All items

1. Don't Die Early

1. 1AWear a seat belt, front seat and back
2. 2AWear a helmet on a motorcycle or e-bike, and buckle the strap
3. 3BInstall smoke alarms; if you burn coal or use gas for heating indoors in winter, also install a carbon monoxide alarm
4. 4CReplace gas hoses and stoves when they reach the end of their service life, don't modify the gas pipes yourself, and feel free to turn away the gas company's door-to-door sales pitches
5. 5ADon't pick, buy or eat wild mushrooms; no “folk method of telling them apart” works
6. 6ADon't wheel an e-bike into the building corridor or into the elevator, and don't charge it at home
7. 7AMeasure your blood pressure, and if it is high, take medication to bring it down to target
8. 8AAfter 35, if you are overweight, get a fasting blood glucose test once, and if it is normal, retest every three years
9. 9BWhen driving, don't speed and don't drink and drive
10. 10AIn the car, use a safety seat for children 4 and under; don't hold them in your arms
11. 11BIf there are small children at home, fit restrictors on the windows and balcony; window screens are not protection
12. 12AKeep children in sight near water, and wear a life jacket when boating or swimming in open water
13. 13AIf you are 60 or over, train your balance and leg strength, and adapt the bathroom and stairs at home
14. 14AGet the hepatitis B five-marker panel (乙肝两对半), and if you have no antibodies, get vaccinated
15. 15BIf you are pricked by an iron nail or a wood splinter, or a wound gets soil in it, get it treated the same day and ask whether you need a tetanus shot
16. 16AWomen: get the HPV vaccine, the earlier the better
17. 17AWomen: start breast cancer screening at 40, with a mammogram every two years
18. 18AWomen over 30: get cervical cancer screening, preferably with an HPV test
19. 19AStarting between 45 and 50, get colorectal cancer screening: either a fecal immunochemical test that checks the stool for hidden blood, or a colonoscopy
20. 20APeople with cardiovascular disease and older people: get a flu shot every year
21. 21AAfter 50, get the shingles vaccine
22. 22AGet a pneumococcal vaccine if you are 65 or older
23. 23AGet tested for Helicobacter pylori, and if positive, get it eradicated
24. 24AIf you are a heavy smoker, get a low-dose chest CT once a year
25. 25BWhen you are depressed or having suicidal thoughts, call 12356, and don't stockpile sleeping pills or pesticides at home
26. 26BGet a fire extinguisher, a fire blanket, escape breathing masks and a first-aid kit, and check them once a year
27. 27BIf you see blood in your urine with the naked eye, get checked once, even if it doesn't hurt, even if it has cleared by the next day
28. 28AIf you have erection problems, get your heart and blood vessels checked first; don't treat it as merely a “bedroom problem”
29. 29ALose weight, quit smoking and get your blood pressure and blood sugar under control, and erectile function can improve along with them
30. 30AUse a condom from start to finish every time you have sex, and don't share needles with anyone
31. 31AIf you have engaged in high-risk behavior, get tested for HIV once; at the CDC it is free and the result is confidential
32. 32BAs soon as a suicidal thought appears, first tell one person near you, and hand these few dozen minutes over
33. 33BDon't count on “being saved” as a safety net: after drinking pesticide or breathing in gas, the emergency department can save your life, but not your lungs and brain
34. 34BDon't bet on “a few days in bed and I'll be fine” with a fall from height: most people admitted to a trauma ICU survive, and the cost is counted in years
35. 35ADon't trade a kidney for money thinking “one kidney less is no big deal”: the one left has to do the work of two, and 86% of people who sold a kidney say their health got worse afterward
36. 36ADon't pick up, take apart or sell metal parts of unknown origin, and keep away from anything with the trefoil warning sign
37. 37BWhen you are gambling to the point of borrowing to pay gambling debts and your mood stays low, first call 12356, then hand your bank cards and payment passwords to your family to manage
38. 38AMen who have sex with men and have high-risk sex: go to a designated HIV/AIDS hospital and ask about pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs; taken on schedule, they cut infections by more than 70%
39. 39AWomen 65 or older: get a dual-energy X-ray bone density scan once; postmenopausal women with risk factors for osteoporosis don't need to wait until 65
40. 40AIf you are found to have osteoporosis, or have broken a bone in a minor fall, ask your doctor to prescribe anti-osteoporosis medication and stick with it; don't substitute calcium supplements
41. 41CBefore going onto outdoor ice, drill a hole and measure its thickness; under 15 cm, stay off, and stay away from ice on rivers and the edges of ice-fishing holes
42. 42CFit the guard and put on goggles plus a face shield before using an angle grinder, hold it steady with both hands, and don't fit a woodworking saw blade to cut wood
43. 43BAsk someone near you whose mood seems off, directly, “Have you thought about suicide?”; asking will not make them want it more

