnaire at a community clinic or hospital outpatient service; the 12355 and 12356 hotlines are free +- In plain terms: the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening adolescents aged 12 to 18 for major depression; this tier of recommendation means "moderate net benefit, worth doing." For age 11 and under the evidence is insufficient, and so is the evidence for specifically screening for "suicide risk." The same document notes that suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 19. Schools in China run a psychological assessment once each school year, but that is a census, not a diagnosis — if the child says they feel unwell, or you see their eating, sleep, interests, or grades change markedly in a short time, go straight to psychiatry or clinical psychology. +- Benefit: the US Preventive Services Task Force 2022 recommendation statement: screen adolescents aged 12 to 18 for major depressive disorder (B recommendation, moderate certainty, moderate net benefit); evidence is insufficient for screening children aged 11 and under for major depression (I statement); the benefits and harms of screening children and adolescents for suicide risk are uncertain (I statement); the document notes that suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 19, and that major depression in children and adolescents is closely associated with recurrent depression in adulthood, other mental disorders, and increased risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide death. The Ten Measures for Further Strengthening Mental Health Work in Primary and Secondary Schools require building a three-tier service system of head teachers, full-time and part-time mental health teachers, and psychiatrists, with each student receiving psychological assessment generally no more than 1 time per school year; they push forward mechanisms for referral to psychiatric care and return to school after recovery, and call for making use of the 12355 youth service desk and the 12356 psychological assistance hotline (nationwide, issued October 2025) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: US Preventive Services Task Force (2022). Screening for Depression and Suicide Risk in Children and Adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. ；教育部办公厅 (2025). 进一步加强中小学生心理健康工作十条措施（教基厅〔2025〕2 号）. +- Notes: grade B because this is a recommendation grade, not a convertible effect size, and it is a US recommendation; China has no corresponding official screening guidance. A positive screen only means further evaluation is needed, not a diagnosis. For what to do when there are suicidal thoughts, see Section 1, item 25; for how to respond at home, see Section 29. + +### 7. Do not buy products or services claiming to "cure myopia" or "reduce the prescription" + +- Cost: 0; on the contrary, it saves this money +- In plain terms: the market regulator's own words are "with current medical technology, myopia cannot be cured," and it directly lists "rehabilitation," "recovery," "reducing the prescription," "myopia cure," "nemesis of myopia," and "prescription repair" as misleading marketing claims to be investigated and punished strictly; those trading under the name of traditional Chinese medicine, using patients' images for before-and-after efficacy comparisons, and giving guaranteed promises of efficacy are all within scope. So when you see such words you can rule the product out immediately, without comparing prices. Eye-massage devices and the like are medical devices, and e-commerce platforms are required to vet the sellers' qualifications. +- Benefit: the notice on the special rectification campaign run by the General Administration of Market Regulation's General Office from November 2021 to March 2022: it states plainly that "with current medical technology, myopia cannot be cured," and requires strict punishment under the law of marketing that uses misleading phrases such as "rehabilitation," "recovery," "reducing the prescription," "myopia cure," "nemesis of myopia," or "prescription repair" to sell myopia prevention and control products for children and adolescents; it strengthens the crackdown on marketing that trades under the name of traditional Chinese medicine or falsely borrows TCM theory and techniques to deceive consumers; it cracks down hard on false and illegal advertising that uses a patient's name or image for before-and-after treatment comparisons or makes guaranteed promises about the safety or efficacy of treatment; and it requires e-commerce platforms to strictly fulfill their duty to review the business qualifications of sellers of eye-care devices and other medical devices and special commodities (nationwide) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 市场监管总局办公厅 (2021). 关于开展儿童青少年近视防控产品违法违规商业营销宣传专项整治行动的通知. +- Notes: grade B because this is an enforcement position rather than a controlled study of product efficacy, but "myopia cannot be cured" is the consistent position of health and regulatory authorities — the Ten Core Messages for Myopia Prevention and Control in Children and Adolescents say "myopia can be prevented and controlled, but not reversed." The two things with real evidence are in item 4 (outdoors) and item 10 (proper refraction, glasses fitting, and follow-up). Blue-light glasses are covered in Section 6. + +### 8. Sleep, homework, PE, and rankings all have explicit written rules — raise them when the school falls short + +- Cost: 0; know the provisions and, when necessary, raise them with the school or the local education administrative department +- In plain terms: these are all in black and white: primary school students sleep 10 hours a day, junior high 9, senior high 8; morning classes generally start no earlier than 8:20 for primary schools and 8:00 for secondary schools, and schools may not require students to arrive early for unified teaching activities; bedtime is generally no later than 21:20, 22:00, and 23:00 respectively; offline tutoring must end no later than 20:30 and live online tutoring no later than 21:00; from 22:00 to 8:00 the next day, no game services may be provided to minors. In 2025 these were joined by: at least 2 hours of combined physical activity per day, encouragement of a 15-minute recess, and no ranking of students by exam scores. If your child is chronically short of sleep, check against these provisions first rather than blaming the child for dawdling. +- Benefit: the Notice on Further Strengthening Sleep Management for Primary and Secondary School Students: primary school students should sleep 10 hours a day, junior high students 9 hours, senior high students 8 hours; morning classes generally start no earlier than 8:20 in primary schools and 8:00 in secondary schools, and schools may not require students to arrive early for unified educational and teaching activities; primary students' bedtime is generally no later than 21:20, junior high no later than 22:00, senior high no later than 23:00; off-campus tutoring must end no later than 20:30, live online tutoring no later than 21:00, and from 22:00 to 8:00 the next day no game services may be provided to minors (nationwide, issued March 2021). The Ten Measures for Further Strengthening Mental Health Work in Primary and Secondary Schools: fully implement at least 2 hours of combined physical activity per day for primary and secondary students, encourage adopting a "15-minute recess," do not rank students by exam scores, strictly prohibit assigning mechanical, repetitive, or punitive homework, and encourage setting aside one "no-homework day" per week (nationwide, issued October 2025) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 教育部办公厅 (2021). 关于进一步加强中小学生睡眠管理工作的通知（教基厅函〔2021〕11 号）. ；教育部办公厅 (2025). 进一步加强中小学生心理健康工作十条措施（教基厅〔2025〕2 号）. +- Notes: both are departmental normative documents, and implementation varies widely across localities and schools — hence grade B for this item. Their use is to let you know which requirements the school is already supposed to meet, so you have grounds when you raise them. For the adult sleep accounting, see Sections 2 and 3. + +### 9. If the child is at breaking point, they can suspend schooling — the school must keep their enrollment, for up to 1 year + +- Cost: 0; the application is filed with the school by the parents or other legal guardians +- In plain terms: suspending schooling is a formal institution: the parents or other legal guardians apply, the school confirms and reports to the higher-level student-status management department for approval; a single application covers no more than 1 year, and if continued suspension is genuinely needed when it expires, a new application is filed; during the suspension the school must keep the student's enrollment status, and when the student returns it must process the paperwork promptly. The 2025 Ten Measures also specifically call for building "mechanisms for referral to psychiatric care and return to school after recovery." So "suspending schooling means ruin" does not hold institutionally; the concrete procedures are set by each province — ask the school's academic affairs office or the local education bureau. +- Benefit: Article 16 of the Administrative Measures for Student Status of Primary and Secondary School Students: a student's suspension from schooling is applied for by the parents or other legal guardians, confirmed by the school, and reported to the higher-level student-status management department for approval; when the student returns, the school must promptly handle the relevant procedures; the period of a suspension application does not exceed 1 year, and if continued suspension is genuinely needed after the period expires, a new application must be filed; during the suspension the school must preserve the student's enrollment status, and the specific methods for suspension and resumption are formulated by provincial education administrative departments (nationwide, issued January 2025). The Ten Measures for Further Strengthening Mental Health Work in Primary and Secondary Schools require advancing mechanisms for referral to psychiatric care and return to school after recovery, and guiding schools to draw up contingency plans for sudden psychological crisis incidents on campus +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 教育部 (2025). 中小学生学籍管理办法（教基〔2025〕1 号，第十六条）. ；教育部办公厅 (2025). 进一步加强中小学生心理健康工作十条措施（教基厅〔2025〕2 号）. +- Notes: grade B because the specific conditions, documents, and resumption arrangements for suspension are set by provincial education administrative departments, with only the framework defined nationally. Before doing it, clarify three things: what medical documentation is needed, how enrollment status is marked during the suspension, and whether returning means rejoining the original grade or repeating a year. The Regulations on School Protection of Minors additionally require compulsory-education schools to maintain a reporting and filing system for students who drop out, suspend schooling, or take long leaves, so this is a path schools have walked before, not an exception. + +### 10. If a check finds poor vision, get a cycloplegic refraction at a hospital, then recheck at the intervals the doctor gives + +- Cost: a few dozen to a few hundred yuan for the examination and glasses; after dilation the eyes are sensitive to light and near vision is blurry, needing half a day to a day or two to recover +- In plain terms: cycloplegic refraction is the gold standard for diagnosing myopia; the health commission states plainly that dilating drugs cause no harm to healthy eyes, with short-term light sensitivity and blurry near vision after use, returning to normal once the drug is stopped. If myopia is confirmed, get glasses promptly to correct it; for those whose corrected vision is normal with glasses, preschool and primary school children recheck every 3 to 6 months, junior and senior high students every 6 to 12 months. Do not treat a single computer refraction at an optical shop as a diagnosis, and do not refuse glasses because you "fear the prescription will climb." +- Benefit: the Ten Core Messages for Myopia Prevention and Control in Children and Adolescents: cycloplegic refraction is a medical refraction performed after a cycloplegic agent relaxes the eye's accommodation, and it is the "gold standard" for diagnosing myopia; dilating drugs cause no harm to healthy eyes, and after use there may be short-term light sensitivity and blurry near vision, with normal function returning once stopped; once myopia is diagnosed, intervene promptly and scientifically through glasses and other correction — properly fitted glasses effectively correct blurred vision and slow myopia progression; for those with normal corrected vision, preschool children and primary school students recheck every 3 to 6 months and junior and senior high students every 6 to 12 months, with replacement of glasses decided by the specific situation; children should receive periodic refractive screening at ages 1 to 3, 4 to 6, and after age 7 to monitor hyperopia reserve (nationwide, issued July 2023) +- Evidence grade: B +- Sources: 国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2023). 防控儿童青少年近视核心知识十条（国卫办妇幼函〔2023〕278 号）. +- Notes: grade B because this is the practice laid out in an official public-education document, not a primary study with effect sizes. High myopia brings complications such as retinal detachment, so rechecks matter for more than just replacing glasses. "Poor vision" found at the school check is only a screening result; take it to a hospital for a full ophthalmic examination — see item 5. + +### 11. Get pit-and-fissure sealants on the permanent molars once they erupt + +- Cost: a few dozen to one or two hundred yuan per tooth, no anesthesia and no drilling, a few minutes per session; many localities have free programs for children of the target age +- In plain terms: sealing the grooves on the chewing surface of permanent molars with resin makes tooth decay over 24 months clearly less likely than leaving them unsealed: converted from the control groups' caries levels in the trials, if the control group runs 16% the sealed group is about 5.2%, at 40% it is about 6.25%, and at 70% it is about 19%; the authors' summary is 11 to 51 percentage points less caries than no sealing at 24 months, still effective at 48 months. Of four trials reporting adverse events, none reported any adverse events. +- Benefit: a Cochrane systematic review of 38 trials covering 7,924 children aged 5 to 16: resin sealants versus no sealant, at 24-month follow-up of first permanent molars in children aged 5 to 10, OR 0.12 for caries (95% CI 0.08–0.19, 7 trials, 1,548 randomized, 1,322 assessed, moderate-quality evidence); if 16% of tooth surfaces in the control group develop caries within 24 months, the sealed figure is 5.2% (3.13%–7.37%), at a control rate of 40% it is 6.25% (3.84%–9.63%), and at 70% it is 19% (12.3%–27.2%); at 48–54 months of follow-up the OR is 0.21 (0.16–0.28); the authors conclude that resin sealants reduce caries by 11% to 51% relative to no sealant at 24 months; no adverse events occurred in the 4 trials that reported them; evidence on the relative effectiveness of glass ionomer sealants and between different sealant materials is insufficient +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Ahovuo-Saloranta A, et al. (2017). Pit and fissure sealants for preventing dental decay in permanent teeth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. +- Notes: the first permanent molars generally erupt around age 6 and the second around age 12; seal them while they have just come in and are still sound — once decayed, they can only be filled. Many regions list pit-and-fissure sealing for children of the target age as a free service; ask your local CDC or community health service center. This section did not obtain a nationwide document that can be verified verbatim, so it does not state coverage or age ranges. Dental caries is also one of the key guidance items in student health checks — see item 5. From ce0124391620569fefe1834ec645078fc47c14b7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:40:09 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 30/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20ch31:=20Paths=20After=20Eighteen=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20pipeline=20QA:=20tags/sources=20byte-identical?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/31-Paths-After-Eighteen.md | 138 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 138 insertions(+) create mode 100644 book/en/31-Paths-After-Eighteen.md diff --git a/book/en/31-Paths-After-Eighteen.md b/book/en/31-Paths-After-Eighteen.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..bdfdfb07b --- /dev/null +++ b/book/en/31-Paths-After-Eighteen.md @@ -0,0 +1,138 @@ +[← Back to the main table of contents](../README.md) + +# 31. What Roads Are Open After Eighteen + +The yardstick is money and time; the road of refusing military service also touches personal freedom. This section is a route map, not a manual for any single road: it first lays the legal thresholds of the various roads side by side, then takes each road in turn and sets out the things you only have use for once you know them — what serving as a conscript gets you, which doors into the state system exist besides the civil-service exam, whether a credential can still be made up later, and how those who never join a work unit handle social insurance. + +Which road to take is your own affair; this section offers only two things: which document states each threshold, and, once you are on a road, which deadlines and eligibility rules lapse for good if missed. How to weigh studying against working is covered in Section 23; overtime pay, work injury, and severance once you are inside a work unit are in Section 19; opening your own shop or company is in Section 12; the safety net after losing a job is in Section 7. None of that is repeated here. +### 1. Check the thresholds first: the age and education requirements of the eight roads are fixed in writing + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; ten minutes to go through the list and see which roads you can reach. +- In plain terms: You must be at least 16 to take a job. Military service: men enter the conscription pool at 18 and can still be conscripted up to 22; the ceiling is relaxed to 24 for university graduates and 26 for postgraduates. Civil-service exam: ages 18 to 35, junior college or above; anyone punished for a crime, dismissed from public office, or listed for joint disciplinary action as a dishonest party may not apply. Firefighters: 18 to 22, high school or above, relaxed to 24 for those with a junior-college degree or higher and for veterans. Military civilian personnel: at least 18; for ordinary-work and lower-rank posts the maximum age at first hiring is 35. Public institutions: new hires must in principle come through open, society-wide recruitment. Individual businesses (getihu): the only requirement is being "a citizen with the capacity to operate"; education is not asked about. The self-taught higher-education exam: no restriction by sex, age, ethnicity, race, or prior education, but students enrolled full-time in school may not register. +- Benefit: The military-service law: "Male citizens who have reached the age of eighteen shall be conscripted for active service; those not conscripted in that year may still be conscripted for active service before reaching twenty-two. The conscription age may be relaxed to twenty-four for graduates of regular institutions of higher education and to twenty-six for postgraduates." The civil-service recruitment rules, Article 18, sets the application conditions including "aged eighteen or above and under thirty-five" and "education at the junior-college level or above", with adjustments allowed on approval by civil-service authorities at the provincial level or above; Article 19 lists five categories of people who may not apply. The firefighter recruitment measures for the national comprehensive fire and rescue force, Article 5: "aged 18 or above and under 22" and "senior high school education or above"; Article 6: "persons with a junior-college degree or above, and former service members of the PLA and the People's Armed Police... may have the age relaxed to 24". The regulations on civilian personnel of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Article 9, lists among the basic conditions "having reached the age of 18"; Article 19 sets 35 as the maximum age for first-time recruitment to lower-rank posts. The regulations on personnel management of public institutions, Article 8: "When a public institution newly employs staff, it shall conduct open recruitment open to society". The regulation on promoting the development of individual businesses: "citizens with the capacity to operate... who register as individual businesses in accordance with the law are governed by this regulation". The interim regulations on self-taught higher-education examinations, Article 3: "Citizens of the People's Republic of China, without restriction by sex, age, ethnicity, race, or prior level of education, may take the self-taught higher-education examinations under these regulations"; Article 20: "Students enrolled in full-time schools of all types and levels may not register". The compulsory-education law: "Employers are prohibited from hiring school-age children or adolescents who are subject to compulsory education" (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 兵役法（第二十条）. （国防部刊登）；中共中央组织部 (2019). 公务员录用规定（第十八、十九条）. （共产党员网刊登）；人力资源社会保障部、应急管理部 (2021). 国家综合性消防救援队伍消防员招录办法（人社部发〔2021〕58 号，第五、六条）. ；国务院、中央军委 (2022). 中国人民解放军文职人员条例（第二次修订，令第 757 号，第九、十九条）. （国家法律法规数据库）；国务院 (2014). 事业单位人事管理条例（国务院令第 652 号，第八条）. ；国务院 (2022). 促进个体工商户发展条例（国务院令第 755 号，第二条）. ；国务院 (1988, 2014 修订). 高等教育自学考试暂行条例（第三、二十条）. （国家法律法规数据库）；全国人大常委会 (2018). 义务教育法（第十四条）. （教育部刊登） +- Notes: This item only lines up the thresholds; it does not compare returns. Beyond the thresholds come political conditions, the physical examination, and political vetting, and these have no published quantitative standards — nothing to look up in the text. Entrances for vocational secondary schools, technical colleges, and through-track vocational enrollment are in Section 23, item 5; financial aid if you cannot afford to study is in Section 23, item 4. No education threshold for getihu does not mean opening a shop is easy: capital, personal guarantees, and exit costs are covered in Section 12. + +### 2. Register for military service before October 31 of the year you turn 18; a conscript's active-service term is two years + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; online registration takes a few minutes, but actually serving costs two years full-time. +- In plain terms: Military-service registration is a legal duty, not signing up to enlist. Males who turn 18 by December 31 of that year must complete initial registration by October 31 of that year, organized by the county-level military-service authority — it is done online, which you complete yourself on the platform. If you fail to register, the county-level government orders correction within a time limit; if the deadline passes without correction, you are forced to perform your service duty and fined. If you do go, a conscript's active-service term is exactly two years, and if you volunteer you can enlist from age 17. To keep serving after the two years, you transfer to the non-commissioned corps; an NCO needs 12 years of service to qualify for a state-arranged job, and only after 30 years of service or at age 55 does one get retirement placement. Conscription gives priority to university graduates; current students and fresh graduates may register either at their household-registration place or where their school is. +- Benefit: The military-service registration work rules: "The military-service authorities of the people's governments of counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, and municipal districts shall, before October 31 each year, organize initial military-service registration for male citizens within their jurisdiction who turn 18 before December 31 of that year"; "initial military-service registration is conducted mainly online, completed by the citizen independently through the military-service registration network platform". Military-service law, Article 57, paragraph 1: those who "refuse or evade military-service registration" face "an order from the county-level people's government to correct within a time limit; if the deadline passes without correction, the county-level people's government shall compel performance of the service duty and impose a fine"; "the term of active service for conscripts is two years"; "where the military needs it and the person volunteers, citizens who have reached seventeen but not eighteen may be conscripted for active service"; non-commissioned officers who "have served twelve years on active duty or meet other conditions set by the state shall be given jobs by the local people's government at or above the county level of the placement area", and those who "have served thirty years or reached fifty-five years of age or meet other conditions set by the state receive retirement placement". The conscription work regulations: "Priority is given to graduates of regular institutions of higher education and to the recruitment of personnel with special political, physical, or professional-skill requirements"; "citizens applying for service who are full-time current students or fresh graduates of regular institutions of higher education may answer the call either at their place of household registration before enrollment or where their school is located" (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院办公厅、中央军委办公厅 (2025). 