2. Don't Die Slowly

1. 1AQuit smoking, the earlier the better
2. 2ADon't smoke at home or in the car, and don't let guests smoke in your home either
3. 3AWhen quitting smoking, don't rely on toughing it out; get medication first: it can more than double your success rate
4. 4ASet a quit date and stop all at once on that day; don't cut down gradually first
5. 5AGo to a smoking-cessation clinic, or call 12320 to ask whether there is a smoking-cessation service where you live
6. 6AConsider e-cigarettes only if you already can't quit; people who don't smoke should not touch them
7. 7ADon't drink sugary drinks, and switching to sugar-free versions doesn't count as solving it
8. 8ADon't chew betel nut
9. 9AReplace the table salt at home with low-sodium salt (potassium salt)
10. 10BBrush your teeth properly, clean between your teeth once a day, and replace missing teeth promptly
11. 11AWalk 7000–8000 steps a day, or build up 150–300 minutes of brisk walking a week
12. 12AIf you have high blood pressure or high blood lipids, take your medication regularly as prescribed, and don't stop on your own
13. 13ASleep about 7 hours a night, on a fixed schedule
14. 14APlay racket sports such as tennis, badminton and table tennis regularly
15. 15ABuild up scattered bouts of vigorous activity, such as climbing stairs or walking fast to get somewhere, to four or five minutes a day
16. 16ADo 30–60 minutes of strength training a week
17. 17ADon't sit for too long at a stretch; get up and move every so often
18. 18AEat less processed meat (ham, bacon, sausage, luncheon meat)
19. 19ADrink less, or don't drink at all
20. 20BIf you drink every day and your hands shake and your heart races as soon as you stop, don't force yourself to quit on your own
21. 21AIf you want to drink less, first count how much you drank in a week, then talk with a doctor for a few minutes
22. 22AEat a small handful of nuts every day
23. 23ASwap some red meat for fish and poultry
24. 24ASwap some refined rice and white flour for whole grains
25. 25ADrink tea three or more times a week
26. 26ADrink three to four cups of coffee a day, with no sugar and no milk-foam topping
27. 27AEat a full 5 servings (about 400 g) of fruit and vegetables a day
28. 28AEat less ultra-processed food (chips, instant noodles, pastries, ready-made meals)
29. 29ADon't burn coal or wood for cooking and heating; switch to electricity or gas
30. 30ALet hot drinks sit before you drink them; don't drink scalding tea, soup or coffee
31. 31BGet out in the sun during the day; don't go all day without daylight
32. 32AKeep your BMI at 20–25; if you're overweight, lose weight
33. 33BEat chili peppers four or more times a week
34. 34BHave one or two servings of milk or yogurt a day
35. 35BYou don't need to give up eggs, but don't eat three or four a day
36. 36BIf you can, soak in a bath; don't only take showers
37. 37BKeep naps within half an hour and never past an hour; if you can't get through the day without sleeping one or two hours, find out why
38. 38BAfter a late night, catch up on sleep the very next night; don't save it up for the weekend
39. 39AThe longer you work night shifts, the higher your cardiovascular risk; if you can move to another post, do it early
40. 40BBuy prepackaged cooking oil with an SC number; don't buy bulk home-pressed peanut oil from small workshops
41. 41ACook with vegetable oil instead of lard and butter; there's no need to rotate oils for your health, and don't count on flaxseed oil to protect your heart
42. 42BTurn on the range hood when stir-frying or frying, and keep it on from the moment you light the stove until you're done
43. 43AIf hot flashes and night sweats around menopause are affecting your life, see a gynecologist to assess hormone therapy; don't just tough it out or buy drugs on your own, and above all don't use it to prevent heart disease
44. 44BIf you already wanted a dog, count the daily dog walk toward your walking; don't get a dog specifically to live longer