兵役登记工作规定（国办发〔2025〕41 号）. ；全国人大常委会 (2021). 兵役法（2021 年修订，第二十、二十五、二十六、五十四、五十七条）. （国防部刊登）；国务院、中央军委 (2023). 征兵工作条例（国务院、中央军委令第 759 号，第五条）. +- Notes: Registration and actually being drafted are two different things, with a big gap in cost. The string of penalties within two years — including the exit ban — applies only to those who renege after being drafted; see item 3. Female citizens are not in the mandatory initial-registration scope and are conscripted according to the military's needs. The conditions for soldiers to sit the military-academy exam and for outstanding soldiers to be commissioned as officers are written in internal military regulations, not findable through public channels; the military-service law only says active-duty officers are selected from "active-duty soldiers with outstanding performance" and similar personnel, and that military academies' student recruitment is not bound by the conscription age limits — this book gives no specific score lines or quotas. + +### 3. Refusing military service after being drafted: for two years no leaving the country, no resuming studies, and no entry into the civil service or state enterprises + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the price is deciding clearly whether to go before you sign up. +- In plain terms: If, after being drafted, you refuse or dodge active service, the military-service law attaches a chain of joint disciplinary measures: you may not be hired as a civil servant or as personnel managed under the civil-service law, may not be recruited or employed by state-owned enterprises or public institutions, may not leave the country or resume or continue your studies for two years, and go onto the list of seriously dishonest subjects in performing national-defense obligations. This one provision shuts almost every road into the state system at once, and also shuts off going abroad and going back to school. So "sign up first, and back out later if it doesn't work out" is a very expensive idea. +- Benefit: Military-service law, Article 57, paragraph 1, item 2, covers "citizens drafted for service who refuse or evade conscription into active service": "the county-level people's government shall order correction within a time limit; if the deadline passes without correction, the county-level people's government shall compel performance of the service duty and impose a fine". Paragraph 2: "Whoever commits the act in item 2 of the preceding paragraph and refuses to correct it may not be hired as a civil servant or as staff managed with reference to the Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China, may not be recruited or employed as staff of state-owned enterprises or public institutions, may not leave the country or resume or continue studies for two years, and is placed on the list of seriously dishonest subjects in performing national-defense obligations for joint disciplinary action." Article 58 attaches the same set of penalties to those already enlisted: a service member who refuses to perform duties or deserts the force with the aim of evading military service, and is struck off the rolls, expelled from the military, or held criminally liable, is punished under Article 57, paragraph 2, with a fine added in the case of being struck off (nationwide, effective October 1, 2021). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2021). 兵役法（2021 年修订，第五十七、五十八条）. （国防部刊登） +- Notes: The yardstick here is personal freedom and employment eligibility, not money. Read the scope precisely: joint disciplinary action applies only to two cases — "a drafted citizen refusing or evading conscription into active service" and, after enlistment, being struck off, expelled from the military, or prosecuted criminally; merely failing to complete military-service registration is not among them (see item 2). The trigger is "refusal to correct"; the determination and penalty are made by the county-level people's government, the fine amount is set locally, and this book does not state it. This item neither urges you to go nor not to go; it says the decision stops being reversible from the moment you sign up. + +### 4. The two most tangible benefits for students who serve: tuition subsidies up to 20,000 yuan per year, plus two years of preserved enrollment and a dedicated track for postgraduate exams + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; after discharge, submit the paperwork as your school requires — one or two trips. +- In plain terms: For current students, fresh graduates, and newly admitted students who answer the call, tuition during service is compensated by the state; any state student loan taken out for tuition is repaid on your behalf; and after you resume or begin your studies, tuition is waived outright — the standard is up to 20,000 yuan per person per year for undergraduate and vocational students, up to 25,000 for postgraduates, so two years is up to 40,000 or 50,000. These are ceilings, computed on whichever is higher between the tuition you actually paid and the loan you actually received; anything above is not covered. The 8,000-yuan and 16,000-yuan figures still circulating online are old standards. On the enrollment side: your admission qualification or student status is preserved during service, you may enroll or return within two years of discharge, and you may transfer to another major at the same school under the rules. The postgraduate exam has a separate dedicated track — in 2026 carried by 532 universities, with each admitting institution setting its own exam score requirement, generally no higher than its ordinary-plan line. +- Benefit: The 2024 notice from the Ministry of Finance and three other departments: the tuition-compensation standard for students in higher education who perform military service, the repayment of state student loans taken out for tuition, and the tuition-waiver standard are "adjusted accordingly to no more than 20,000 yuan per undergraduate or vocational student per year and no more than 25,000 yuan per postgraduate per year", effective from the fall semester of 2024; the compensation is computed "on the higher of the tuition the student actually paid or the state student loan received (including principal and all interest accrued before repayment)", and "any portion above the standard is not compensated, repaid, or waived". The veterans support law: "A person admitted to a regular institution of higher education before enlisting, or studying at one, retains the admission qualification or student status during active service and may enroll or resume studies within two years of discharge, and may transfer to another major at the same school under relevant state provisions"; "institutions of higher education, under overall state arrangements, may recruit veterans through separately listed plans, separate admissions, and other means". The 2026 notice of the Ministry of Education's general office: the "retired university-soldier plan" is "issued as a separately listed quota within the overall national postgraduate enrollment plan and used exclusively for this purpose, and may not be converted to ordinary plans or other special plans. Admitting institutions independently set... the exam score requirement (generally no higher than the requirement for ordinary-plan candidates in the corresponding discipline) ... where candidates are otherwise equal, those with longer service are admitted first"; in 2026 carried by 532 regular institutions of higher education (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 财政部、教育部、中国人民银行、金融监管总局 (2024). 关于调整完善国家助学贷款有关政策的通知（财教〔2024〕188 号）. ；财政部等五部门 (2019). 学生资助资金管理办法（财科教〔2019〕19 号，第五条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 退役军人保障法（第三十四、三十五条）. （国防部刊登）；教育部办公厅 (2025). 关于做好 2026 年退役大学生士兵专项硕士研究生招生计划招生工作的通知（教学厅〔2025〕8 号）. +- Notes: TODO (to verify: the original notices on exam-free junior-college-to-bachelor transfer for veterans and on the extra points in the postgraduate preliminary exam) — both are relayed in the Ministry of Veterans Affairs' policy digest, but the original text of the corresponding Ministry of Education notices was not obtained this round, so only the existence of the channel is stated, not the number of points; before applying, go by that year's enrollment documents. Taking the dedicated plan means the preliminary-exam bonus points no longer apply; the two do not stack. The list of universities carrying the dedicated plan changes yearly (523 in 2025). The tuition standard has been raised twice: 8,000/12,000 (2019) → 16,000/20,000 (fall 2023) → 20,000/25,000 (fall 2024); the 2022 digest from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs still carries the earliest version, so do not copy it. + +### 5. Only six categories of veterans get a government-arranged job; those on self-employment must report within 30 days + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; one trip to the veterans affairs department of the placement area with your discharge papers. +- In plain terms: "The army guarantees you a job" has long ceased to be the general rule. The current regulation lists only six situations in which the government arranges a job: NCOs with 12 years of active service; those personally awarded a medal or an honorary title; those personally awarded a third-class combat merit or a second-class merit or above; those receiving a first-class commendation; those disabled in combat and rated grade 5 to 8; and children of martyrs. A conscript serves two years and is discharged, so the vast majority fall into the self-employment bracket. Those who qualify for placement must have it carried out by the placement-area government within 6 months of acceptance; the employer signs a contract of no less than 3 years, and an open-ended labor contract for anyone with 10 or more years of military service; while awaiting placement a living allowance is paid at the local monthly minimum wage. The self-employment bracket carries a hard deadline: you must report within 30 days from the date your discharge is approved; if you exceed 30 days without justifiable reason, you are deemed to have given up your placement benefits — resting at home for a while first could rest away the whole package. +- Benefit: The regulation on the placement of veterans, Article 25, lists the six situations in which the placement-area people's government arranges work: "(1) NCOs who have served 12 years on active duty; (2) those who during active service were personally awarded a medal or an honorary title; (3) those who during active service were personally awarded a third-class combat merit or a second-class merit or above; (4) those who during active service personally received a first-class commendation; (5) those disabled in combat and assessed at disability grade 5 to 8; (6) children of martyrs"; "the people's government of the placement area shall complete the task of arranging jobs for discharged NCOs and conscripts within 6 months of accepting them"; employers "shall sign with them, as required, a medium- or long-term employment contract or labor contract of no less than 3 years. Among these, when an enterprise accepts a discharged NCO with 10 or more years of military service, it shall sign an open-ended labor contract"; while awaiting job placement a "living allowance is paid month by month at the local monthly minimum wage standard", and where placement to a post is not made on time for reasons not attributable to the person, "living expenses are paid month by month at no less than 80 percent of the average wage of personnel of equal standing in the unit until placement to a post"; situations in which placement by job arrangement is not allowed include expulsion from the Communist Party of China and having received criminal punishment. Article 51: "Discharged NCOs and conscripts who are self-employed shall report to the competent veterans affairs department of the people's government of the placement area within 30 days from the date their discharge from active service is approved. Failure to report within the prescribed time for more than 30 days without justifiable reason is deemed a waiver of placement benefits." (nationwide, effective September 1, 2024) +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院、中央军委 (2024). 退役军人安置条例（国务院、中央军委令第 787 号，2024 年 7 月 29 日公布、9 月 1 日施行；第二十五、三十一、三十二、三十五、五十一、七十五条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 退役军人保障法（第十三、十四、十五条）. （国防部刊登） +- Notes: On the same day this regulation took effect, the 2011 regulation on the placement of retired soldiers (State Council and Central Military Commission Decree No. 608) was repealed; many online guides still cite the old one, and the conditions have been reworded (the old version read "awarded a second-class merit or above in peacetime or a third-class merit or above in wartime"). The 30-day deadline governs only the self-employment bracket; other placement methods require reporting "within the prescribed time". At reporting you are issued the veterans preferential-treatment card, from which the later discharge allowance, employment and entrepreneurship support, and education subsidies all connect. + +### 6. Three accounts after discharge: the one-time discharge allowance, military service counted as seniority, and a 20,000-yuan-per-year tax deduction for going it alone + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; at discharge the military transfers your insurance records and funds, and you complete the transfer at the social-insurance agency of the placement area. +- In plain terms: The first account is the one-time discharge allowance for the self-employed, centrally financed and paid by years of active service — 25 percent extra for a medal or honorary title, then 20, 15, 10, and 5 percent down the scale; the regulation itself does not state amounts, leaving them to the veterans affairs department together with the finance ministry, so for the exact figure you can only ask your local veterans affairs bureau. The second account is that these two years are not a social-insurance gap: military service counts as working years, and the contribution years for pension, medical, and unemployment insurance are combined with those before enlistment and after discharge; the medical portion counts as deemed contribution years, and if you have not found work right away you can still claim unemployment insurance benefits. The third account is the tax on going it alone: for 3 years from the month you register as an individual business, taxes such as VAT are deducted in sequence up to 20,000 yuan per household per year, with each province allowed to raise the cap by up to 20 percent; if an enterprise hires you and signs a contract of 1 year or more while paying social insurance as required, it deducts a fixed 6,000 yuan per person per year for 3 years, with provinces allowed up to 50 percent — the policy runs until December 31, 2027. +- Benefit: The regulation on the placement of veterans: "Discharged NCOs and conscripts who are self-employed are paid a one-time discharge allowance based on their years of active service", "arranged as a special item by central finance, with the specific standard determined... and adjusted in due course by the state council veterans affairs department and the political work department of the Central Military Commission together with the state council finance department"; the uplift percentages are 25 percent for a medal or honorary title, 20 percent for a first-class combat merit or first-class commendation, 15 percent for a second-class combat merit, first-class merit, or second-class commendation, 10 percent for a third-class combat merit or second-class merit, and 5 percent for a fourth-class combat merit or third-class merit; "veterans who are not employed in time may claim unemployment insurance benefits under the law from the human resources and social security department of their place of household registration, with years of active service counted as years of insured contributions, except veterans placed by retirement or support". The veterans support law: "Years of active service of veterans count as working years and, after discharge, are accumulated together with years worked at their employer"; years of active service are "combined as provided by law" with the pension, medical, and unemployment contribution years before enlistment and after discharge; "the active-service experience of discharged NCOs and conscripts is deemed grassroots work experience". The military insurance law: "Years of a service member's active duty are deemed years of contribution to employee basic medical insurance and are combined with contribution years under employee basic medical insurance before enlistment and after discharge from active service". Announcement No. 14 (2023) of the Ministry of Finance and two other departments: self-employed retired soldiers operating an individual business "within 3 years (36 months, the same below) deduct in sequence, up to 20,000 yuan per household per year, the VAT, urban maintenance and construction tax, education surcharge, local education surcharge, and individual income tax actually payable for the year. The cap may be raised by up to 20 percent"; for enterprises that hire them "the fixed standard is 6,000 yuan per person per year, which may be raised by up to 50 percent", running from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2027, and those who have not reached 3 years by expiry may continue to benefit until the term ends (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院、中央军委 (2024). 退役军人安置条例（国务院、中央军委令第 787 号，第二十一、二十二、七十四、八十一、八十五条）. ；全国人大常委会 (2020). 退役军人保障法（第四十二、四十四、五十条）. （国防部刊登）；全国人大常委会 (2012). 军人保险法（第十六、二十三条）. （国家法律法规数据库）；财政部、税务总局、退役军人事务部 (2023). 关于进一步扶持自主就业退役士兵创业就业有关税收政策的公告（2023 年第 14 号）. +- Notes: TODO (to verify: the current specific amount of the one-time discharge allowance) — the regulation makes clear the amount is set separately by the competent department, and the original text of the current standard was not obtained through public channels this round, so no figure is given here, and do not trust the specific amounts in online guides. While a conscript serves, the family separately receives a family preferential-payment; the military-service law only says "the standard is set by the local people's government with a fixed subsidy from central finance" — ask the county-level people's government of the place that approved the enlistment. The tax item is a deduction cap, not money in hand; if the business does not take off, you will not use it up, which is why the benefit level of this item is set at "medium". The regulation on promoting veterans' employment and entrepreneurship, effective August 1, 2026, adds one more item: vocational skill certificates obtained during service are valid nationwide after discharge. + +### 7. The state system has more doors than the civil-service exam: serve two years in a grassroots program and you can apply under the annual 10 percent targeted recruitment quota + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the price is two years serving at the township grassroots, with income set by fiscal subsidy rather than the market rate. +- In plain terms: Grassroots service programs such as "Sanzhi Yifu" (the three-supports-one-aid program) and the College Student Volunteer Service Western Program are another door into the state system for fresh graduates. Sanzhi Yifu is a two-year service term, and each province must set aside about 10 percent of its annual civil-service recruitment quota for targeted recruitment of people from grassroots-service programs; county and township public institutions must set aside a certain number of posts for special recruitment of those who complete the term and pass the assessment, and after hiring, a probation period need not be agreed again. Those who complete the term and pass get 10 extra points on the postgraduate preliminary-exam total within three years; those with vocational-college degrees may enter adult higher-education junior-college-to-bachelor programs without an exam. The service years count as working years, with the work start date running from the day you report to the grassroots; those with no prior work experience can still be treated as fresh graduates for two years after completing the term, for exams, hiring, household registration, and further study. The Western Program is organized by the Communist Youth League Central Committee and three other departments — first contract one year, extendable on application, with a total service term of one to three years. +- Benefit: The notice on the fourth round of the "Sanzhi Yifu" plan: "The service term is two years"; "each province (region, municipality) shall set aside about 10 percent of its annual civil-service recruitment plan each year for targeted recruitment of personnel from grassroots-service programs such as the 'Sanzhi Yifu' plan. When county and township grassroots public institutions in each province (region, municipality) conduct open recruitment, they shall, according to local realities, set aside a certain number or proportion of posts for special recruitment of those who complete the 'Sanzhi Yifu' service term and pass the assessment... after hiring, a probation period need not be agreed again"; "'Sanzhi Yifu' participants who complete the term and pass the assessment and sit the national postgraduate admissions exam within three years receive 10 extra points on the preliminary-exam total and, where candidates are otherwise equal, are admitted first... vocational-college graduates who complete the term and pass may enter adult higher-education junior-college-to-bachelor programs without an exam"; "personnel with no work experience before joining the 'Sanzhi Yifu' plan who complete the term and pass may, for two years, equally enjoy the relevant policies for fresh university graduates in examinations and hiring by government agencies, enterprises, and public institutions, self-employment, household registration, and further study. The years 'Sanzhi Yifu' personnel serve at the grassroots count as working years, and their work start date runs from the day they report to the grassroots"; the central fiscal subsidy standard is 30,000 yuan per person per year in the western region, 24,000 in the central region, and 12,000 in the eastern region. The joint opinion of the general offices of the Party Central Committee and the State Council: "Personnel with no work experience before joining a grassroots-service program may, within 2 years after completing the term and passing the assessment, equally enjoy the relevant policies for fresh university graduates in examinations and hiring by government agencies and public institutions, employment absorbed by enterprises, self-employment, household registration, and further study"; "in recruiting civil servants, agencies at the provincial level and above must, except for special posts, as required recruit from among personnel with 2 or more years of grassroots work experience". The Western Program is "jointly organized and implemented by the Communist Youth League Central Committee, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security", recruiting fresh university graduates or enrolled postgraduates "to serve 1 to 3 years in grassroots positions in the west" as volunteers (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 中共中央组织部、人力资源社会保障部等十部门 (2021). 关于实施第四轮高校毕业生「三支一扶」计划的通知（人社部发〔2021〕32 号，第七、八、九、十一、十二、十三条）. ；中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅 (2017). 关于进一步引导和鼓励高校毕业生到基层工作的意见（第五、十六、十八条）. ；全国大学生志愿服务西部计划项目管理办公室 (2026). 2026—2027 年度大学生志愿服务西部计划招募协议书. +- Notes: The fourth round of the Sanzhi Yifu plan ran from 2021 to 2025; no fifth-round document or 2026 notice was found this round, so check that year's recruitment announcement before applying; in 2025 central finance supported the recruitment of 34,430 people. The original implementation plan of the Western Program is not on public channels (the policy section of the official website is script-rendered); post-term benefits follow the general grassroots-service clauses in the joint opinion of the two general offices. The time cost of this road is a full two years, and the income is a fiscal subsidy, not the market rate — do not look only at the targeted recruitment at the end. + +### 8. Special-post teachers who finish three years of service, pass the assessment, and are willing to stay must be given a staffing position promptly + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the price is three years teaching in rural compulsory-education schools, plus first earning a teacher qualification certificate. +- In plain terms: The special-post plan is one of the few roads that states in writing that you enter the staffing rolls when the term ends. The conditions are a bachelor's degree or above, mainly in teacher-training majors (for primary school, teacher-training junior-college graduates may also be recruited as appropriate), age no more than 30, and a matching teacher qualification certificate. The service term is three years, with a salary subsidy from central finance — from 2024 an annual per-capita 38,800 yuan in the central region and 41,800 in the west; during service, pay, professional-title evaluation, honors selection, and annual assessment are on the same footing as staffed teachers at local public schools. For those who finish three years, pass the assessment, and are willing to stay, the document requires prompt entry into the staffing rolls and a post being secured, with working years and teaching years counted consecutively and no probation period. Those who took part in the Western Program, have teaching experience, or did half a year or more of teaching internship get priority where candidates are otherwise equal; the age limit can be relaxed for veterans. +- Benefit: The 2024 special-post plan notice, recruitment conditions: "A bachelor's degree or above is required, mainly in teacher-training majors; for the primary stage, graduates of teacher-training junior colleges may be recruited as appropriate"; "age not exceeding 30"; a corresponding teacher qualification certificate is required; "volunteers who took part in the 'College Student Volunteer Service Western Program' and volunteers with teaching experience, and graduates of teacher-training colleges who did a half-year or more of teaching internship, are admitted first where candidates are otherwise equal"; "eligible veterans are supported and encouraged to teach in primary and secondary schools, with the age limit correspondingly relaxed for veterans after comprehensive consideration of years of service and other factors". Pay and entry into the rolls: "From January 1, 2024, the special-post teachers' salary subsidy standard is raised; central finance... raises the central region from an annual per-capita 35,200 yuan to 38,800 yuan, and the western region from 38,200 to 41,800 yuan"; "where conditions are otherwise equal, enjoy the same treatment as staffed teachers at local public schools in pay, professional-title evaluation, honors selection, and annual assessment"; "guarantee that special-post teachers who complete three years of service, pass the assessment, and are willing to stay are entered into the staffing rolls promptly and given posts, properly handle the transfer of personnel and wage records, count working years and teaching years consecutively, and apply no probation period" (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 教育部办公厅、财政部办公厅 (2024). 关于做好 2024 年农村义务教育阶段学校教师特设岗位计划实施工作的通知（教师厅〔2024〕1 号）. +- Notes: The benefit level is set at "large" because entry into the rolls at term's end is a long-term staffed position, an order of magnitude well past ten thousand yuan. The latest document found this round is the 2024 notice; the 2025 and 2026 ones are not in the policy database, so for specific posts, subsidy standards, and age limits go by that year's notice and your province's implementation plan — the central government sets the framework for the special posts, provinces set the details. The teacher qualification certificate must be earned first; it is the entry ticket, not something to make up after being hired. + +### 9. Firefighters and military civilian posts are two more open-recruitment doors, with lower thresholds than the civil-service exam + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; from application to hire the process runs through a physical exam, political vetting, fitness testing, psychological testing, and an interview — several months in all. +- In plain terms: The national comprehensive fire and rescue force recruits firefighters openly from society: ages 18 to 22 and a high-school education or above, relaxed to 24 for those with a junior-college degree or higher, veterans of the PLA and People's Armed Police, and government full-time firefighters with two or more years of real firefighting-and-rescue experience; urgently needed special professionals may, on approval, exceed that up to 28 in principle. Recruitment draws mainly from permanent residents of the province and may also reach across provinces. Military civilian personnel run through three lines — open examination, direct recruitment, and special recruitment — with basic conditions of just reaching age 18 plus the political conditions and post requirements; the maximum age for first-time recruitment to lower-rank posts is 35, and civilian posts should give priority to qualified veterans. What the two roads share is that neither is blocked by the common "junior college or above" threshold; what they also share is that political vetting and the physical exam are what filter people out. +- Benefit: The firefighter recruitment measures for the national comprehensive fire and rescue force, Article 5, basic conditions include "aged 18 or above and under 22" and "senior high school education or above"; Article 6: "For persons with a junior-college degree or above, veterans of the PLA and People's Armed Police, and government full-time firefighters and government full-time forestry firefighting personnel with 2 or more years of real firefighting-and-rescue experience, the age may be relaxed to 24; for special professionals urgently needed for fire and rescue work, the age may be further relaxed with the approval of the Ministry of Emergency Management, in principle not exceeding 28"; Article 7: "Firefighters are recruited openly from society, mainly from permanent residents within the province-level administrative region, and may, as needed, also be recruited from other provinces"; Article 9 sets the procedure as "publicity and mobilization, organized registration, qualification review, physical examination, political vetting, fitness testing and post adaptability testing, psychological testing and interview, public notice, and hiring". The regulations on civilian personnel of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Article 18: "The military implements a recruitment and hiring system for civilian personnel combining open examination, direct recruitment, and special recruitment"; Article 9, basic conditions, includes "having reached the age of 18", "meeting the political conditions for military recruitment and hiring of civilian personnel", and "meeting the education level, professional competence, and work ability required by the post"; Article 19 sets 35 as the maximum age for first-time recruitment and hiring to lower-rank posts, and "civilian personnel posts shall give priority to recruiting and hiring qualified veterans" (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 人力资源社会保障部、应急管理部 (2021). 国家综合性消防救援队伍消防员招录办法（人社部发〔2021〕58 号，第五、六、七、九条）. ；国务院、中央军委 (2022). 中国人民解放军文职人员条例（第二次修订，国务院、中央军委令第 757 号，2023 年 1 月 1 日施行；第九、十八、十九、二十条）. （国家法律法规数据库） +- Notes: The regulation on promoting veterans' employment and entrepreneurship, effective August 1, 2026, further states that firefighter recruitment must set a certain proportion for special recruitment of discharged NCOs and conscripts, and that when recruiting auxiliary police personnel, veterans are given priority where candidates are otherwise equal. For both roads, annual quotas, posts, and specific conditions go by that year's announcement; this book states only the fixed thresholds in the measures. Firefighting is a disciplined-service post, not an ordinary job — think through the occupational risks before entering. + +### 10. A credential is not a one-shot deal: the self-taught exam has no age or prior-education limits, and the adult college entrance exam and the Open University can both fill the gap + + + +- Cost: Registration and textbook fees of a few hundred yuan a year; the price is long-term self-study or evening classes — the shortest non-full-time junior-college-to-bachelor track is two and a half years. +- In plain terms: If you did not make it through school at eighteen, three regular channels remain. The self-taught exam: no restriction by sex, age, ethnicity, race, or prior education; full-time enrolled students may not register; complete all planned courses, the graduation thesis or practical tasks, and pass the ideological-conduct appraisal, and you get a diploma — state-recognized, and non-employed holders, once hired, receive the same pay treatment as graduates of the same level from regular universities. The adult college entrance exam: three tracks — high-school-to-bachelor, high-school-to-junior-college, and junior-college-to-bachelor; applying for the first two requires a high-school diploma or equivalent, and applying for junior-college-to-bachelor requires a state-recognized junior-college diploma first; the shortest full-time study is four years for high-school-to-bachelor and two for the other two, while the shortest non-full-time study is five years for high-school-to-bachelor and two and a half for the other two. The Open University: enrollment by registration; a diploma is issued when credits are completed, and a degree conferred for those meeting the conditions. All three roads are slow, but none of them looks at how you did in the exam the year you turned eighteen. +- Benefit: The interim regulations on self-taught higher-education examinations, Article 3: "Citizens of the People's Republic of China, without restriction by sex, age, ethnicity, race, or prior level of education, may take the self-taught higher-education examinations under these regulations"; Article 20: "Students enrolled in full-time schools of all types and levels may not register"; Article 25: those who complete all courses with passing results, complete the graduation thesis or practical tasks, and pass the ideological-conduct appraisal may obtain a diploma, and "holders of a junior-college (basic-stage) or bachelor's diploma have their education recognized by the state"; Article 32: the pay treatment of diploma holders — "non-employed persons, once hired, are treated the same as graduates of the same level from regular institutions of higher education". The higher-education law, Article 21: "The state implements a self-taught higher-education examination system, and corresponding education certificates or other academic certificates are issued to those who pass the examinations". The 2025 national admissions measures for adult higher-education institutions: applicants are "working people and other members of society other than students enrolled in state-recognized schools at the senior-secondary level and below"; "candidates for high-school-to-bachelor or high-school-to-junior-college must have graduated from a senior secondary school or possess equivalent learning; candidates for junior-college-to-bachelor must be persons who have already obtained... a junior-college diploma, a bachelor's completion certificate, or a certificate above that"; "the shortest full-time study time is: four years for high-school-to-bachelor, two years for high-school-to-junior-college and junior-college-to-bachelor; the shortest non-full-time study time is: five years for high-school-to-bachelor, two and a half years for high-school-to-junior-college and junior-college-to-bachelor". The Ministry of Education's opinion on running the Open University well: "The Open University enrolls by registration; students who complete courses and earn the corresponding credits receive course certificates, and those who complete the required credits and meet the relevant requirements receive the corresponding education and non-education certificates; those meeting degree-conferral conditions should be awarded the corresponding degree" (nationwide). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 国务院 (1988, 2014 修订). 高等教育自学考试暂行条例（第三、二十、二十五、三十二条）. （国家法律法规数据库）；全国人大常委会 (2018). 高等教育法（第二十一条）. （国家法律法规数据库）；教育部办公厅 (2025). 关于做好 2025 年全国成人高校招生工作的通知（教学厅〔2025〕6 号）及附件《2025 年全国成人高校招生办法》. ；教育部 (2016). 关于办好开放大学的意见（教职成〔2016〕2 号）. +- Notes: TODO (to verify: national-level provisions on the unified junior-college-to-bachelor transfer) — the ordinary junior-college-to-bachelor track for fresh full-time vocational-college graduates currently rests on annual letters from the Ministry of Education's university students department, not published on public channels; the document number and content can only be seen in the forwarding documents of provincial education departments, and eligibility is largely limited to that year's full-time junior-college graduates with rules set by each province, so the main text does not state its conditions. From fall 2025, continuing higher education no longer uses the names "correspondence" and "part-time"; both are uniformly called "non-full-time" — be careful with promotions still using the old names. Making up a credential and "which skill is worth learning" are two different matters; the latter is in Section 23, and paid "quick certificate" schemes and fake certificates are in Section 23, item 8. + +### 11. Outside a work unit you are a flexible worker: you must enroll yourself for pension and medical insurance where you work, and the household-registration restriction has been lifted + + + +- Cost: Pension and medical insurance paid entirely out of your own pocket — upwards of a thousand yuan a month at the local contribution base — the fixed expense most easily left out of this road's math. +- In plain terms: Not joining a work unit does not mean social insurance goes away; it just means nobody pays your half for you. The documents require localities to lift the household-registration restriction on flexible workers enrolling in basic pension and basic medical insurance where they work, with a few megacities allowed to phase it in; those not in employee pension and employee medical insurance are organized into the urban-and-rural resident pension and resident medical insurance as required, so that everyone eligible is covered. So do not read "freedom" as "no need to bother with social insurance": if contributions lapse, both your retirement pension and your medical reimbursement get computed under the rules for broken contribution records. Platform enterprises are also required to guide and support workers in new employment forms — those not fully meeting the conditions for an employment relationship — to enroll in insurance. +- Benefit: The guiding opinions on safeguarding the labor security rights and interests of workers in new employment forms: "Localities shall lift the household-registration restriction on flexible workers enrolling in basic pension and basic medical insurance where they work; individual megacities that cannot achieve this in one step shall, in light of local realities, actively create conditions to lift it gradually. Flexible workers not enrolled in employee basic pension or employee basic medical insurance shall be organized to enroll in urban-and-rural resident basic pension and urban-and-rural resident basic medical insurance as required, achieving coverage of all who should be covered. Enterprises shall be urged to take part in social insurance as required by law. Enterprises shall guide and support workers in new employment forms who do not fully meet the conditions for establishing an employment relationship to take part in the corresponding social insurance according to their own circumstances"; the same document sorts employment into three categories: "Where the conditions for establishing an employment relationship are met, the enterprise shall conclude a labor contract with the worker as required by law. Where the conditions are not fully met but the enterprise exercises labor management over the worker... it shall be guided to conclude a written agreement with the worker... where an individual independently conducts business operations or works as a freelancer relying on a platform, the rights and obligations of both parties are governed by civil law" (nationwide, from 2021). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 人力资源社会保障部等八部门 (2021). 关于维护新就业形态劳动者劳动保障权益的指导意见（人社部发〔2021〕56 号，第二、八条）. ；国务院办公厅 (2020). 关于支持多渠道灵活就业的意见（国办发〔2020〕27 号）. +- Notes: The original text says "lift" the household-registration restriction and leaves an opening for megacities — it does not say "already abolished nationwide"; ask the place of enrollment how far implementation has actually gone. The benefit level is set at "large" because the cost of lapsed contributions is the pension and medical treatment itself, an order of magnitude well past ten thousand yuan; but the cost is also real — upwards of a thousand yuan a month paid entirely by yourself. How to make up lapsed contributions and how cumulative years are counted is in Section 7, item 19. Separately, selling agricultural by-products and daily necessities in places and at times designated by the government, or using one's own skills for convenience services that lawfully need no permit, requires no business license — this is written in State Council General Office Document No. 27 (2020). + +### 12. Delivering food, driving ride-hail, hauling same-city freight: the platform pays occupational-injury insurance premiums per order, and you pay nothing + + + +- Cost: 0 yuan; the platform pays this, and what you need to do is confirm that the platform you take orders through is within the pilot's scope. +- In plain terms: Platform enterprises in three industries — passenger transport, instant delivery, and same-city freight — must pay occupational-injury insurance premiums for those taking orders, per order and for every person, and you pay nothing yourself. The rates are 0.01 yuan per order for passenger transport, 0.07 or 0.25 yuan per order for instant delivery, and 0.18 yuan per order for same-city freight. The pilot started with 7 provinces and 7 platforms; from July 1, 2025 it adds 10 provinces and several more platforms, and in 2026 it moves toward implementation across all 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, with platform enterprises in the three industries brought in overall. Those who have already formed a labor relationship with the platform and fall under the work-insurance regulations go through workers' compensation instead, not this scheme. +- Benefit: The measures on occupational-injury insurance for persons in new employment forms (trial), Article 2: "Platform enterprises shall participate in occupational-injury insurance for persons in new employment forms as provided in these measures... and shall pay occupational-injury insurance premiums for persons in new employment forms who register through the platform and take orders, providing labor such as passenger transport, instant delivery, and same-city freight in the platform enterprise's name and receiving pay or income, achieving coverage of every order and every person. Workers to whom the Work-Related Injury Insurance Regulations apply shall be enrolled by the enterprise in work-related injury insurance as required by law, and these measures do not apply to them"; Article 9: "During the trial period, the passenger-transport industry is charged at 0.01 yuan per order; the instant-delivery industry at 0.07 yuan or 0.25 yuan per order; the same-city freight industry at 0.18 yuan per order". The expansion schedule: "From July 1, 2025, on the basis of the 7 provinces and 7 platform enterprises already piloting... 10 provinces including Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Shandong, Hubei, Guangxi, and Ningxia are added... In 2026, the occupational-injury insurance pilot is to be implemented across all 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, with platform enterprises in the three industries of passenger transport, instant delivery, and same-city freight brought into the pilot's scope overall" (pilot, expanding year by year). +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: 人力资源社会保障部等九部门 (2025). 关于扩大新就业形态人员职业伤害保障试点的通知（人社部发〔2025〕24 号）及附件《新就业形态人员职业伤害保障办法（试行）》第二、九条. +- Notes: This is a pilot, not a formal nationwide system; before taking orders, confirm whether your province and platform are in scope — if not, commercial insurance is the only layer left. The same guiding opinions also require platforms to pay those providing normal labor no less than the local minimum wage, in full and on time, with no deductions or unjustified delays, and to pay reasonable compensation on statutory holidays (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security Document No. 56 (2021), see item 11); if something happens, follow that route first — do not settle privately with the station. The medical and pension insurance part still requires enrolling yourself; see item 11. From 00552a87e261acf91cfa129059ad61a05fa7821e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:48:08 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 31/37] en README: English becomes the primary README; Chinese moved to README.zh.md --- README.md | 349 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------------- 1 file changed, 174 insertions(+), 175 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index cb19edc90..769e445e7 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1,218 +1,217 @@
-高性价比人生指南 —— 用最少的钱、时间和精力，换回最多的寿命、金钱和人身自由 +HowToLiveBetter — trade the least money, time, and effort for the most lifespan, money, and personal freedom -# 高性价比人生指南 +# HowToLiveBetter: The Best-Value Life Guide -覆盖长寿与防病、意外与急救、省钱与理财、防骗与法律红线、失业兜底、创业风险、做平台与合规、恋爱婚育、出国与技能。
-498 条建议，每条写明花掉什么、换回什么、证据有多硬，来源只引期刊论文和官方文件。 +Covers longevity and disease prevention, accidents and first aid, saving money and managing it, fraud prevention and legal red lines, a safety net for unemployment, the risks of running your own business, building a platform and keeping it legal, love, marriage, and children, going abroad, and learning skills.