3. Don't Waste Energy

1. 1BTurn off nonessential notifications, and keep your phone out of sight while you work
2. 2BGet up at a fixed time, weekends included
3. 3ASleep a full 7 to 8 hours every night; don't treat 6 hours as enough
4. 4ANo caffeine after two in the afternoon
5. 5BSwitch email and messages to batch handling at a few fixed times a day
6. 6BWhen doing work that needs sustained thought, keep out even interruptions of a few seconds
7. 7BDo one thing at a time; don't answer messages while sitting in a meeting
8. 8BNo glowing screens in the hour before bed; if you read, read a paper book or an e-ink screen
9. 9BGo to bed on time; don't stay up late for games, short videos or porn
10. 10BDon't make major decisions or send important messages late at night
11. 11BWhen you're sleepy in the afternoon, nap for 10 minutes, not half an hour
12. 12BWhen working in an open-plan office, use earplugs or find a quiet room for work that takes memory
13. 13BDon't keep piling on weekly work hours: past roughly 49 hours, each extra hour adds less and less extra output
14. 14BWhen you notice yourself replaying the same upsetting thing over and over, switch to a task that needs your hands
15. 15BTreat thoughts like “things are sure to get worse” as a symptom, not as a fact
16. 16CCut back on relationships that drain you, and learn to turn down requests you don't want to take on
17. 17BWhen you're angry, leave the scene first; treat the other person as weather, not as an enemy
18. 18AWhen you're feeling low, start with the few things that give the best value for cost: get moving, get sunlight, sleep on schedule, talk to someone, call 12356
19. 19CTreat police officers, doctors and counter clerks as people doing a job by the rules, not as characters: what moves things forward is paperwork and deadlines, not emotion
20. 20ADon't make “how other people are doing” your daily required reading: set limits on, or turn off, the apps where you scroll your peers' updates
21. 21BWhen you feel “everyone saw me embarrass myself,” divide that estimate by two
22. 22BTreat “others demand that I be perfect” as a symptom, not as a fact
23. 23AWhen you're angry, don't vent by smashing things, hitting a punching bag or going for a run; first let your body slow down
24. 24BIf something is weighing on you, you can write down your thoughts and feelings over several days in a row, but don't expect it to cure anything
25. 25AFor period pain, take a painkiller like ibuprofen instead of toughing it out; if the pain keeps you from work or school, or three months of medicine can't control it, get checked by a gynecologist