+498 pieces of advice; each one states what it costs, what it buys back, and how hard the evidence is. Sources cite only journal papers and official documents. -[![在线检索](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E5%9C%A8%E7%BA%BF%E6%A3%80%E7%B4%A2-%E7%82%B9%E8%BF%99%E9%87%8C%E6%89%93%E5%BC%80-3451b2?style=flat-square)](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/) -[![条目](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E6%9D%A1%E7%9B%AE-498%20%E6%9D%A1-18794e?style=flat-square)](#目录) -[![证据分级](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E8%AF%81%E6%8D%AE%E5%88%86%E7%BA%A7-A%20323%20%C2%B7%20B%20126%20%C2%B7%20C%2049-915930?style=flat-square)](#证据分级) -[![原始文献](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E5%8E%9F%E5%A7%8B%E6%96%87%E7%8C%AE-891%20%E6%9D%A1%E9%93%BE%E6%8E%A5-565a5f?style=flat-square)](docs/核实记录/) -[![许可](https://img.shields.io/badge/%E8%AE%B8%E5%8F%AF-Unlicense-565a5f?style=flat-square)](LICENSE) +[![Online search](https://img.shields.io/badge/Online%20search-Open%20here-3451b2?style=flat-square)](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/) +[![Items](https://img.shields.io/badge/Items-498-18794e?style=flat-square)](#table-of-contents) +[![Evidence grades](https://img.shields.io/badge/Evidence%20grades-A%20323%20%C2%B7%20B%20126%20%C2%B7%20C%2049-915930?style=flat-square)](#evidence-grades) +[![Primary sources](https://img.shields.io/badge/Primary%20sources-891%20links-565a5f?style=flat-square)](docs/核实记录/) +[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Unlicense-565a5f?style=flat-square)](LICENSE) -**[打开在线检索页](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/)** · [目录](#目录) · [术语表](#读懂数字术语表) · [核实记录](docs/核实记录/) · [结婚划不划算（长文）](docs/结婚划不划算.md) · [家庭应急装备清单（长文）](docs/家庭应急装备清单.md) · [遇到陌生人出事该不该停（长文）](docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md) · [做平台要办哪些证（长文）](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md) +**[Open the online search page](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/)** · [Table of contents](#table-of-contents) · [Glossary](#reading-the-numbers-glossary) · [Verification records](docs/核实记录/) · [Is marriage worth it (long read)](docs/结婚划不划算.md) · [Home emergency kit (long read)](docs/家庭应急装备清单.md) · [Should you stop to help a stranger (long read)](docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md) · [What licenses a platform needs (long read)](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md) -**Языки / Languages:** [Русский](README.ru.md) +**Languages / Языки:** [中文](README.zh.md) · [Русский](README.ru.md)
--- -## 这本书想回答的问题 +## Questions this book tries to answer -| 问题 | 去哪看 | +| Question | Where to look | | --- | --- | -| 几乎不花钱，就能明显降低早死概率的事有哪些？ | [1. 不要早死](book/01-不要早死.md) | -| 抽烟、喝酒、久坐、熬夜到底折寿多少？ | [2. 不要慢慢死](book/02-不要慢慢死.md) | -| 每天精力不够用、总被打断，怎么改？ | [3. 不要浪费精力](book/03-不要浪费精力.md) | -| 时间都花哪去了，怎么少做无收益的事？ | [4. 不要浪费时间](book/04-不要浪费时间.md) | -| 攒下的钱该怎么放，才不被利息、费率和骗局吃掉？ | [5. 不要浪费钱](book/05-不要浪费钱.md) | -| 哪些保健品、体检套餐、智商税可以直接不买？ | [6. 反面清单](book/06-反面清单.md) | -| 失业了、被欠薪了、身上没钱了，能领什么、去哪求助？ | [7. 没钱的时候怎么活](book/07-没钱的时候怎么活.md) | -| 彩礼、婚前房产、恋爱期间的大额转账，法律上算谁的？ | [8. 法律与财产安全](book/08-别把自己搭进去.md) | -| 被人报案指控、被捏造事实举报，第一步做什么，事后能追究和赔偿吗？ | [8. 法律与财产安全](book/08-别把自己搭进去.md) | -| 哪些「兼职」和顺手的小事会让普通人变成刑事被告？ | [9. 普通人容易踩的法律红线](book/09-普通人容易踩的法律红线.md) | -| 追人该广撒网还是死磕一个，异地恋能不能成，领证要带什么？ | [10. 恋爱和结婚划不划算](book/10-恋爱和结婚划不划算.md) | -| 写哪些代码、接哪些单会被判刑？ | [11. 程序员和技术人容易踩的红线](book/11-程序员和技术人容易踩的红线.md) | -| 借钱开店、开公司之前最该先想清楚什么？ | [12. 创业与做生意](book/12-创业与做生意.md) | -| 有人倒地没了呼吸、大出血、火灾、迷路，先做什么？ | [13. 紧急情况：先做什么](book/13-紧急情况.md) | -| 账号被盗、手机丢了，第一步做什么？ | [14. 账号与信息安全](book/14-账号与信息安全.md) | -| 押金被扣、房东赶人、长租公寓暴雷怎么办？ | [15. 租房与买房](book/15-租房与买房.md) | -| 确诊慢性病之后，长期该怎么管、怎么少花钱？ | [16. 得了慢性病之后怎么活](book/16-得了慢性病之后怎么活.md) | -| 老人的监护、遗嘱和钱该怎么提前安排？ | [17. 家里有老人](book/17-家里有老人.md) | -| 生孩子能领什么、要占掉多少时间和钱？ | [18. 养孩子划不划算](book/18-养孩子划不划算.md) | -| 加班费、年休假该怎么算，被裁该拿多少补偿，上班受了伤怎么认定和拿钱？ | [19. 在职、离职和工伤](book/19-在职离职和工伤.md) | -| 孩子刚出生，最要紧的几件事是什么？ | [20. 刚出生的孩子怎么带](book/20-刚出生的孩子怎么带.md) | -| 哪些国家现在别去，出事了使领馆管到哪一步？ | [21. 出国、旅行与境外安全](book/21-出国旅行与境外安全.md) | -| 去 KTV、网吧、密室怎么不踩坑，压力大时做什么最有用？ | [22. 怎么放松：娱乐场所和减压](book/22-怎么放松.md) | -| 学电焊、学英语、考证，哪些真的回本？ | [23. 学什么技能划算](book/23-学什么技能划算.md) | -| 同一个病在社区看和在三级医院看，差多少钱？ | [24. 看病：怎么少花钱少走弯路](book/24-看病.md) | -| 伤得很重跑到医院，是去挂号排队还是找急诊分诊台？治完要不要做伤残鉴定、办残疾人证？ | [24. 看病：怎么少花钱少走弯路](book/24-看病.md) | -| 家里人走了，当时先做什么、哪些钱能取回来、哪些费用可以不交？ | [25. 人走了以后要办什么](book/25-人走了以后要办什么.md) | -| 做个网站或平台收钱，要办哪些证、服务器放哪？ | [26. 做一个网站或平台](book/26-做一个网站或平台.md) | -| 怀孕了、要生了，什么时候做什么，出院前要办哪些证？ | [27. 怀孕和生产](book/27-怀孕和生产.md) | -| 想减肥、想变好看，哪些做法会把身体搞坏？ | [28. 别为了外形把身体搞坏](book/28-别为了外形把身体搞坏.md) | -| 亲人走了、被裁了、拿到重病诊断，头几个月最要紧的是什么？ | [29. 遭遇重大打击之后](book/29-遭遇重大打击之后.md) | -| 孩子上学以后，哪些身体和心理的事不能等到考完再说？ | [30. 上学以后的孩子](book/30-上学以后的孩子.md) | -| 十八岁之后除了读书和打工还有哪几条路，各自的门槛是什么？ | [31. 十八岁之后有哪几条路](book/31-十八岁之后有哪几条路.md) | - -## 怎么读 - -- **想按条件筛**：打开[在线检索页](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/)，可以按关键词、章节、证据等级，以及「花不花钱、花多少时间、要不要毅力」三个成本维度组合筛选。数据直接读 book/ 下的正文，改正文即改检索页。 -- **想按顺序读**：每节内的条目按性价比从高到低排列，从每节前几条开始看就行。 -- **看不懂那串数字**：每条都有一行「说人话」，把「收益」栏里的风险比、置信区间翻成「同期死亡的概率低约两成」「拘留几日、罚多少钱」这类日常说法，只用原文已有的事实，不引入新数字。只看这一行就够做决定；「收益」栏保留全部原始数字和置信区间，供你自己核。 -- **只想看结论最硬的**：在检索页里勾选证据等级 A，只留下有具体数字、来自荟萃分析或大型试验的 323 条。 -- **只想看最值得做的**：勾选性价比「极高」，得到 85 条既不花钱、不花时间、不需要毅力，收益又落在最大一档的条目。再叠加一个「换回什么」，就是该口径下的优先清单。 -- **看到「不要」开头的节标题不用紧张**：节标题说的是这一节想防住的结果（不要早死、不要浪费时间），不是说底下每条都是禁令。条目标题才是要做的动作，一律动词开头，自己带着「做什么」或「别做什么」——同一节里两种都有，比如第 4 节既有「把『打算做』写成『几点、在哪、遇到什么就做什么』」，也有「不看电视和滚动新闻」。按条目标题读，不用往节标题的语气上套。 - -每条建议长这样： +| What can you do almost for free that still noticeably lowers your chance of dying early? | [1. Do Not Die Early](book/en/01-Do-Not-Die-Early.md) | +| How many years of life exactly do smoking, alcohol, a sedentary life, and sleep loss take away? | [2. Don't Die Slowly](book/en/02-Do-Not-Die-Slowly.md) | +| Not enough energy in a day, constantly interrupted — how do you fix it? | [3. Don't Waste Energy](book/en/03-Do-Not-Waste-Energy.md) | +| Where does the time go, and how do you do fewer pointless things? | [4. Don't Waste Time](book/en/04-Do-Not-Waste-Time.md) | +| How should savings be kept so that interest, fees, and scams don't eat them? | [5. Don't Waste Money](book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md) | +| Which supplements, checkup packages, and "IQ taxes" can you simply not buy? | [6. The Negative List](book/en/06-The-Anti-List.md) | +| You lost your job, your wages are withheld, you have no money — what can you claim and where do you ask for help? | [7. How to Live When You Have No Money](book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md) | +| Betrothal gifts, premarital property, large transfers during dating — who owns what in law? | [8. Don't Get Yourself Locked Up: Law and Property Safety](book/en/08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside.md) | +| Someone reports you, accuses you, fabricates facts — what is the first step, and can you seek redress and compensation afterwards? | [8. Don't Get Yourself Locked Up: Law and Property Safety](book/en/08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside.md) | +| Which "side jobs" and casual favors turn an ordinary person into a criminal defendant? | [9. Legal Red Lines](book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md) | +| Should you court many people at once or commit to one, can long-distance work, what do you bring to register a marriage? | [10. Are Dating and Marriage Worth It](book/en/10-Is-Love-And-Marriage-Worth-It.md) | +| Writing which code, taking which jobs can get you a prison sentence? | [11. Red Lines for Techies](book/en/11-Red-Lines-For-Techies.md) | +| Before borrowing to open a shop or founding a company, what should you think through first? | [12. Starting Your Own Business](book/en/12-Starting-Your-Own-Business.md) | +| Someone collapses and stops breathing, heavy bleeding, fire, lost in the wild — what do you do first? | [13. Emergencies: What to Do First](book/en/13-Emergencies.md) | +| Account stolen, phone lost — what is the first step? | [14. Accounts And Security](book/en/14-Accounts-And-Security.md) | +| Deposit withheld, landlord evicting you, long-term rental operator collapsed — what do you do? | [15. Renting And Buying Housing](book/en/15-Renting-And-Buying-Housing.md) | +| After a chronic disease diagnosis, how do you manage it long-term and spend less? | [16. Living With Chronic Disease](book/en/16-Living-With-Chronic-Disease.md) | +| How should an elderly parent's guardianship, will, and money be arranged in advance? | [17. Elderly At Home](book/en/17-Elderly-At-Home.md) | +| What can you claim when having a child, and how much time and money does it take? | [18. Is Having Kids Worth It](book/en/18-Is-Having-Kids-Worth-It.md) | +| How are overtime pay and annual leave counted, how much compensation does a layoff owe you, how do you file and get paid for a workplace injury? | [19. Employment And Work Injury](book/en/19-Employment-And-Work-Injury.md) | +| The child is just born — which things matter most? | [20. Newborn](book/en/20-Newborn.md) | +| Which countries not to go to now, and how far does consular protection go when something happens? | [21. Travel And Abroad Safety](book/en/21-Travel-And-Abroad-Safety.md) | +| How not to get burned at KTV, internet cafés, escape rooms; and what works best when you're stressed? | [22. How To Relax](book/en/22-How-To-Relax.md) | +| Learning welding, English, certificates — which ones really pay back? | [23. Which Skills To Learn](book/en/23-Which-Skills-To-Learn.md) | +| Same illness at a community clinic and a tier-III hospital — how different is the cost? | [24. Seeing The Doctor](book/en/24-Seeing-The-Doctor.md) | +| Badly injured and rushing to a hospital — register and queue, or go to the ER triage desk? Afterwards, do you need a disability assessment, a disability certificate? | [24. Seeing The Doctor](book/en/24-Seeing-The-Doctor.md) | +| A family member has died — what to do first, which money can be recovered, which fees can be waived? | [25. After Someone Dies](book/en/25-After-Someone-Dies.md) | +| Building a website or platform that takes payments — which licenses, where to host servers? | [26. Building A Website Or Platform](book/en/26-Building-A-Website-Or-Platform.md) | +| Pregnant, about to give birth — when to do what, and which documents to arrange before discharge? | [27. Pregnancy And Birth](book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md) | +| You want to lose weight or look better — which practices wreck your body? | [28. Do Not Ruin Health For Looks](book/en/28-Do-Not-Ruin-Health-For-Looks.md) | +| A relative died, you were laid off, you got a serious diagnosis — what matters most in the first months? | [29. After A Major Blow](book/en/29-After-A-Major-Blow.md) | +| Once the child starts school, which physical and mental things cannot wait until after the exams? | [30. School-Age Kids](book/en/30-School-Age-Kids.md) | +| After eighteen, besides studying and working, which roads are open — and what are their thresholds? | [31. Paths After Eighteen](book/en/31-Paths-After-Eighteen.md) | + +## How to read this + +- **To filter by conditions**: open the [online search page](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/); you can filter by keyword, chapter, and evidence grade, and combine three cost dimensions: whether it costs money, whether it takes time, whether it takes willpower. The data is read directly from the book/ text; fix the text and the search page changes with it. +- **To read in order**: items inside each section are ordered from highest to lowest value for the money; start with the first few items of each section. +- **If you can't read that string of numbers**: every item has an "In plain terms" line that translates the risk ratios and confidence intervals in the Benefit field into everyday statements like "about 20% lower chance of dying in the same period" or "a few days of detention, a fine of so much" — using only facts already in the original, without adding new numbers. That line alone is enough to decide; the Benefit field keeps all the raw numbers and confidence intervals so you can check for yourself. +- **Only the hardest conclusions**: on the search page check evidence grade A to keep only the 323 items with concrete numbers from meta-analyses or large trials. +- **Only the most worthwhile**: check "very high" value-for-money to get the 85 items that cost no money, no time, no willpower, and whose benefit lands in the largest tier. Stack one more "what it buys back" filter on top and you have the priority list under that measure. +- **Don't be alarmed by section titles that start with "Don't"**: a section title names the outcome that section tries to prevent (don't die early, don't waste time), not a blanket ban on every item under it. Item titles are the actual actions, always starting with a verb, each carrying its own "do this" or "don't do this" — both kinds live in the same section. For example, section 4 has both "Turn 'planning to do it' into 'at such an hour, in such a place, when X happens, do it'" and "Skip TV and rolling news". Read by item title, not by the tone of the section title. + +Each piece of advice looks like this: ```markdown -### 5. 把家里的食盐换成低钠盐（钾盐） -- 成本：每袋贵几元 -- 说人话：两万人的随机试验里，把家里的盐换成低钠盐的人，五年内死亡的概率低约 12%，中风低约 14%。这是随机分组做出来的结果，比一般的观察数据更可信。 -- 收益：脑卒中降 14%，心血管事件降 13%，总死亡率降 12% -- 证据等级：A -- 来源：Neal B, et al. (2021). NEJM. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2105675 -- 备注：争议。肾功能不全、正在吃保钾利尿剂的人不要用。另有一项覆盖 181 个国家的生态学研究发现钠摄入越高的国家预期寿命反而越长、总死亡率反而越低（β=−131 例/克每日钠摄入，R²=0.60，P<0.001），作者据此反对把钠当作缩短寿命的元凶；但生态学研究比的是国家而不是人，富国吃盐多也活得久，无法排除经济水平这个混杂，证据等级低于上面那项随机对照试验。来源：Messerli FH, Hofstetter L, Syrogiannouli L, et al. (2021). Sodium intake, life expectancy, and all-cause mortality. European Heart Journal, 42(21), 2103-2112. +### 5. Switch your household salt to low-sodium (potassium) salt +- Cost: a few yuan more per bag +- In plain terms: in a randomized trial of 20,000 people, those who switched to low-sodium salt had about a 12% lower chance of dying within five years and about 14% fewer strokes. This comes from random assignment, which is more trustworthy than observational data. +- Benefit: stroke down 14%, cardiovascular events down 13%, all-cause mortality down 12% +- Evidence grade: A +- Sources: Neal B, et al. (2021). NEJM. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2105675 +- Notes: contested. People with impaired kidney function or on potassium-sparing diuretics should not use it. ... ``` -## 四种资源 +## Four resources -本指南优化的不只是寿命，而是四种资源： +This guide optimizes not just lifespan but four resources: -- **寿命**：活得更久，少死于本来可以避免的事 -- **时间与精力**：活着的时间不被无收益的事占用，每天的注意力和体力少被无谓消耗 -- **金钱**：少花冤枉钱，把钱花在收益确定的地方 -- **人身自由**：不因为不知道一条红线，把自己送进拘留所或者看守所 +- **Lifespan**: live longer, die less often from things that were avoidable +- **Time and energy**: the time you are alive is not eaten by zero-return activities, and your daily attention and stamina are drained less +- **Money**: spend less money on nothing, put it where the payoff is certain +- **Personal freedom**: don't talk yourself into detention or jail by not knowing where a red line runs -每一条建议都回答两个问题：花掉什么（钱/时间/精力/毅力），换回什么（总死亡率变化 / 特定死因下降 / 时间与精力节省 / 金钱节省 / 保障与人身自由）。条目按性价比排序，不按类别排序：成本接近零、收益大的放最前面。 +Every piece of advice answers two questions: what it costs (money / time / energy / willpower), and what it buys back (all-cause mortality change / a specific cause of death down / time and energy saved / money saved / protection and personal freedom). Items are ordered by value for money, not by category: near-zero cost with large benefit goes first. -**收益算在谁头上，是分档的。** 按「这份好处将来回到你身上的期望」从高到低：① **你自己**；② **配偶和直系亲属**（父母、子女、祖父母外祖父母、孙子女外孙子女）；③ **朋友、同事和其他亲属**——互惠关系，帮出去的将来可能回来；④ **陌生人**——最低一档，但不是零：回报的概率小，而且你不了解对方性格，还有被讹、被反咬、被报复的一面。不同档不合并计算，写到第 ④ 档时好处和风险一起写。 +**Whose account the benefit lands on is tiered.** By the expected chance that the good comes back to you, from high to low: ① **you yourself**; ② **spouse and immediate family** (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren); ③ **friends, colleagues, and other relatives** — a reciprocal relationship, what you give may come back later; ④ **strangers** — the lowest tier, but not zero: the chance of return is small, you don't know the other person's character, and there is the risk of being scammed, counter-accused, or retaliated against. Tiers are not merged into one number; when writing about tier ④, the benefits and the risks are written together. -急救那一节照这个读：中国 38,227 例院外心脏骤停里 79.2% 发生在家里，学按压首先是为了按在自家人身上；「看到有人溺水自己不下水」「撞见斗殴别上手拉架」这类规则本身就是自保规则，防的是你从旁观者变成第二个伤者。对陌生人要不要出手是你自己的权衡，条目会把免责条款、自保动作和风险面都写清楚，不替你把它算成非做不可的理由。 +Read the first-aid section with this in mind: of 38,227 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in China, 79.2% happened at home — you learn compressions first of all to press on your own family. Rules like "do not go into the water yourself after a drowning person" and "don't step in to separate a fight" are self-protection rules: they guard against you turning from bystander into second casualty. Whether to act for a stranger is your own trade-off; the item spells out the liability disclaimer, the self-protective moves, and the risk surface, and does not decide for you that it must be done. -死亡率类数字、时间/精力类数字、金钱类数字和法律后果分开口径，不做跨口径换算。这四种资源对应检索页上的四个「换回什么」，互相之间不做比较。 +Mortality numbers, time/energy numbers, money numbers, and legal consequences are kept in separate measures and never converted across measures. The four resources correspond to the four "what it buys back" filters on the search page; they are not compared with each other. -## 证据分级 +## Evidence grades -每条建议都标注证据等级： +Every piece of advice carries an evidence grade: -| 等级 | 含义 | +| Grade | Meaning | | --- | --- | -| A | 有可量化证据，来自荟萃分析、大型队列或 RCT，能给出具体数字（HR、RR、下降百分比） | -| B | 有研究支撑但难以量化，或证据来自小样本/单一研究 | -| C | 作者经验或普遍共识，没有直接文献 | +| A | Quantifiable evidence from meta-analyses, large cohorts, or RCTs that gives concrete numbers (HR, RR, percent reduction) | +| B | Research-backed but hard to quantify, or evidence from small samples / a single study | +| C | Author experience or general consensus, no direct literature | -全书 498 条中 A 级 323 条、B 级 126 条、C 级 49 条，另有 45 条标注了争议、39 处标注了 TODO 待核实。有争议的 A/B 级条目会标注「争议」并列出反方证据。所有来源只引原始文献（期刊论文附 DOI 或 PubMed 链接，或 WHO/CDC/国家统计局等官方机构报告），不引二手转述。不确定的数字标「待核实」。 +Of the 498 items in the book, 323 are grade A, 126 grade B, and 49 grade C; 45 items are marked as contested and 39 spots are marked TODO, pending verification. Contested A/B items are marked "contested" with the opposing evidence listed. All sources cite primary literature only (journal papers with a DOI or PubMed link, or reports from official bodies such as WHO, CDC, or the national statistics bureau), never second-hand retellings. Uncertain numbers are marked "to be verified". -## 性价比档 +## Value-for-money tiers -证据等级回答的是「这个数字可不可信」，不回答「值不值得做」。所以每条另外标一个收益量级和一个口径，检索页由它和三项成本合成一个性价比档： +The evidence grade answers "can this number be trusted", not "is it worth doing". So every item also carries a benefit magnitude and a measure; the search page combines these with the three costs into one value-for-money tier: -| 维度 | 取值 | 怎么定的 | +| Dimension | Values | How it is set | | --- | --- | --- | -| 口径 | 换寿命 / 换钱 / 换时间精力 / 换人身自由 | 按这条主要换回什么。**不同口径之间不做比较**，「总死亡率降 12%」和「每年省 500 元」不在一把尺子上 | -| 收益量级 | 大 / 中 / 小 | 尽量按阈值从条目自己的「收益」栏里机械套：换寿命看相对降幅（≥20% 为大，10–20% 为中，<10% 或只有替代终点为小）；换钱看金额（万元级为大，数百到数千为中，几十元为小）；换人身自由看后果（避免刑事责任为大，避免拘留或行政处罚为中，避免民事纠纷为小）；换时间精力看节省量（每天小时级为大，每周小时级为中，一次性为小） | -| 性价比 | 极高 / 高 / 一般 | 收益大且三项成本全为零 = 极高；收益大且成本较低，或收益中且成本为零 = 高；其余 = 一般 | +| Measure | Buys lifespan / buys money / buys time-energy / buys personal freedom | By what the item mainly buys back. **Measures are not compared with each other**: "all-cause mortality down 12%" and "save 500 yuan a year" are not on one ruler | +| Benefit magnitude | Large / medium / small | Mechanically applied from thresholds in the item's own Benefit field where possible: for lifespan, relative reduction (≥20% large, 10–20% medium, <10% or only surrogate endpoints small); for money, the amount (tens of thousands large, hundreds to thousands medium, tens of yuan small); for personal freedom, the consequence (avoiding criminal liability large, avoiding detention or administrative punishment medium, avoiding a civil dispute small); for time-energy, the saving (hours a day large, hours a week medium, one-off small) | +| Value for money | Very high / high / ordinary | Large benefit with all three costs zero = very high; large benefit with low costs, or medium benefit with zero costs = high; the rest = ordinary | -全书 498 条中性价比极高 88 条（18%）、高 248 条（50%）、一般 162 条（33%）。中间一档偏厚是有意的：底层的收益量级只有三级判断，再往下切就是假装精度。 +Of the 498 items in the book, 88 (18%) are very high, 248 (50%) high, and 162 (33%) ordinary. The middle tier is deliberately thick: the underlying benefit magnitude has only three levels, and slicing finer would be false precision. -**这一档是作者判断，不是证据**，本质上是 C 级，和证据等级正交。可以是 A 级但性价比一般（带状疱疹疫苗有 97.2% 效力的三期 RCT，但两针三四千元、带状疱疹很少致命），也可以是 C 级但性价比极高（出境前把行程发给家人）。「一般」不等于不该做——全书的条目都是建议做的，只是这一档要你自己权衡那笔花销。 +**This tier is the author's judgment, not evidence** — essentially grade C, and orthogonal to the evidence grade. An item can be grade A but ordinary value (the shingles vaccine has a phase-III RCT at 97.2% efficacy, but two doses cost three to four thousand yuan and shingles is rarely fatal), and it can be grade C but very high value (sending your itinerary to family before going abroad). "Ordinary" does not mean "shouldn't be done" — every item in the book is advice worth taking; it only means you should weigh that spend yourself. -## 读懂数字（术语表） +## Reading the numbers (glossary) -正文尽量说人话，但引用研究时绕不开几个统计名词。看不懂时查这张表；在线检索页里把鼠标放到（或点一下）带虚线的词上也会弹出解释。 +The text tries to speak plainly, but citing research requires a few statistical terms. Check this table when something is unclear; on the online search page, hovering over (or tapping) a dotted-underlined word also pops up an explanation.
-展开 40 条术语（总死亡率、HR、RR、95% CI、荟萃分析、BMI、LPR、定金与订金……） +Expand 40 terms (all-cause mortality, HR, RR, 95% CI, meta-analysis, BMI, LPR, deposit vs prepayment …) -| 术语 | 意思 | +| Term | Meaning | | --- | --- | -| 总死亡率 | 一段时间内死于任何原因的人数比例，不分死因。本书用它衡量「活得久不久」。原文献叫全因死亡率，英文缩写 ACM | -| HR | 风险比。两组人在同样时间里出事（死亡、发病）的速度之比。HR 0.87 表示比对照组低 13%，HR 1.21 表示高 21% | -| RR | 相对风险。两组人出事的概率之比，读法同 HR | -| OR | 比值比。两组人出事「几率」之比，事件少见时接近 RR，事件常见时会夸大差异 | -| IRR | 发病率之比，读法同 RR | -| RaR | 发生次数之比（如跌倒次数），读法同 RR | -| 标准化死亡比 | SMR。一群人实际死亡人数，除以按同龄一般人群的死亡率算出的预期人数。5.86 表示死亡是同龄人的 5.86 倍 | -| 风险差 | 两组出事概率相减，直接给出「每一千人多出几例」。比值只说倍数，风险差说绝对多了多少人 | -| 95% CI | 95% 置信区间。真实值大概率落在的范围。比值类区间跨过 1、差值类区间跨过 0，就说明差异可能只是巧合，文中会写「无统计学意义」 | -| RCT | 随机对照试验。把人随机分成两组，一组做干预一组不做，比较结果。最能说明因果 | -| 荟萃分析 | 把多项研究的结果合并统计，得到一个总的估计。也叫 meta 分析 | -| 队列 | 队列研究。追踪一群人多年，看谁出事。能说明相关，不能完全说明因果 | -| 观察性 | 观察性研究。研究者只观察不干预，结果可能受混杂和反向因果影响，数字要打折看 | -| 混杂 | 第三个因素同时影响原因和结果，让相关看起来像因果。爱吃菜的人往往也更爱运动 | -| 反向因果 | 不是 A 导致 B，而是 B 导致 A。不是睡得多让人早死，而是病重的人睡得多 | -| d、g | 效应量。两组平均值差了多少个标准差。0.2 算小，0.5 中等，0.8 大 | -| r | 相关系数。两件事同向变化的程度，从 -1 到 1，0.1 弱、0.3 中、0.5 强 | -| MET | 运动强度单位。1 MET 是安静坐着，快走约 3 到 4 MET。MET·h 是强度乘小时数 | -| GRADE | 给证据质量打分的国际标准，分高、中、低、极低四档 | -| 意向筛查分析 | 按「邀请了谁」而不是「谁真去做了」来算效果，会低估筛查对真去做的人的作用 | -| 包年 | 吸烟量单位。每天包数乘以吸烟年数，30 包年就是每天一包抽 30 年 | -| BMI | 体重指数。体重（公斤）除以身高（米）的平方 | -| LDL | 低密度脂蛋白胆固醇，俗称坏胆固醇 | -| HBsAg | 乙肝表面抗原，阳性表示已感染乙肝病毒 | -| HPV | 人乳头瘤病毒，部分型别长期感染会导致宫颈癌 | -| LDCT | 低剂量胸部 CT，辐射量约为普通 CT 的五分之一到十分之一 | -| PM2.5 | 直径 2.5 微米以下的空气颗粒物 | -| NOVA | 一种按加工程度给食品分类的方法，「超加工食品」就是它的第四类 | -| LPR | 贷款市场报价利率。中国的基准贷款利率，每月 20 日公布，房贷和民间借贷上限都参照它 | -| 一裁终局 | 劳动仲裁裁决直接生效，用人单位不能再向法院起诉 | -| 粗结婚率、粗离婚率 | 每千人中当年登记结婚、离婚的对数。离婚对数除以结婚对数是另一个口径，叫离结比，两者不能混 | -| AED | 自动体外除颤器。公共场所常见的红色或黄色急救箱，开机后按语音提示操作，会自己判断要不要电击 | -| CPR | 心肺复苏。心脏骤停时用力按压胸口，让血继续流动 | -| 3C 认证 | 中国强制性产品认证。列入目录的产品没有这个标志不准出厂、销售 | -| ICP 备案 | 网站或 App 上线前在工信部系统登记的手续 | -| 等级保护 | 网络安全等级保护制度。按系统重要程度分级，落实相应的安全措施 | -| GPL | 一种开源许可证。用了它的代码做产品，分发时通常要一并开源 | -| 竞业限制 | 离职后一段时间内不去竞争对手处任职的约定，公司要按月付补偿，最长 2 年 | -| 认缴出资 | 注册公司时承诺投入的钱。承诺了就要在法定期限内实缴，不是写着好看 | -| 定金与订金 | 定金有罚则，收方违约要双倍返还，最多为合同额 20%；订金只是预付款，没有罚则 | - +| All-cause mortality | The share of people dying from any cause over a period, regardless of cause. The book uses it to measure "how long people live". The original literature calls it all-cause mortality, abbreviated ACM | +| HR | Hazard ratio. The speed at which two groups hit an event (death, illness) over the same time. HR 0.87 means 13% lower than the control group; HR 1.21 means 21% higher | +| RR | Relative risk. The ratio of event probabilities between two groups; read like HR | +| OR | Odds ratio. The ratio of odds between two groups; close to RR when events are rare, exaggerates the difference when they are common | +| IRR | Incidence rate ratio; read like RR | +| RaR | Rate ratio (e.g. number of falls); read like RR | +| Standardized mortality ratio | SMR. Actual deaths in a group divided by the expected number computed from the mortality of the general population of the same age. 5.86 means 5.86 times the deaths of peers | +| Risk difference | The probability of an event in one group minus the other, directly giving "how many extra cases per thousand". Ratios only say how many times; the risk difference says how many more people in absolute terms | +| 95% CI | 95% confidence interval. The range where the true value most likely sits. If a ratio-type interval crosses 1, or a difference-type interval crosses 0, the difference may be pure chance and the text will say "not statistically significant" | +| RCT | Randomized controlled trial. People are randomly split into two groups, one gets the intervention, one does not, and outcomes are compared. The best evidence of causation | +| Meta-analysis | Pooling the results of multiple studies into one overall estimate | +| Cohort | Cohort study. A group of people is followed for years to see who has events. Shows association, cannot fully show causation | +| Observational | Observational study. Researchers only observe, do not intervene; results may be affected by confounding and reverse causation, so discount the numbers | +| Confounding | A third factor that affects both cause and result, making association look like causation. People who eat more vegetables also tend to exercise more | +| Reverse causation | Not A causing B, but B causing A. It is not that sleeping a lot makes people die early; it is that seriously ill people sleep a lot | +| d, g | Effect size. How many standard deviations apart two group means are. 0.2 is small, 0.5 medium, 0.8 large | +| r | Correlation coefficient. How strongly two things move together, from -1 to 1; 0.1 weak, 0.3 medium, 0.5 strong | +| MET | Unit of exercise intensity. 1 MET is sitting quietly; brisk walking is about 3 to 4 MET. MET·h is intensity times hours | +| GRADE | An international standard for grading evidence quality into high, moderate, low, and very low | +| Intention-to-screen analysis | Counting the effect by "who was invited" rather than "who actually went", which underestimates the effect on those who actually went | +| Pack-years | A unit of smoking amount. Packs per day times years of smoking; 30 pack-years is one pack a day for 30 years | +| BMI | Body mass index. Weight (kg) divided by height (m) squared | +| LDL | Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, colloquially "bad cholesterol" | +| HBsAg | Hepatitis B surface antigen; positive means infected with hepatitis B | +| HPV | Human papillomavirus; long-term infection with some types causes cervical cancer | +| LDCT | Low-dose chest CT, with about one-fifth to one-tenth the radiation of a regular CT | +| PM2.5 | Airborne particulate matter under 2.5 micrometers in diameter | +| NOVA | A food classification by degree of processing; "ultra-processed food" is its fourth category | +| LPR | Loan Prime Rate. China's benchmark lending rate, published on the 20th of each month; mortgage and private-lending caps both reference it | +| One-arbitration-final | The labor arbitration ruling takes effect directly; the employer cannot sue in court | +| Crude marriage rate, crude divorce rate | Marriages and divorces registered in the year per thousand people. Divorces divided by marriages is another measure, the divorce-to-marriage ratio; do not mix the two | +| AED | Automated external defibrillator. The red or yellow first-aid box common in public places; turn it on and follow the voice prompts, it decides by itself whether to shock | +| CPR | Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Pressing hard on the chest during cardiac arrest to keep blood flowing | +| CCC | China Compulsory Certification. Products in the catalog may not leave the factory or be sold without this mark | +| ICP filing | The registration a website or app completes in the MIIT system before going live | +| Multi-Level Protection Scheme | China's cybersecurity classified protection system; protections are applied according to how important the system is | +| GPL | An open-source license. Build a product with its code and you generally must open-source your product when distributing | +| Non-compete | An agreement not to join a competitor for a period after leaving; the company must pay monthly compensation, capped at 2 years | +| Subscribed capital | The money promised when registering a company. Once promised it must actually be paid in within the statutory deadline; it is not just for show | +| Deposit vs prepayment | A statutory deposit (dingjin) carries a penalty: the holder who breaches returns double, capped at 20% of the contract; a prepayment (yudingjin) carries no penalty |
-## 目录 - -1. [不要早死](book/01-不要早死.md)：外因死亡、燃气与中毒、疫苗、筛查、心理危机、家庭应急装备、肉眼血尿等该去查的信号。口径：总死亡率 或特定死因。 -2. [不要慢慢死](book/02-不要慢慢死.md)：烟酒、运动、睡眠、饮食、久坐。口径：总死亡率 或特定死因。 -3. [不要浪费精力](book/03-不要浪费精力.md)：睡眠、打断、多任务、决策疲劳、人际负债。口径：精力/时间。 -4. [不要浪费时间](book/04-不要浪费时间.md)：无收益项目、沉没成本、拖延、会议、通勤。口径：时间。 -5. [不要浪费钱](book/05-不要浪费钱.md)：订阅、彩票、利息、保险、基金费率、个人养老金、车险、预付款、直播带货、医保个人账户、孩子被骗与充值退款。口径：金钱。 -6. [反面清单](book/06-反面清单.md)：看起来性价比高但其实不高的东西。 -7. [没钱的时候怎么活](book/07-没钱的时候怎么活.md)：救助、补贴、找活、住宿吃饭、医疗、欠薪维权、避坑。口径：金钱/保障。 -8. [别把自己搭进去：法律与财产安全](book/08-别把自己搭进去.md)：交通事故、被骗止付、AI 换脸拟声、被指控与被诬告后的救济、以举报相要挟的敲诈与自己索赔的边界、冲突与泄愤式极端暴力、伤人冲动与身边人的送诊权、被网暴之后走平台与禁令、彩礼、婚前财产、担保、反诈、诉讼时效、被执行与失信名单、养犬责任。口径：金钱/人身自由。 -9. [普通人容易踩的法律红线](book/09-普通人容易踩的法律红线.md)：谣言、侮辱英烈、境外内容只看不转、传播色情、兼职洗钱、伪造材料骗贷、高空抛物、仿真枪、无人机、偷拍、养不了孩子时的合法送养与拐卖遗弃的界线、赌博、野味。口径：人身自由/金钱。 -10. [恋爱和结婚划不划算](book/10-恋爱和结婚划不划算.md)：择偶策略、纠缠的红线、兴趣信号、关系质量、异地恋、登记流程、婚检、健康账、时间账、钱账、父母出资买房与夫妻共同债务、退出成本。长文见 [docs/结婚划不划算.md](docs/结婚划不划算.md)。 -11. [程序员和技术人容易踩的红线](book/11-程序员和技术人容易踩的红线.md)：外挂、爬虫、抢票脚本、删库、带走源码、接单开发、竞业、开源许可、备案。口径：人身自由/金钱。 -12. [创业与做生意：别把家底赔进去](book/12-创业与做生意.md)：本钱、担保、主体选择、注册登记、许可证、纳税申报、发票、涉税诈骗、合同、用人、量产、进货与用图的知识产权红线、退场。口径：金钱/法律责任。 -13. [紧急情况：先做什么](book/13-紧急情况.md)：心脏骤停、卒中与后循环卒中、眼中风、心梗、主动脉夹层、霹雳样头痛、慢性硬膜下血肿、肺栓塞、大出血、咬伤、烧烫伤、过敏性休克、癫痫、低血糖、触电、一氧化碳、误服与化学品灼伤、扎进身体的异物、骨折固定、骗局、隐私威胁、中暑、火灾、溺水、迷路、失温、蛇咬、地震、野兽、雷击、高原病、蜱虫、野外饮水；还有救不救得起：老人摔倒怎么扶、撞见斗殴怎么办、救人受伤之后的钱找谁。口径：存活率与金钱，末几条兼及人身自由。 -14. [账号与信息安全](book/14-账号与信息安全.md)：二次验证、密码、SIM 卡、手机丢失、银行卡盗刷、登录设备、App 权限、人脸识别、查阅与删除权。口径：金钱/个人信息。 -15. [租房与买房](book/15-租房与买房.md)：押金、暴力腾退、中介代收、资金监管、买卖不破租赁、产权核对、交易资金专户、隔断房。口径：金钱。 -16. [得了慢性病之后怎么活](book/16-得了慢性病之后怎么活.md)：服药依从、门诊慢特病跨省结算、复查记录、别停药试偏方、长期处方、家庭医生签约、并发症筛查。口径：总死亡率/金钱。 -17. [家里有老人](book/17-家里有老人.md)：意定监护、遗嘱形式、账户与话术、投资养老与以房养老骗局、长期护理保险。口径：金钱/人身自由。 -18. [养孩子划不划算](book/18-养孩子划不划算.md)：育儿补贴、产假与生育津贴、三期保护、时间账、钱账。口径：金钱/时间。 -19. [在职、离职和工伤](book/19-在职离职和工伤.md)：加班费、年休假、试用期；职业病危害告知与三次体检、粉尘噪声防护；N、代通知金、2N、别签主动辞职、留证；工伤认定时限、单位未参保、劳动能力鉴定、工亡待遇。口径：金钱。 -20. [刚出生的孩子怎么带](book/20-刚出生的孩子怎么带.md)：安全睡眠、乙肝首针、免疫规划疫苗、母乳与辅食、冲奶水温、蜂蜜、维生素 K、发热就医红线、不摇晃、尿布与大件采购。口径：婴儿死亡率/金钱。 -21. [出国、旅行与境外安全](book/21-出国旅行与境外安全.md)：安全提醒级别、12308、领事保护的边界、境外医疗保险、境外高薪招聘骗局、证件丢失、境外驾照、中介备案。口径：金钱/人身自由。 -22. [怎么放松：娱乐场所和减压](book/22-怎么放松.md)：安全出口、明码标价、涉毒红线、别人递的东西、网吧实名、剧本杀选址；运动、正念、呼吸、社交、绿地。口径：金钱/人身自由，以及精力/总死亡率。 -23. [学什么技能划算](book/23-学什么技能划算.md)：读书还是打工（童工年龄线、教育与死亡率、全国学历结构、免学费与助学金助学贷款、中职升学通道、怎么自己算这笔账）、教育回报率、山寨证书、培训补贴、抗自动化的维度、技能等级、紧缺职业怎么查。口径：金钱/时间，其中一条为死亡率。 -24. [看病：怎么少花钱少走弯路](book/24-看病.md)：分级诊疗与转诊、起付线连续计算、报销比例差、预留号源、异地就医必要性评估、病历留存与封存、急诊预检分诊的四级顺序、无力支付时的疾病应急救助、伤残鉴定的时机、残疾人证怎么办。口径：金钱/时间。 -25. [人走了以后要办什么](book/25-人走了以后要办什么.md)：报警与死亡证明、遗体接运与火化、死因异议与尸检、注销户口、殡葬基础项目清单、价格违法、中介备案、公积金余额与社保待遇、死者个人信息权利。口径：金钱。 -26. [做一个网站或平台：资质、备案和服务器](book/26-做一个网站或平台.md)：支付结算红线、ICP 许可与备案、直播与视听资质、平台核验与涉税报送、内容治理、实名、未成年人、通知删除、数据出境、服务器选型。口径：人身自由/金钱。长文见 [docs/做平台要办哪些证.md](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md)。 -27. [怀孕和生产：从发现怀孕到出院办证](book/27-怀孕和生产.md)：叶酸、建册与免费产检、三病筛查与母婴阻断、孕期烟酒、阿司匹林与妊娠期糖尿病、立刻去医院的信号、破水处置、无痛分娩、剖宫产指征、生育保险、出生医学证明、新生儿筛查、参保与落户、产后 42 天复查。口径：死亡率与金钱。 -28. [别为了外形把身体搞坏](book/28-别为了外形把身体搞坏.md)：极端节食与进食障碍、医美机构与主诊医师两证、面部填充的失明部位、违法添加西布曲明的减肥产品、合成代谢类固醇、减肥药与性激素的处方和复查、体像评估。口径：死亡率（健康终点），医美两条兼及人身自由。 -29. [遭遇重大打击之后](book/29-遭遇重大打击之后.md)：丧亲头一个月的心血管窗口、重病诊断的第一周、失业、丧偶后的半年、因自杀丧亲、家长去世的孩子、哀伤卡住了去哪挂号、离婚、12356 与 12355、别在应激期做不可逆的决定。口径：总死亡率，末两条为金钱。 -30. [上学以后的孩子](book/30-上学以后的孩子.md)：按小时算的急症、别为了考试推迟治疗、被欺凌怎么办、每天户外 2 小时、学生体检报告单、青少年抑郁筛查、治愈近视的产品、睡眠与作业的硬规定、休学保留学籍、散瞳验光与复查、窝沟封闭。口径：死亡率与健康终点，另有金钱和时间各一到两条。 -31. [十八岁之后有哪几条路](book/31-十八岁之后有哪几条路.md)：八条路的法定门槛；当兵（兵役登记、义务兵两年、拒服兵役的联合惩戒、学费补偿与升学、安置与 30 日报到、退役金与工龄税收）；基层服务项目的定向考录；特岗教师期满入编；消防员与军队文职；自考、成人高考与开放大学；灵活就业的社保；骑手的职业伤害保障。口径：金钱/时间，拒服兵役那条兼及人身自由。 - -每节内条目按性价比从高到低排列。「不要早死」「不要浪费时间」这类节标题说的是这一节想防住的结果，条目本身要做还是别做，以条目标题为准。长文另见 [docs/家庭应急装备清单.md](docs/家庭应急装备清单.md)、[docs/做平台要办哪些证.md](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md)、[docs/结婚划不划算.md](docs/结婚划不划算.md) 和 [docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md](docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md)。每条来源的核实过程记录在 [docs/核实记录](docs/核实记录/)。 - -仓库根目录的 `index.html` 是在线检索页：按关键词、章节、证据等级和成本维度（花钱、花时间、要毅力）筛选条目，数据直接读本文件。在仓库设置里开启 GitHub Pages（Deploy from a branch，分支 main，目录 /）后即可访问。 - -## 正文 - -正文按节拆成 30 个文件放在 [book/](book/)，点上面目录里的节名进入。拆开是因为单文件已经超过 GitHub 渲染 Markdown 的 512 KB 上限，后面的节显示不出来；[在线检索页](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/)会把这些文件合起来读，用法不变。 +## Table of contents + +1. [Do Not Die Early](book/en/01-Do-Not-Die-Early.md): external causes of death, gas and poisoning, vaccines, screening, psychological crisis, a home emergency kit, visible blood in urine and other signals worth checking. Measure: all-cause mortality or specific causes. +2. [Don't Die Slowly](book/en/02-Do-Not-Die-Slowly.md): smoking and alcohol, exercise, sleep, diet, sitting. Measure: all-cause mortality or specific causes. +3. [Don't Waste Energy](book/en/03-Do-Not-Waste-Energy.md): sleep, interruptions, multitasking, decision fatigue, interpersonal debt. Measure: energy/time. +4. [Don't Waste Time](book/en/04-Do-Not-Waste-Time.md): zero-return projects, sunk costs, procrastination, meetings, commuting. Measure: time. +5. [Don't Waste Money](book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md): subscriptions, lotteries, interest, insurance, fund fees, the personal pension, car insurance, prepayments, livestream shopping, the medical savings account, children scammed and in-game refunds. Measure: money. +6. [The Negative List](book/en/06-The-Anti-List.md): things that look like good value but are not. +7. [How to Live When You Have No Money](book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md): relief, subsidies, finding work, lodging and food, medical care, wage-arrears remedies, traps to avoid. Measure: money/protection. +8. [Don't Get Yourself Locked Up: Law and Property Safety](book/en/08-Do-Not-End-Up-Inside.md): traffic accidents, fraud and payment freezes, AI face-swap and voice cloning, remedies after accusation and false report, the line between extortion by reporting and claiming your own compensation, conflict and spite-driven extreme violence, impulsive harm and a family member's right to seek hospitalization, after online mobbing: platform routes and injunctions, betrothal gifts, premarital property, guarantees, anti-fraud, statutes of limitation, enforcement and dishonest-debtor lists, dog-owner liability. Measure: money/personal freedom. +9. [Legal Red Lines](book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md): rumors, insulting heroes and martyrs, foreign content you may read but not repost, distributing pornography, part-time money laundering, forged documents for loans, throwing objects from height, replica guns, drones, covert filming, the line between legal adoption when you cannot raise a child and trafficking or abandonment, gambling, wild-meat. Measure: personal freedom/money. +10. [Are Dating and Marriage Worth It](book/en/10-Is-Love-And-Marriage-Worth-It.md): partner-search strategy, the red line of pestering, signals of interest, relationship quality, long-distance, registration process, premarital checkups, the health ledger, the time ledger, the money ledger, parents funding a home and joint marital debt, exit costs. Long read: [docs/结婚划不划算.md](docs/结婚划不划算.md). +11. [Red Lines for Techies](book/en/11-Red-Lines-For-Techies.md): game cheats, web crawlers, ticket-grabbing scripts, wiping databases, taking source code with you, contract development, non-competes, open-source licenses, ICP filing. Measure: personal freedom/money. +12. [Starting Your Own Business](book/en/12-Starting-Your-Own-Business.md): capital, guarantees, choosing the entity, registration, licenses, tax filing, invoices, tax scams, contracts, hiring, mass production, IP red lines in sourcing and images, exit. Measure: money/legal liability. +13. [Emergencies: What to Do First](book/en/13-Emergencies.md): cardiac arrest, stroke and posterior-circulation stroke, eye stroke, heart attack, aortic dissection, thunderclap headache, chronic subdural hematoma, pulmonary embolism, heavy bleeding, bites, burns and scalds, anaphylactic shock, seizures, hypoglycemia, electric shock, carbon monoxide, swallowing poisons and chemical burns, objects embedded in the body, fracture immobilization, scams, privacy threats, heatstroke, fire, drowning, getting lost, hypothermia, snakebite, earthquakes, wild animals, lightning, altitude sickness, ticks, drinking water in the wild; and whether you can afford to rescue: how to help a fallen elderly person, what to do when you witness a fight, whose money pays if you are hurt while helping. Measure: survival and money; the last few also touch personal freedom. +14. [Accounts And Security](book/en/14-Accounts-And-Security.md): two-factor authentication, passwords, SIM cards, lost phones, bank-card fraud, logged-in devices, app permissions, face recognition, the right to access and delete. Measure: money/personal information. +15. [Renting And Buying Housing](book/en/15-Renting-And-Buying-Housing.md): deposits, violent eviction, agents collecting rent, fund escrow, sale does not break the lease, verifying