4. Don't Waste Time

1. 1ARewrite “I plan to do it” as “what time, where, and what to do when what happens”
2. 2BWrite down your exit condition before you start
3. 3BWhen deciding whether to continue, look only at future investment and future return, not at how much you've already put in
4. 4BWhen estimating how long something will take, go by how long similar past tasks actually took, not by working forward from the plan
5. 5BSend an agenda before meetings, and don't hold meetings without one; stand up for meetings whenever you can
6. 6BCut the number of meetings; don't meet over what can be settled asynchronously in writing
7. 7BBreak a big task into subtasks before estimating the time and before starting
8. 8BSet yourself a date for things that have no outside deadline
9. 9ATreat procrastination as avoiding discomfort, not as not trying hard enough
10. 10BPut what you need within reach and move what you want to avoid far away; don't count on resisting in the moment
11. 11AIf you want to make yourself follow through, put money on the line, but first ask yourself whether you're willing to stake it
12. 12BCount a new habit in months, not in “21 days”
13. 13AIf procrastination is already affecting your life, use self-help materials backed by randomized trials; you don't have to find a therapist
14. 14BUse your own hourly wage to decide which chores to outsource
15. 15CSet hard limits on short videos and aimless scrolling
16. 16CSkip TV and rolling news; check the information you need in batches at set times
17. 17BSpend time once to learn keyboard shortcuts and automation for the software you use often
18. 18BWhen choosing where to live, put commute time first and shorten your one-way commute

5. Don't Waste Money

1. 1CTurn off all auto-renewals and renew manually when things expire
2. 2AEvery year between March and June, do your individual income tax annual reconciliation, and fill in every special additional deduction you should claim
3. 3AThe housing provident fund is not just for buying a home: you can withdraw it for rent, renovation and property management fees, and from September 20, 2026 the new regulations apply
4. 4ARecheck your phone and broadband plans once a year, downgrade what you don't use, and file a complaint if the carrier won't let you switch
5. 5ADon't buy lottery tickets
6. 6AWhen you see “high returns,” “guaranteed principal” or “sure profit,” walk away
7. 7CDon't use the credit card minimum payment, and don't take installment plans or consumer loans for spending; if you really must borrow, first convert the interest into an annualized rate, then compare
8. 8BDon't tip streamers, don't top up games, don't order on impulse
9. 9AWhen a child tops up or tips on a phone: large spending by a child aged eight or older that a parent has not ratified can be claimed back
10. 10BTeach your child one sentence: anyone who tells you to use a parent's phone or to read out a verification code is a scammer
11. 11BRefuse extended warranties (延保) on electronics
12. 12APrefer generics that have passed the consistency evaluation and drugs selected in volume-based procurement
13. 13ASet up a family mutual-aid link once in the medical insurance app, and the money in your employee medical insurance personal account can pay for your spouse's, parents' and children's medical care and medicines
14. 14CDrink boiled tap water; don't order jug water for a dispenser year after year or buy bottled water
15. 15ADon't trade stocks frequently, and touch them even less when the market is soaring and crashing
16. 16BDon't borrow to invest, don't use leverage, and don't buy what you don't understand
17. 17BUse broad-based index funds instead of actively managed funds as your long-term core holding (the part of your money you hold untouched for the long run)
18. 18CAmong funds of the same type, prefer the ones with lower fees
19. 19BDon't bet your money on one stock, one platform or one home