title, dedicated transaction accounts, partitioned rooms. Measure: money. +16. [Living With Chronic Disease](book/en/16-Living-With-Chronic-Disease.md): medication adherence, cross-province settlement for chronic outpatient care, follow-up records, don't stop meds for folk remedies, long prescriptions, signing with a family doctor, complication screening. Measure: all-cause mortality/money. +17. [Elderly At Home](book/en/17-Elderly-At-Home.md): voluntary guardianship, forms of will, accounts and scripts, pension-investment and house-for-pension scams, long-term care insurance. Measure: money/personal freedom. +18. [Is Having Kids Worth It](book/en/18-Is-Having-Kids-Worth-It.md): child-rearing subsidies, maternity leave and allowance, protection during pregnancy/maternity/nursing, the time ledger, the money ledger. Measure: money/time. +19. [Employment And Work Injury](book/en/19-Employment-And-Work-Injury.md): overtime pay, annual leave, probation; occupational-hazard disclosure and three physicals, dust and noise protection; N, notice-payment, 2N, don't sign "voluntary resignation", keeping evidence; work-injury filing deadlines, employer without coverage, labor-capacity assessment, death-at-work benefits. Measure: money. +20. [Newborn](book/en/20-Newborn.md): safe sleep, the first hepatitis B dose, scheduled vaccines, breastfeeding and solids, formula water temperature, honey, vitamin K, when fever means the hospital, never shaking, diapers and big purchases. Measure: infant mortality/money. +21. [Travel And Abroad Safety](book/en/21-Travel-And-Abroad-Safety.md): travel-advisory levels, 12308, the limits of consular protection, overseas medical insurance, overseas high-pay recruitment scams, lost documents, foreign driving licenses, agency filing. Measure: money/personal freedom. +22. [How To Relax](book/en/22-How-To-Relax.md): emergency exits, clear pricing, drug red lines, things handed to you, real-name at internet cafés, venue choices for murder-mystery games; exercise, mindfulness, breathing, socializing, green space. Measure: money/personal freedom, plus energy/all-cause mortality. +23. [Which Skills To Learn](book/en/23-Which-Skills-To-Learn.md): study or work (the child-labor age line, education and mortality, the national education structure, tuition waivers and grants and loans, vocational-college routes, how to run the numbers yourself), returns to education, fake certificates, training subsidies, dimensions that resist automation, skill levels, how to look up shortage occupations. Measure: money/time, one item on mortality. +24. [Seeing The Doctor](book/en/24-Seeing-The-Doctor.md): tiered care and referrals, deductible continuous counting, reimbursement-rate differences, reserved appointment slots, whether traveling for care is worth it, keeping and sealing medical records, the four-level ER triage order, emergency relief when you cannot pay, when to do a disability assessment, how to get a disability certificate. Measure: money/time. +25. [After Someone Dies](book/en/25-After-Someone-Dies.md): reporting and the death certificate, transport and cremation of the body, disputing the cause and autopsy, cancelling household registration, the list of basic funeral services, price violations, agency filing, housing-fund balance and social-security benefits, the deceased's personal-information rights. Measure: money. +26. [Building A Website Or Platform](book/en/26-Building-A-Website-Or-Platform.md): the payment-settlement red line, ICP licenses and filing, livestream and audio-visual licenses, platform verification and tax reporting, content governance, real-name rules, minors, notice-and-takedown, data leaving the country, server choices. Measure: personal freedom/money. Long read: [docs/做平台要办哪些证.md](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md). +27. [Pregnancy And Birth](book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md): folic acid, registering and free prenatal checks, three-disease screening and mother-to-child blocking, smoking and alcohol in pregnancy, aspirin and gestational diabetes, signals to go to the hospital now, what to do when waters break, painless delivery, cesarean indications, maternity insurance, the birth certificate, newborn screening, enrolling and hukou, the 42-day postpartum check. Measure: mortality and money. +28. [Do Not Ruin Health For Looks](book/en/28-Do-Not-Ruin-Health-For-Looks.md): extreme dieting and eating disorders, the two licenses of medical-beauty institutions and chief physicians, the blindness-risk zones of facial fillers, diet products illegally spiked with sibutramine, anabolic steroids, prescriptions and follow-ups for diet pills and sex hormones, body-image assessment. Measure: mortality (health endpoints); two medical-beauty items also touch personal freedom. +29. [After A Major Blow](book/en/29-After-A-Major-Blow.md): the cardiovascular window of the first month after bereavement, the first week after a serious diagnosis, job loss, the six months after a spouse's death, bereavement by suicide, children who lost a parent, where to register when grief is stuck, divorce, 12356 and 12355, don't make irreversible decisions while acutely stressed. Measure: all-cause mortality; the last two on money. +30. [School-Age Kids](book/en/30-School-Age-Kids.md): emergencies counted by the hour, don't postpone treatment for exams, what to do about bullying, 2 hours outdoors a day, the school physical report, adolescent depression screening, products claiming to cure myopia, the hard rules on sleep and homework, suspension that preserves enrollment, dilated eye exams and follow-ups, dental sealants. Measure: mortality and health endpoints, plus one or two each on money and time. +31. [Paths After Eighteen](book/en/31-Paths-After-Eighteen.md): the legal thresholds of eight roads; military service (registration, two years as a conscript, joint punishment for refusing service, tuition compensation and further study, placement and the 30-day report, discharge pay and tax on seniority); targeted exams of grassroots service programs; joining the staff after Teach-First postings; firefighters and military civilian posts; self-study, adult-gaokao and open university; social insurance in flexible employment; injury protection for delivery riders. Measure: money/time; the refusing-service item also touches personal freedom. + +Items inside each section are ordered from highest to lowest value for money. Section titles like "Don't Die Early" or "Don't Waste Time" name the outcome the section tries to prevent; whether an item is a to-do or a don't is decided by the item title. Long reads: [docs/家庭应急装备清单.md](docs/家庭应急装备清单.md), [docs/做平台要办哪些证.md](docs/做平台要办哪些证.md), [docs/结婚划不划算.md](docs/结婚划不划算.md), and [docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md](docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md). The verification trail for every cited source is in [docs/核实记录](docs/核实记录/). + +`index.html` in the repo root is the online search page: filter items by keyword, chapter, evidence grade, and cost dimensions (money, time, willpower); the data is read directly from this file. Enable GitHub Pages in the repo settings (Deploy from a branch, branch main, directory /) to access it. + +## The book itself + +The text is split into 30+ section files under [book/en/](book/en/); click a section title in the table of contents above to open it. It is split because a single file would exceed GitHub's 512 KB Markdown rendering limit and later sections would not display; the [online search page](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/) reads these files combined and works the same way. From d241e4852b3caa24e0932318a58e167099a72ab8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:48:37 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 32/37] gitignore: translation working units (tools/digest/) --- .gitignore | 3 +++ 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+) diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore index 5b5c38d49..cf165aaaa 100644 --- a/.gitignore +++ b/.gitignore @@ -1,2 +1,5 @@ .idea/ .junie/ + +# EN translation working units (transient) +tools/digest/ From cd5b551905f2fb1e1134404acb490b43a1c876de Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:49:38 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 33/37] readme(ru): language switcher points to README.zh.md after EN-primary switch --- README.ru.md | 6 +++--- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.ru.md b/README.ru.md index 59aab190f..bb6f8a247 100644 --- a/README.ru.md +++ b/README.ru.md @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ -> Неофициальный перевод файла [README.md](README.md). При расхождениях приоритет у китайского оригинала. +> Неофициальный перевод. Китайский оригинал: [README.zh.md](README.zh.md); английский: [README.md](README.md). При расхождениях приоритет у китайского оригинала. -**← Другие языки / Languages:** [中文](README.md) +**← Другие языки / Languages:** [中文](README.zh.md) · [English](README.md)
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ **[Открыть страницу онлайн-поиска](https://eternity4719.github.io/HowToLiveBetter/)** · [Оглавление](#оглавление) · [Глоссарий](#как-читать-цифры-глоссарий) · [Записи проверки](docs/核实记录/) · [Выгоден ли брак](docs/ru/结婚划不划算.md) · [Домашний аварийный комплект](docs/ru/家庭应急装备清单.md) · [Стоит ли останавливаться, если с незнакомцем случилась беда](docs/ru/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md) · [Какие документы нужны для запуска площадки](docs/ru/做平台要办哪些证.md) -**Языки / Languages:** [中文](README.md) +**Языки / Languages:** [中文](README.zh.md) · [English](README.md)
From fd687849ee87a1f406c77ec5e8c3fec1118cd165 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:20:35 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 34/37] =?UTF-8?q?en=20QA=20fixes:=20=E4=B8=87=E5=88=86?= =?UTF-8?q?=E4=B9=8B=E4=BA=94=20rate,=20dibao=20gloss,=20=E8=BD=BB?= =?UTF-8?q?=E4=BC=A4=E4=BA=8C=E7=BA=A7=20grade,=20non-epidural?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md | 2 +- book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md | 2 +- book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md | 2 +- book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md | 2 +- 4 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md b/book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md index e8c684a19..cb3983ea7 100644 --- a/book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md +++ b/book/en/05-Do-Not-Waste-Money.md @@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ This section's unit of account is money: savings percentages, annualized return - Cost: zero; you need to keep enough cash on hand to pay the bill in full before the due date - In plain terms: the minimum payment is not a discount — it's a loan accruing interest daily, equivalent to roughly 18% annualized, and your interest-free grace period is voided on the spot, with interest charged on the full remaining principal. Judge rates by their annualized figure — the central bank already requires card issuers to display the annualized rate prominently and forbids showing only a "daily rate." -- Benefit: credit card overdraft rates were capped at a "daily rate of 0.05 per mille" before 2020, with a floor of 0.7 times that cap — equivalent to 18.25% annualized simple interest (from 2021, pricing became a matter negotiated between issuer and cardholder); after a minimum payment, interest accrues daily on the full remaining principal and the interest-free period lapses at the same time. The central bank requires issuers to display the annualized rate prominently and "not to display only the daily rate or daily repayment amount" — decide based on the annualized figure (China, 2020 notice) +- Benefit: credit card overdraft rates were capped at a "daily rate of 0.05% (5/10,000 per day)" before 2020, with a floor of 0.7 times that cap — equivalent to 18.25% annualized simple interest (from 2021, pricing became a matter negotiated between issuer and cardholder); after a minimum payment, interest accrues daily on the full remaining principal and the interest-free period lapses at the same time. The central bank requires issuers to display the annualized rate prominently and "not to display only the daily rate or daily repayment amount" — decide based on the annualized figure (China, 2020 notice) - Evidence grade: C - Sources: 中国人民银行 (2020). 关于推进信用卡透支利率市场化改革的通知（银发〔2020〕327 号）. - Notes: 18.25% comes from "0.05 per mille × 365" and is a simple-interest figure; compounding monthly would make it higher. Some banks offer discounts — go by the annualized rate published on your own statement. If you genuinely can't cover it, first look for a legitimate channel with a lower rate rather than letting minimum payments roll interest over. diff --git a/book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md b/book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md index a7cd69d0e..be6af9948 100644 --- a/book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md +++ b/book/en/07-Living-With-No-Money.md @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ This chapter covers money and coverage: how much you can claim, how much can be ### 1. If You Lose Your Job, First Claim Unemployment Insurance Benefits Online - Cost: 0 yuan; submit via the "Zhangshang 12333" app, the electronic social security card mini-program (WeChat/Alipay), or the National Social Insurance Public Service Platform, using just your social security card or ID card — in most areas no in-person visit is needed; the prerequisite is that unemployment registration has been completed -- In plain terms: If your employer and you paid in for a full year and you did not quit voluntarily, once unemployment registration is done you can claim: a full 1 year but less than 5 years of contributions gets at most 12 months, 5 to 10 years at most 18 months, over 10 years at most 24 months. Each province sets its own amount — lower than the local minimum wage, higher than dibao. While you collect, employee medical insurance is paid for you by the unemployment insurance fund. Quitting voluntarily does not count. +- In plain terms: If your employer and you paid in for a full year and you did not quit voluntarily, once unemployment registration is done you can claim: a full 1 year but less than 5 years of contributions gets at most 12 months, 5 to 10 years at most 18 months, over 10 years at most 24 months. Each province sets its own amount — lower than the local minimum wage, higher than dibao (低保 — means-tested subsistence allowance). While you collect, employee medical insurance is paid for you by the unemployment insurance fund. Quitting voluntarily does not count. - Benefit: Conditions are cumulative unemployment insurance contributions of at least 1 year by employer and employee, interruption of employment not of one's own will, completed unemployment registration, and a willingness to seek work; at least 1 year but under 5 years of contributions gets at most 12 months, at least 5 but under 10 years at most 18 months, over 10 years at most 24 months; the amount is set by provincial governments, below the local minimum wage and above urban dibao, with the national goal of gradually raising it to 90% of the minimum wage standard (nationwide, regulation in force since 1999) - Evidence grade: A - Sources: 国务院 (1999). 失业保险条例（国务院令第 258 号，第十四、十七、十八条）. ；人力资源社会保障部. 全国人社政务服务平台·失业保险待遇申领办事指南. ；国家发展改革委就业司 (2022). 失业保险金标准，将逐步提高至最低工资的 90%. diff --git a/book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md b/book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md index d2ebb81e3..a1bc22822 100644 --- a/book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md +++ b/book/en/09-Legal-Red-Lines.md @@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ This chapter's yardstick is personal freedom and money: the things below are one - Cost: 0 yuan; hold out for those few seconds - In plain terms: the ledger for throwing one punch: 5 to 10 days of detention plus a 500–1,000 yuan fine; group assaults, hitting the elderly, pregnant women, or children, or hitting several people at once, means 10 to 15 days of detention plus a 1,000–2,000 yuan fine; minor injury makes it a criminal case — under 3 years, and 3 to 10 years for serious injury. The money is counted separately: one person broke three of the other's ribs and paid 113,000 yuan in a settlement to escape prosecution; another broke the other's radius, paid nothing, and got 10 months. -- Benefit: beating another person or intentionally causing injury — 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of 500 to 1,000 yuan; group assault, beating disabled persons, pregnant women, the elderly, or children, repeated beatings, or beating several people at once — 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 yuan; minor injury constitutes the crime of intentional injury — up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or controlled surveillance, and 3 to 10 years for serious injury; on the civil side, medical expenses, lost wages, nursing costs, transport costs, hospital meal allowances, and nutrition costs must be paid, and for disability the disability compensation is calculated as the previous year's per-capita disposable income of urban residents in the court's locality multiplied by 20 years (minus 1 year per year of age over 60, and 5 years for those over 75); in 2022 procuratorates nationwide accepted over 70,000 minor-injury cases, mostly arising from marriage, family, or neighborhood disputes or chance events; Supreme People's Procuratorate typical cases: Lu broke three of the other's ribs (serious injury grade II minor) and only got non-prosecution after paying 113,000 yuan to reach a settlement; Shi broke the other's radius (serious injury grade II minor), paid nothing, and was sentenced to 10 months of fixed-term imprisonment (nationwide; the Public Security Administration Punishments Law in force from January 1, 2026) +- Benefit: beating another person or intentionally causing injury — 5 to 10 days of detention plus a fine of 500 to 1,000 yuan; group assault, beating disabled persons, pregnant women, the elderly, or children, repeated beatings, or beating several people at once — 10 to 15 days of detention plus a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 yuan; minor injury constitutes the crime of intentional injury — up to 3 years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or controlled surveillance, and 3 to 10 years for serious injury; on the civil side, medical expenses, lost wages, nursing costs, transport costs, hospital meal allowances, and nutrition costs must be paid, and for disability the disability compensation is calculated as the previous year's per-capita disposable income of urban residents in the court's locality multiplied by 20 years (minus 1 year per year of age over 60, and 5 years for those over 75); in 2022 procuratorates nationwide accepted over 70,000 minor-injury cases, mostly arising from marriage, family, or neighborhood disputes or chance events; Supreme People's Procuratorate typical cases: Lu broke three of the other's ribs (minor injury grade II) and only got non-prosecution after paying 113,000 yuan to reach a settlement; Shi broke the other's radius (minor injury grade II), paid nothing, and was sentenced to 10 months of fixed-term imprisonment (nationwide; the Public Security Administration Punishments Law in force from January 1, 2026) - Evidence grade: A - Sources: 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第九、五十一条）. ；全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百三十四条）. ；最高人民法院 (2022 修正). 关于审理人身损害赔偿案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2022〕14 号，第六至十二、十五条）. ；最高人民检察院、公安部 (2023). 关于依法妥善办理轻伤害案件的指导意见. ；最高人民检察院 (2023). 检察机关依法妥善办理轻伤害案件典型案例. - Notes: how to avoid conflicts, why striking first loses, and lawful self-defense are in Section 8, item 9; this entry only does the math, and the ledger for attacking people out of spite is in Section 8, items 10 to 13. Brawls arising from civil disputes with minor circumstances can be mediated by the police, and minor-injury cases settled and performed can receive leniency or even non-prosecution — but not one yuan of compensation is forgiven; what counts as minor injury is set by forensic standards, which this section did not verify. Lost wages and nursing costs are calculated from actual income and days; there is no uniform figure. diff --git a/book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md b/book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md index c8c3580a4..21bfbd8c7 100644 --- a/book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md +++ b/book/en/27-Pregnancy-And-Birth.md @@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ The World Health Organization's figures: in 2023, about 260,000 women worldwide - Cost: a few hundred to over a thousand yuan, prices vary by region; confirm with the hospital and the anesthesiology department in advance that it is available - In plain terms: an epidural works better than other pain relief options, and it does not make a cesarean more likely; the claim that "an epidural leaves your back aching for life" has no basis either. It now has its own separate billing item, and hospitals are more willing to provide it. -- Benefit: the conclusion of a Cochrane systematic review is that epidural analgesia is more effective than non-epidemic methods in relieving labor pain and improving maternal satisfaction with pain relief, and that "epidural analgesia had no effect on the risk of caesarean section or long-term backache"; the increase in assisted vaginal deliveries seen earlier is no longer visible in studies after 2005. From 2024, the pricing project establishment guide for obstetric medical service items of the National Healthcare Security Administration made "labor analgesia", "doula delivery", and "family-accompanied birth" separately priced items, precisely because the absence of an independent price item had suppressed hospitals' willingness to provide labor analgesia +- Benefit: the conclusion of a Cochrane systematic review is that epidural analgesia is more effective than non-epidural methods in relieving labor pain and improving maternal satisfaction with pain relief, and that "epidural analgesia had no effect on the risk of caesarean section or long-term backache"; the increase in assisted vaginal deliveries seen earlier is no longer visible in studies after 2005. From 2024, the pricing project establishment guide for obstetric medical service items of the National Healthcare Security Administration made "labor analgesia", "doula delivery", and "family-accompanied birth" separately priced items, precisely because the absence of an independent price item had suppressed hospitals' willingness to provide labor analgesia - Evidence grade: A - Sources: Anim-Somuah M, Smyth RMD, Cyna AM, Cuthbert A (2018). Epidural versus non-epidural or no analgesia for pain management in labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (5), CD000331. ；国家医疗保障局 (2024). 重构产科服务价格项目 助力构建生育友好型社会. - Notes: of the two most widely circulated claims — "an epidural leaves you with lifelong back pain" and "an epidural causes difficult labor and a cesarean" — neither finds support in the review above. The real side effects are hypotension, fever, leg weakness, urinary retention, longer first and second stages of labor, and a greater likelihood of oxytocin use. Whether to have one is your call, but do not give it up because of rumors. Whether it is available also depends on the hospital having anesthesiologists on site around the clock, so ask clearly at the prenatal visit From f25a6d7db2c59f11866f5b5c2f3cb2c212a0c264 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Leonid Dolgirev Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:08:29 +0300 Subject: [PATCH 35/37] =?UTF-8?q?tools:=20bilingual=20CN=E2=86=92RU/EN=20t?= =?UTF-8?q?ranslation=20pipeline=20(#2)?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit - glossary.json: verified CN terms with fixed RU+EN equivalents + style rules for both languages; make_digest.py injects per-unit gloss files (NN.gloss.md) - verify.py: integrity gate (headings/tags/field labels/sources byte-identity, scale-aware number comparison 万/亿/千 ↔ тыс/млн/млрд, CJK zone rules, banned-calque and plain-terms jargon checks); writes .status markers - status.py: per-chapter wave dashboard for both language tracks - .gitignore: exclude transient digest/.status state Co-authored-by: dlgrv --- .gitignore | 3 +- tools/glossary.json | 41 +++++++ tools/make_digest.py | 39 ++++++ tools/status.py | 84 +++++++++++++ tools/verify.py | 278 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 5 files changed, 444 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 tools/glossary.json create mode 100644 tools/status.py create mode 100644 tools/verify.py diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore index cf165aaaa..a441e142a 100644 --- a/.gitignore +++ b/.gitignore @@ -1,5 +1,6 @@ .idea/ .junie/ -# EN translation working units (transient) +# translation pipeline transient state tools/digest/ +tools/.status/ diff --git a/tools/glossary.json b/tools/glossary.json new file mode 100644 index 000000000..4e4bf7155 --- /dev/null +++ b/tools/glossary.json @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +{ + "_comment": "Закреплённая терминология CN→RU/EN для пайплайна HowToLiveBetter. Термины проверены по book/*.md (тела, не источники); RU/EN эквиваленты сняты с устоявшихся переводов book/ru/ и book/en/ (2026-09-18). make_digest.py инжектит термины юнита в units/NN.gloss.md. НИЧЕГО не добавлять без grep-проверки по book/ — см. skill htlb-translation §Localization.", + "terms": [ + {"cn": "低保", "ru": "дибао", "ru_gloss": "дибао (低保 — пособие малоимущим)", "en": "dibao", "en_gloss": "dibao (低保 — means-tested minimum subsistence allowance)"}, + {"cn": "户口", "ru": "хукоу", "ru_gloss": "хукоу (户口 — регистрация, привязанная к месту жительства)", "en": "hukou", "en_gloss": "hukou (户口 — household registration tied to place)"}, + {"cn": "户口簿", "ru": "домовая книга (хукоу)", "ru_gloss": "домовая книга (户口簿 — семейный регистрационный журнал)", "en": "household register", "en_gloss": "household register (户口簿 — family hukou booklet)"}, + {"cn": "医保", "ru": "медстраховка (ибао)", "ru_gloss": "медстраховка ибао (医保 — базовая медицинская страховка)", "en": "yibao (basic medical insurance)", "en_gloss": "yibao (医保 — basic medical insurance)"}, + {"cn": "社保", "ru": "соцстрах", "ru_gloss": "соцстрах (社保 — социальное страхование)", "en": "social insurance", "en_gloss": "social insurance (社保)"}, + {"cn": "公积金", "ru": "жилищный накопительный фонд (гунцзицзинь)", "ru_gloss": "жилищный накопительный фонд (公积金, гунцзицзинь)", "en": "housing provident fund", "en_gloss": "housing provident fund (公积金)"}, + {"cn": "民政", "ru": "органы гражданской администрации", "ru_gloss": "органы гражданской администрации (民政 — гражданские дела: соцзащита, брак, похороны)", "en": "civil affairs bureau", "en_gloss": "civil affairs bureau (民政)"}, + {"cn": "派出所", "ru": "отделение полиции", "ru_gloss": "отделение полиции (派出所)", "en": "police station", "en_gloss": "local police station (派出所)"}, + {"cn": "疾控中心", "ru": "Центр по контролю заболеваний", "ru_gloss": "Центр по контролю заболеваний (疾控中心, аналог ЦЗЗ/СПИД-центра)", "en": "Chinese CDC", "en_gloss": "Chinese CDC (疾控中心 — Center for Disease Control)"}, + {"cn": "卫健委", "ru": "комитет здравоохранения", "ru_gloss": "комитет здравоохранения (卫健委)", "en": "health commission", "en_gloss": "health commission (卫健委)"}, + {"cn": "人社局", "ru": "управление по труду и соцстраху", "ru_gloss": "управление по труду и соцстраху (人社局)", "en": "human resources and social security bureau", "en_gloss": "human resources and social security bureau (人社局)"}, + {"cn": "营业执照", "ru": "бизнес-лицензия", "ru_gloss": "бизнес-лицензия (营业执照)", "en": "business license", "en_gloss": "business license (营业执照)"}, + {"cn": "认缴出资", "ru": "заявленный уставный капитал", "ru_gloss": "заявленный уставный капитал (认缴出资 — подписочный, не обязательно оплаченный)", "en": "subscribed registered capital", "en_gloss": "subscribed registered capital (认缴出资 — pledged, not necessarily paid in)"}, + {"cn": "一裁终局", "ru": "арбитраж в одну инстанцию, решение окончательно", "ru_gloss": "арбитраж в одну инстанцию, окончательный для сторон (一裁终局)", "en": "final and binding one-instance arbitration", "en_gloss": "one-instance arbitration, final and binding (一裁终局)"}, + {"cn": "居委会", "ru": "комитет жителей", "ru_gloss": "комитет жителей (居委会 — квартальный комитет самоуправления)", "en": "residents' committee", "en_gloss": "residents' committee (居委会)"}, + {"cn": "村委会", "ru": "комитет деревни", "ru_gloss": "комитет деревни (村委会)", "en": "villagers' committee", "en_gloss": "villagers' committee (村委会)"}, + {"cn": "市场监管局", "ru": "управление по надзору за рынком", "ru_gloss": "управление по надзору за рынком (市场监管局)", "en": "market supervision administration", "en_gloss": "market supervision administration (市场监管局)"}, + {"cn": "街道办", "ru": "администрация подрайона города", "ru_gloss": "администрация подрайона города (街道办 — уличная администрация)", "en": "subdistrict office", "en_gloss": "subdistrict office (街道办)"}, + {"cn": "荟萃分析", "ru": "метаанализ", "ru_gloss": null, "en": "meta-analysis", "en_gloss": null}, + {"cn": "观察性", "ru": "наблюдательное исследование", "ru_gloss": null, "en": "observational study", "en_gloss": null} + ], + "style_rules": { + "ru": [ + "Живой русский, НЕ 1-в-1; функциональная эквивалентность.", + "Запрещённые англицизмы: когорта→«наблюдательное исследование N человек»; экспозиция→«воздействие»; квартиль/квинтиль→«25% участников с самым высоким … против 25% с самым низким» (термин в скобках ≤1 раза на файл); конфаундинг→«смешивающие факторы»; популяция→«в японской выборке»; низкодостоверные доказательства→«доказательства низкого качества».", + "Сохранить: метаанализ, доверительный интервал, отношение рисков/шансов, наблюдательное исследование, человеко-лет (+краткий глосс 1 раз на файл).", + "«Простыми словами» — строго разговорно, без цифр, которых нет в «Эффекте»; без восклицательных знаков; заголовки с глаголами.", + "Все числа байт-в-байт; 万 = ×10000 (2 万 = 20 000 юаней).", + "Китайские термины при первом употреблении: эквивалент + (иероглифы — короткое пояснение)." + ], + "en": [ + "Plain, restrained English; no exclamation marks; verb-first item titles.", + "China-specific concepts on first use per file: transliteration + short gloss, e.g. dibao (低保 — means-tested minimum subsistence allowance).", + "万 = ×10,000 (2 万 = 20,000 yuan). All numbers byte-for-byte.", + "No translated-English epidemiology jargon in 'In plain terms' — keep it colloquial; numbers only from the 'Benefit' line." + ] + } +} diff --git a/tools/make_digest.py b/tools/make_digest.py index b292ff01f..7272779aa 100644 --- a/tools/make_digest.py +++ b/tools/make_digest.py @@ -49,6 +49,45 @@ "\n".join(unit)) blocks[str(i)] = {"tag": it["tag"], "src": it["src"]} +# Per-unit terminology injection: units/NN.gloss.md contains ONLY the glossary +# terms occurring in this unit (00 gets the chapter-wide union + style rules). +# assemble.py reads only NN.md, so gloss files never leak into the book; they +# are copied together with units and pasted into the translator-subagent task. +gloss_path = os.path.join(root, "tools", "glossary.json") +gloss = json.load(open(gloss_path, encoding="utf-8")) if os.path.exists(gloss_path) \ + else {"terms": [], "style_rules": {}} + +def gloss_rows(text, only_present=True): + rows = [] + for t in gloss.get("terms", []): + if not only_present or t["cn"] in text: + rows.append(f'{t["cn"]} → RU: {t.get("ru", "?")} / EN: {t.get("en", "?")