20. 20AIf you pay individual income tax and your rate is 10% or higher, open an individual pension account: up to 12000 yuan a year can be deducted before tax; if you pay no individual income tax or your rate is only 3%, opening one doesn't pay
21. 21BPay for the gym per visit or for short periods, unless you have a steady record of more than a year
22. 22AWhen you prepay, sign a written contract; a business in serious trouble must stop taking prepayments, and before it disappears you have the right to get back your unspent balance
23. 23CSet a 24-hour cooling-off period for large non-essential purchases, and make good use of the seven-day no-reason return for online shopping
24. 24CDon't stock up because of a “strikethrough price” or a big sale
25. 25CBuy pure-protection insurance first, and treat “return of premium” and “dividends” as the part that is not guaranteed
26. 26ABuy enough third-party liability insurance: compulsory traffic insurance limits are uniform nationwide and not high, and anything above them comes out of your own family's pocket
27. 27CFirst save an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months' living expenses, and keep it where you can withdraw it at any time
28. 28CBefore prepaying your mortgage, work through a comparison first; don't go by feel
29. 29AWhen shopping online, trust the platform rules and the law, not livestream hosts and “positive reviews”
30. 30AIf something you bought in a livestream room goes wrong, first ask the platform for the information of the seller and the host who promoted it; the platform must provide it
31. 31AIf you buy unsafe food, besides getting your money back you can claim ten times the price, and additional compensation of less than one thousand yuan counts as one thousand yuan
32. 32BBefore buying a big-ticket item, check the national spot-check bulletins, 3C certification and the energy efficiency label
33. 33ACount bead bracelets, jade, luxury watches and trendy collectible toys as “money spent,” not “money saved”
34. 34AFor jewelry, gems and jade, accept only test reports bearing the CMA mark, and check the institution on the issuing authority's official website
35. 35ACount blind boxes, gacha card draws and other random sales as “this money is not coming back”
36. 36AIf you care what's added to your food, buy it prepackaged: the law does not require bulk counters to label an ingredient list
37. 37ASell losing stocks too, according to rules set in advance; don't count on averaging down to get back to even
38. 38AIf you want overseas assets such as US stocks, go through QDII funds or the Southbound Stock Connect; don't open an account with an offshore broker, and don't use your annual foreign-exchange quota to buy them
39. 39CInsure only against losses you can't absorb; cover the losses you can absorb with your emergency fund
40. 40CIf someone in your family depends on your income, buy term life insurance for the earner first, not for the children first
41. 41AIf you regret signing up for personal insurance with a term of over one year, cancel it within the free-look period and get basically all of your premium back
42. 42BBefore signing at a bank counter, check whether what you're holding is a deposit or insurance
43. 43BIf you want to cancel a policy, go to the insurance company yourself; don't use “proxy cancellation” services, and if you feel you were misled, call 12378 to complain
44. 44AName specific people as the beneficiaries on your policies, and if something happens, remember to claim the money: a claim must be made within 5 years for life insurance and within 2 years for other insurance
45. 45ADon't spend money on Bitcoin, Tether or other virtual currencies, and don't follow along when others pull you in to invest together: the trades are not protected by law, and if you lose money you can't get it back even by suing
46. 46AIf you have no employer and pay into employee pension insurance yourself, paying at the lowest tier and first completing the required years is the best deal. Don't think of it as paying in and instantly coming out ahead: even at the lowest tier, it takes about 10 years of drawing the pension to break even