}') + return rows + +for i in range(len(items) + 1): + if i == 0: + chapter_text = "\n".join(head) + "\n" + "\n".join( + it["title"] + "\n".join(it["body"]) for it in items) + rows = gloss_rows(chapter_text, only_present=False) + else: + it = items[i - 1] + rows = gloss_rows(it["title"] + "\n" + "\n".join(it["body"])) + style = [] + if i == 0: # style rules once, in the chapter-overview unit + for lang in ("ru", "en"): + style += [f"[STYLE {lang.upper()}] " + r + for r in gloss.get("style_rules", {}).get(lang, [])] + if rows or style: + g = ["[СПРАВКА — НЕ переводить этот блок и НЕ вставлять в текст юнита.", + " Используй закреплённые эквиваленты; глосс (иероглифы — пояснение) —", + " при ПЕРВОМ употреблении термина в файле]", + ""] + g += rows + if style: + g += [""] + style + open(os.path.join(d, "units", f"{i:02d}.gloss.md"), "w", encoding="utf-8").write( + "\n".join(g) + "\n") + json.dump({"chapter": n, "file": srcs[0], "head": head, "items": len(items), "blocks": blocks}, open(os.path.join(d, "blocks.json"), "w", encoding="utf-8"), diff --git a/tools/status.py b/tools/status.py new file mode 100644 index 000000000..13a275fc1 --- /dev/null +++ b/tools/status.py @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env python3 +"""Wave dashboard: per-chapter translation pipeline status in one shot. + +Usage: + python3 tools/status.py # all chapters 01..31 + python3 tools/status.py 11 12 13 # subset + +Shows, per chapter: item count, RU/EN file presence, verify stamp +(fresh = OK, stale = file changed after last verify), and unit progress +for active workdirs under /root/htlb-run/ (a unit counts as translated when +its ### title line no longer contains CJK). +""" +import glob, json, os, re, sys + +root = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))) +CJK = re.compile(r"[\u4e00-\u9fff]") + + +def chapter_nums(argv): + have = sorted({f[:2] for f in os.listdir(os.path.join(root, "book")) + if re.match(r"\d\d-", f) and f.endswith(".md")}) + return have if not argv else [n for n in argv if n in have] + + +def verify_stamp(n, lang): + mark = os.path.join(root, "tools", ".status", f"{n}-{lang}.ok") + if not os.path.exists(mark): + return "—", None + files = glob.glob(os.path.join(root, "book", lang, f"{n}-*.md")) + if not files: + return "?", None + d = json.load(open(mark, encoding="utf-8")) + fresh = os.path.getmtime(files[0]) <= os.path.getmtime(mark) + return ("OK" if fresh else "изм."), d.get("ts") + + +def unit_progress(units_dir): + if not os.path.isdir(units_dir): + return None + units = [f for f in glob.glob(os.path.join(units_dir, "[0-9][0-9].md"))] + if not units: + return None + done = sum(1 for f in units + if not CJK.search(open(f, encoding="utf-8").readline())) + return done, len(units) + + +def main(): + nums = chapter_nums(sys.argv[1:]) + rows = [] + for n in nums: + cn = len(glob.glob(os.path.join(root, "book", f"{n}-*.md"))) + row = {"n": n, "cn": cn} + for lang in ("ru", "en"): + f = glob.glob(os.path.join(root, "book", lang, f"{n}-*.md")) + stamp, ts = verify_stamp(n, lang) + row[lang] = (os.path.basename(f[0]) if f else "—", stamp, ts) + row["run"] = unit_progress(f"/root/htlb-run/{n}/units") + rows.append(row) + + print(f"{'ch':<4}{'items':<7}{'RU':<34}{'EN':<34}{'workdir':<12}") + for r in rows: + def cell(lang): + name, stamp, ts = r[lang] + if name == "—": + return "—" + day = time.strftime("%m-%d", time.localtime(ts)) if ts else "?" + return f"{name[:24]} {stamp}({day})" + w = f"{r['run'][0]}/{r['run'][1]}" if r["run"] else "—" + print(f"{r['n']:<4}{r['cn']:<7}{cell('ru'):<34}{cell('en'):<34}{w:<12}") + + ru_ok = sum(1 for r in rows if r["ru"][0] != "—") + en_ok = sum(1 for r in rows if r["en"][0] != "—") + stale = sum(1 for r in rows if r["ru"][1] == "изм." or r["en"][1] == "изм.") + active = [(r["n"], r["run"]) for r in rows if r["run"] and r["run"][0] < r["run"][1]] + print(f"\nRU: {ru_ok}/{len(rows)} файлов | EN: {en_ok}/{len(rows)} | " + f"протухших verify-маркеров: {stale}") + if active: + print("активные волны: " + ", ".join(f"ch{n} {d}/{t}" for n, (d, t) in active)) + + +if __name__ == "__main__": + import time + main() diff --git a/tools/verify.py b/tools/verify.py new file mode 100644 index 000000000..350f40809 --- /dev/null +++ b/tools/verify.py @@ -0,0 +1,278 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env python3 +"""Integrity gate for one translated chapter (RU or EN) against the Chinese original. + +Usage: + python3 tools/verify.py --lang ru # book/ru/NN-*.md + python3 tools/verify.py --lang en # book/en/NN-*.md + python3 tools/verify.py --lang ru --file /tmp/candidate.md + +Checks (fail = exit 1, warn = printed only): + 1. heading (### N.) count == original + 2. cost-tag comment count == original + 3. source lines: count == original AND content after the field label is + byte-identical (label `：` vs `:` stripped first) + 4. field-label counts (成本/说人话/收益/证据等级/备注 ↔ Стоимость…/Cost…) + 5. numbers: every numeric token of the original body (sources/tags excluded) + must survive in the translation. 万 is expanded (2 万 → 20000) before + comparison; thousand separators (20,000 / 20 000 / 20 000 NBSP) and RU + decimal commas (97,2) are normalized. Numbers ADDED by the translation + (localization inserts like "112/103") are listed as warnings, not fails. + 6. CJK / fullwidth punctuation outside allowed zones (sources, tag comments, + first 4 status lines, markdown link targets, parenthetical glosses) + 7. RU only: banned epidemiology calques (когорта/экспозиция/квартиль/…) + — >1 occurrence per file fails, 1 occurrence must be a first-use gloss. + +On success writes tools/.status/-.ok (mtime-stamped) for status.py. +""" +import argparse, glob, json, os, re, sys, time + +root = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))) + +LABELS = { + "cn": ["成本", "说人话", "收益", "证据等级", "备注"], + "ru": ["Стоимость", "Простыми словами", "Эффект", "Уровень доказательности", "Примечания"], + "en": ["Cost", "In plain terms", "Benefit", "Evidence grade", "Notes"], +} +SRC_LABEL = {"cn": "- 来源：", "ru": "- Источники:", "en": "- Sources:"} +CJK = re.compile(r"[\u4e00-\u9fff]") +FULLWIDTH = re.compile(r"[，。：；！？「」『』（）]") +NUM = re.compile(r"\d+(?:\.\d+)?") +BANNED_RU = ["когорт", "экспозици", "квартил", "квинтил", "конфаунд", "популяц"] + + +WORD_VALUES = [ + # compound first + (r"двадцать[\s-]?четыре", "24"), (r"twenty-four", "24"), + (r"круглосуточн\w*", "24"), (r"(a?round|around)-the-clock", "24"), + # months (stems) — «11 月 1 日» legitimately becomes «1 ноября» + (r"январ\w*", "1"), (r"феврал\w*", "2"), (r"март\w*", "3"), (r"апрел\w*", "4"), + (r"мая", "5"), (r"июн\w*", "6"), (r"июл\w*", "7"), (r"август\w*", "8"), + (r"сентябр\w*", "9"), (r"октябр\w*", "10"), (r"ноябр\w*", "11"), (r"декабр\w*", "12"), + (r"january", "1"), (r"february", "2"), (r"march", "3"), (r"april", "4"), + (r"june", "6"), (r"july", "7"), (r"august", "8"), (r"september", "9"), + (r"october", "10"), (r"november", "11"), (r"december", "12"), + # spelled-out numerals the translations legitimately use in prose + (r"одиннадцат\w*", "11"), (r"двенадцат\w*", "12"), + (r"один(?!\w)", "1"), (r"одна(?!\w)", "1"), (r"одного", "1"), (r"одной", "1"), + (r"одну", "1"), (r"два(?!\w)", "2"), (r"две(?!\w)", "2"), (r"двух", "2"), + (r"двум", "2"), (r"обеих", "2"), (r"обоих", "2"), (r"трёх", "3"), (r"трем", "3"), + (r"четырёх", "4"), (r"четыре(?!\w)", "4"), (r"пяти", "5"), (r"пять(?!\w)", "5"), + (r"шести", "6"), (r"семи", "7"), (r"восьми", "8"), (r"девяти", "9"), + (r"полтора", "1.5"), + (r"нулю|ноль", "0"), + (r"\bzero\b", "0"), + (r"\bone\b", "1"), (r"\btwo\b", "2"), (r"\bthree\b", "3"), (r"\bfour\b", "4"), + (r"\bfive\b", "5"), (r"\bsix\b", "6"), (r"\bseven\b", "7"), (r"\beight\b", "8"), + (r"\bnine\b", "9"), (r"\bten\b", "10"), (r"\beleven\b", "11"), (r"\btwelve\b", "12"), +] +WORD_RX = re.compile("|".join(f"(?P{p})" for i, (p, _) in enumerate(WORD_VALUES)), + flags=re.I) + + +def fold_words(text): + """Replace spelled-out numerals / month names with their digit values so the + value-space comparison treats «1 ноября» == «11 月 1 日» == «November 1».""" + def rep(m): + idx = next(i for i in range(len(WORD_VALUES)) if m.group(f"w{i}") is not None) + return f" {WORD_VALUES[idx][1]} " + return WORD_RX.sub(rep, text) + + +def norm_numbers(text, ru=False): + """Multiset of ABSOLUTE numeric values: scale-words (万/亿/тыс./млн/млрд/ + thousand/million/billion) are folded into the value, so «65.4 万» == «654 + тыс.» == «654,000». Comma handling is language-dependent: RU uses the comma + as the decimal separator and a space as the thousands separator; CN/EN use + the dot as decimal and the comma as thousands separator.""" + text = text.replace("\u00a0", " ") + if ru: + # «4,257 млрд» — a comma directly before a scale word is DECIMAL + text = re.sub(r"(\d),(\d{3})(?=\s*(?:тыс|млн|млрд|трлн|триллион|миллион|" + r"миллиард|thousand|million|billion|trillion)\b)", + r"\1.\2", text, flags=re.I) + # EN-style comma thousands may survive in RU prose («25,871 человек»), + # but a comma right after a lone 0 is decimal («0,001») + text = re.sub(r"(? 81000.00000000001 + out.append(str(int(v)) if v == int(v) else str(v)) + return out + + +def main(): + ap = argparse.ArgumentParser() + ap.add_argument("chapter") + ap.add_argument("--lang", required=True, choices=["ru", "en"]) + ap.add_argument("--file", help="explicit translated-file path (default: book//NN-*)") + args = ap.parse_args() + n, lang = args.chapter, args.lang + + srcs = [f for f in os.listdir(os.path.join(root, "book")) + if re.match(rf"{n}-", f) and f.endswith(".md")] + if not srcs: + sys.exit(f"chapter {n} not found in book/") + src_path = os.path.join(root, "book", srcs[0]) + if args.file: + tr_path = args.file + else: + cand = glob.glob(os.path.join(root, "book", lang, f"{n}-*.md")) + if len(cand) != 1: + sys.exit(f"expected exactly 1 book/{lang}/{n}-*.md, got {len(cand)}") + tr_path = cand[0] + if not os.path.exists(tr_path): + sys.exit(f"translated file not found: {tr_path}") + + sl = open(src_path, encoding="utf-8").read().splitlines() + tl = open(tr_path, encoding="utf-8").read().splitlines() + + def body(lines, src_label): + return [l for l in lines if not l.startswith(src_label) and "成本标签" not in l] + + fails, warns = [], [] + + # 1. headings ------------------------------------------------------------ + sh = [x for x in sl if x.startswith("### ")] + th = [x for x in tl if x.startswith("### ")] + if len(sh) != len(th): + fails.append(f"headings {len(sh)} != {len(th)}") + + # 2. cost tags ------------------------------------------------------------- + st = sum(1 for x in sl if "成本标签" in x) + tt = sum(1 for x in tl if "成本标签" in x) + if st != tt: + fails.append(f"cost tags {st} != {tt}") + + # 3. sources: count + byte-identity after label --------------------------- + ss = [x.split("：", 1)[1].strip() for x in sl if x.startswith("- 来源：")] + ts = [x.split(":", 1)[1].strip() for x in tl if x.startswith(SRC_LABEL[lang])] + # post-translation retrofits insert declared title glosses: + # [рус. «…»] / [eng. "…"] — strip them from BOTH sides so the byte-identity + # check still guards everything OUTSIDE the declared insert pattern. + retrofit = re.compile(r"\s*\[(?:рус\.|eng\.)\s*[«\"](?:[^«»\"]|[«\"][^»\"]*[»\"])*[»\"]\]") + ss = [retrofit.sub("", x) for x in ss] + ts = [retrofit.sub("", x) for x in ts] + if len(ss) != len(ts): + fails.append(f"sources {len(ss)} != {len(ts)}") + else: + for a, b in zip(ss, ts): + if a != b: + fails.append("source line mismatch: " + a[:60]) + + # 4. field labels ---------------------------------------------------------- + cn_body = body(sl, "- 来源：") + tr_body = body(tl, SRC_LABEL[lang]) + for i, cn_lab in enumerate(LABELS["cn"]): + want = sum(1 for x in cn_body if x.lstrip().startswith("- " + cn_lab)) + got = sum(1 for x in tr_body if x.lstrip().startswith("- " + LABELS[lang][i])) + if want != got: + fails.append(f'field {LABELS[lang][i]}: {got} != {want} ("-{cn_lab}")') + + # 4.5 plain-terms lines must stay jargon-free (CLAUDE.md: 说人话 bans HR/RR/OR/CI) + plain = LABELS[lang][1] + for idx, l in enumerate(tl, 1): + if l.lstrip().startswith("- " + plain): + hits = re.findall(r"\b(?:HR|RR|OR|CI)\b", l) + if hits: + warns.append(f"line {idx}: jargon in '{plain}' line: {', '.join(sorted(set(hits)))}") + + # 5. numbers ---------------------------------------------------------------- + cn_nums = norm_numbers("\n".join(cn_body)) + tr_nums = norm_numbers("\n".join(tr_body), ru=(lang == "ru")) + from collections import Counter + missing = Counter(cn_nums) - Counter(tr_nums) # in CN, not in translation + extra = Counter(tr_nums) - Counter(cn_nums) # added by translation/localization + # two-tier: value present but rarer (prose economy, «2023 年第 19 号、2023 年 + # 第 1 号» -> «№ 19 и № 1 2023 года») is a warning; value absent entirely + # (a number dropped by the translation) is a failure. + lost_hard = {v: c for v, c in missing.items() if v not in tr_nums} + lost_soft = {v: c for v, c in missing.items() if v in tr_nums} + if lost_soft: + top = ", ".join(f"{v}×{c}" for v, c in sorted(lost_soft.items(), + key=lambda x: -x[1])[:10]) + warns.append(f"numbers less frequent (prose economy, check): {top}") + if lost_hard: + top = ", ".join(f"{v}×{c}" for v, c in sorted(lost_hard.items(), + key=lambda x: -x[1])[:12]) + fails.append(f"numbers absent from translation: {top}") + if extra: + top = ", ".join(f"{v}×{c}" for v, c in extra.most_common(12)) + warns.append(f"numbers added (check they are marked inserts): {top}") + + # 6. CJK / fullwidth outside allowed zones --------------------------------- + zh_lines = [] + in_note = False + for idx, l in enumerate(tl, 1): + # translator's note block (TRANSLATION.md insertion convention) is allowed + # to mention CJK terms — track the whole "> …" block after its marker + if l.startswith("> Примечание переводчика"): + in_note = True + elif not l.startswith(">"): + in_note = False + if idx <= 4 or in_note or l.startswith(SRC_LABEL[lang]) or "成本标签" in l: + continue + s = re.sub(r"\[[^\]]*\]\([^)]*\)", "[]( )", l) # whole md links (paths may be CJK) + s = re.sub(r"\([^)]*[\u4e00-\u9fff][^)]*\)", "(gloss)", s) # paren glosses + s = re.sub(r"[«\"「][^»\"」]*[»\"」]", "«»", s) # quoted spans (contract chars) + if CJK.search(s): + zh_lines.append((idx, l.strip()[:70])) + elif FULLWIDTH.search(s): + warns.append(f"line {idx}: fullwidth punctuation: {l.strip()[:60]}") + if zh_lines: + fails.append(f"CJK outside allowed zones: {len(zh_lines)} line(s), " + + "; ".join(f"L{i}:{t}" for i, t in zh_lines[:5])) + + # 7. RU banned calques ------------------------------------------------------- + if lang == "ru": + allru = "\n".join(tl).lower() + for stem in BANNED_RU: + cnt = len(re.findall(stem, allru)) + if cnt > 1: + fails.append(f'banned calque "{stem}": {cnt} occurrences (max 1, first-use gloss)') + elif cnt == 1: + warns.append(f'calque stem "{stem}" occurs once — must be a parenthetical first-use gloss') + + # report -------------------------------------------------------------------- + print(f"verify {os.path.basename(tr_path)} vs {srcs[0]}") + for w in warns: + print(" WARN:", w) + if fails: + print("FAIL") + for f in fails: + print(" -", f) + sys.exit(1) + print(f"OK: headings={len(th)} tags={tt} sources={len(ts)} " + f"numbers={len(cn_nums)} (lost=0, extra={sum(extra.values())})") + os.makedirs(os.path.join(root, "tools", ".status"), exist_ok=True) + mark = os.path.join(root, "tools", ".status", f"{n}-{lang}.ok") + json.dump({"chapter": n, "lang": lang, "file": os.path.basename(tr_path), + "ts": time.time(), "nums": len(cn_nums)}, + open(mark, "w", encoding="utf-8"), ensure_ascii=False) + + +if __name__ == "__main__": + main() From bf596edaf061805e355d812c2c1c08214a416a27 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: dlgrv Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:23:12 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 36/37] =?UTF-8?q?web:=20trilingual=20UI=20(ru/en/zh)=20?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20dropdown=20language=20switcher=20top-right,=20EN=20?= =?UTF-8?q?data=20from=20README.md+book/en,=20tags=20&=20filters=20locale-?= =?UTF-8?q?aware?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- index.html | 228 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------- 1 file changed, 198 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-) diff --git a/index.html b/index.html index cec7d1cb2..62e029cd1 100644 --- a/index.html +++ b/index.html @@ -216,6 +216,18 @@ .rows .k:first-child{padding-top:0} } @media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){*{transition:none!important}} + +/* language dropdown */ +.lang-dd{position:relative} +.lang-dd>summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;display:grid;place-items:center;gap:0;height:34px;width:34px;border-radius:50%;border:1px solid var(--divider);background:var(--bg-elv);grid-auto-flow:column;grid-template-columns:1fr 10px;padding:0 7px;width:auto} +.lang-dd>summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none} +.lang-dd>summary svg{width:10px;height:10px;color:var(--t3)} +.lang-dd[open]>summary{border-color:var(--brand-1);color:var(--brand-1)} +.lang-menu{position:absolute;right:0;top:calc(100% + 6px);background:var(--bg-elv);border:1px solid var(--divider);border-radius:10px;box-shadow:0 8px 24px rgba(0,0,0,.18);padding:4px;min-width:120px;z-index:50} +.lang-menu button{display:block;width:100%;text-align:left;padding:7px 12px;border:0;border-radius:7px;background:none;color:var(--t1);font:inherit;font-size:13px;cursor:pointer;white-space:nowrap} +.lang-menu button:hover{background:var(--brand-soft);color:var(--brand-1)} +.lang-menu button[aria-current="true"]{color:var(--brand-1);font-weight:600} + @@ -240,7 +252,14 @@

Пособие по выгодной жизни

/
- +
+ 🌐 + +
@@ -326,7 +345,7 @@

Пособие по выгодной жизни

Непонятные сокращения и термины

Слова с пунктирным подчёркиванием в тексте: клик или наведение покажут пояснение. Полная таблица ниже.

-
Загружаю текст…
+