6. The Counter-List

1. 1ADon't take multivitamins to live longer or to prevent cardiovascular disease
2. 2ADon't take ordinary fish oil to prevent cardiovascular disease
3. 3ADon't give vitamin D supplements to people who are not short of vitamin D in order to live longer
4. 4ADon't take antioxidant supplements (β-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin A) to prevent cancer
5. 5ADon't count on glucosamine or chondroitin to treat knee arthritis
6. 6ADon't rely on vitamin C to prevent colds
7. 7ADon't get yourself a “whole-body PET-CT” or a “tumor marker package” when you have no symptoms
8. 8BDon't count on the activity tracking of a fitness band or watch to help you lose weight
9. 9BDon't pay a premium for organic food to be “healthier”
10. 10CDon't spend big money on health products, herbal pastes (gaofang, 膏方) and tonics to “tune up your body”
11. 11BDon't take probiotics long term when you have no gut problems
12. 12BDon't force yourself to take cold showers to “boost your immunity”
13. 13CDon't buy detox, colon-cleansing, enzyme or alkaline-water products and the like
14. 14CDon't force yourself to drink water to make up “8 glasses a day”
15. 15BDon't pay for fortune-telling, tarot readings or horoscopes to make your decisions
16. 16ADon't buy blue-light glasses to “protect your eyesight,” and don't believe that “a few months of working at a screen will ruin your eyes,” but treat eyes that ache with a feeling of pressure and turn red as an emergency
17. 17ADon't treat blood donation as a health measure: claims that it “detoxifies, lowers blood lipids and prevents heart attacks” have no support from randomized trials, while donating too often really does cause iron deficiency
18. 18ADon't rely on generic checkup packages to prevent disease; get the few screenings that have evidence for your age and sex
19. 19ADon't start taking urate-lowering drugs just because a checkup found high uric acid, if you have never had pain
20. 20ADon't have your gallbladder removed preventively just because a checkup found gallstones, if you have never had pain
21. 21ADon't cut out calcium to prevent kidney stones
22. 22BDon't buy crystals, bead bracelets, pixiu figures and the like to “change your luck,” “attract wealth” or “nourish the wearer”
23. 23BDon't count on buying things to improve your mood or your sense of status
24. 24BDon't spend more on a new home, car or social circle to “move up a notch among the people around you”
25. 25ADon't believe that “willpower is like a muscle and runs out after a little use”
26. 26ADon't count on eating breakfast or 16:8 intermittent fasting to help you control your weight; pick meal times you can keep up long term
27. 27BDon't believe that “masturbation harms your body” or that “giving up lust is the only way to get better”; what really matters is whether it cuts into your sleep, work and relationships
28. 28BDon't pay for “sexual orientation correction” or “homosexuality treatment,” and don't send family members to it
29. 29ADon't count on learning “correct lifting posture” or taking lifting training to prevent back pain; what to cut is how much you lift and how often, and exercise regularly
30. 30BDon't count on loading up on calcium or drinking bone broth after a fracture to make the bone heal faster
31. 31ADon't count on an AI chatbot to judge your illness or legal problem on your own; before seeing a doctor, going to court or spending big money, find the original source for what it says and check it

7. How to Get By When You Have No Money

1. 1AIf you lose your job, first apply online for unemployment insurance benefits
2. 2AIf you are owed wages, first complain to labor inspection, then apply for labor arbitration; neither route charges a fee, and most cases get a result within a few months
3. 3AIf you cannot afford a lawsuit, apply for legal aid; cases such as unpaid wages, elder support payments and work injuries are within its scope to begin with
4. 4AWhen you are at the end of your rope, go to a relief station; it provides food, a bed and a ticket home
5. 5ATo find work, first use the free public employment services and gig-work markets, not fee-charging agencies
6. 6BWhen sudden misfortune strikes, first apply for temporary assistance
7. 7AIf your income is below the local dibao line, apply for dibao
8. 8AIf you hold a disability certificate, apply for the two disability subsidies
9. 9ADon't let your resident medical insurance (400 yuan a year) lapse; households in difficulty can get reductions or exemptions
10. 10AIf you fall seriously ill, first go through medical insurance, serious illness insurance, medical assistance and out-of-area registration; stay away from online loans
11. 11AIf you lose your ID card, get it replaced right away; if you need one urgently, get a temporary ID card first
12. 12BAfter registering as unemployed, seek recognition as a person with employment difficulties, to get social insurance subsidies or a public-interest job
13. 13AWhile unemployed, claim vocational training subsidies, employment internship subsidies and social insurance subsidies; don't pay for training classes yourself
14. 14AWhen job hunting, don't just send out résumés; use a systematic method: learn the techniques, set goals, get people to help
15. 15APay no deposits, hand over no documents, sign no “training loans,” stay out of pyramid schemes, and don't take loans at usurious rates
16. 16BIf you are in housing difficulty, first get in the queue for public rental housing
17. 17BCut housing and food costs to the minimum: a shared monthly rental instead of daily rentals, cooking for yourself and meal-assistance canteens instead of takeout
18. 18ADon't panic if your social insurance lapses: pensions count cumulative years, and medical insurance is made up under the rules
19. 19AServed time, gone bankrupt, been on the defaulter blacklist: the law gives you a way to start over in each case; first complete the procedures
20. 20BBefore serious illness strikes, add a one-year medical insurance or critical illness insurance policy on top of basic medical insurance, and look carefully for the four characters “保证续保” (guaranteed renewal)
21. 21CWhen you truly have nowhere to sleep, a 24-hour venue will do for one emergency night only; go to a relief station first
22. 22AIf you are owed wages, first work out who employs you: unlicensed workshops and labor subcontractors still go to labor inspection; only private work for a household or an individual goes to court

8. Don't Drag Yourself Down: Legal and Financial Safety

1. 1AAfter a traffic accident, stop, help the injured and call the police; don't flee
2. 2AIf you find you've been scammed, call 110 (police) or 96110 right away to demand a payment stop; don't investigate on your own first
3. 3BMemorize the hard anti-fraud rules: don't readily trust callers, don't give out information, don't click links, double-check every transfer; the seven most common scams all take this shape
4. 4BSeeing a face on video or hearing a voice on the phone does not count as verification; when a transfer is involved, hang up first and call back on the old number saved in your own contacts
5. 5AIf you are accused or summoned, get a lawyer first; don't settle privately, don't delete records
6. 6AIf something has happened, come forward and explain: surrender can cut up to 40% off a sentence, those with lesser crimes can get more off or no punishment at all, and the road of “waiting out the limitation period” is closed
7. 7AOnce you've been drinking, don't touch the wheel, and that includes e-bikes and “just moving the car”
8. 8ADon't lend your bank card, SIM card or payment account to anyone; moving money through your accounts for a cut (跑分) is not a side job
9. 9ACheck your own credit report for free twice a year, for loans and cards you didn't take out yourself
10. 10AWhen a conflict breaks out, call the police first and don't throw a punch; the one who strikes first almost always comes off worse
11. 11AYou may fight back against harm you cannot escape, but only hit the person who is attacking right now, and stop when they stop
12. 12AIf you have a grudge against someone (unpaid wages, being fired, being cheated out of money), go through complaints, arbitration or a lawsuit; don't go settle the score yourself
13. 13AHowever much you hate, don't attack people who have nothing to do with it: driving into a crowd or attacking people in a public place is convicted as endangering public safety by dangerous means, starting at three years, ten years and up if anyone dies, and the death penalty at most
14. 14BIf thoughts like “take someone down with me” or “we all go down together” come up, treat them as an emergency: leave the scene, hand your car keys and knives to someone else, and call the 12356 mental-health hotline
15. 15AWhen someone close to you says “nobody gets off easy” or “I'll take the kids with me when I go”, don't dismiss it as words said in anger: close relatives can take them straight for diagnosis, and the police must act when they get a report
16. 16AOnline, don't insult people, don't spread rumors, and don't share things you haven't verified; if you're targeted by online mob harassment, save evidence first, then call the police
17. 17ARead the whole page before you sign, don't sign for other people, and don't sign blank paper
18. 18APut loans in writing with a clear IOU, and before guaranteeing someone, think it through: are you willing to repay for them?
19. 19AStanding up for your rights has deadlines: the civil limitation period is 3 years and labor arbitration 1 year; once it has passed, one sentence from the other side, “the limitation period has expired”, is enough
20. 20AIf you've been sued or are subject to enforcement, report your assets truthfully, repay as much as you can, and don't transfer your home or money to relatives, friends or a company
21. 21AIf your consumption is restricted or you are put on the defaulter blacklist, first find out under which ground you were added, and apply for correction where it can be corrected
22. 22AIf you're scammed in online shopping or a secondhand deal, complain to the platform first, then call the police, then work out whether suing is worth it
23. 23ALarge gifts while dating or married: think it through before handing them over, because once handed over they in principle can't be taken back
24. 24APay the betrothal gift by transfer with a memo, and keep the chat records; money demanded through a marriage can be recovered
25. 25ADon't fear for your premarital property; put adding a name to the home and parents' contributions in writing first
26. 26ABefore marrying, check the other person's marital status; using marriage as a front to swindle money is prosecuted as fraud
27. 27BFor home-call repairs, vehicle inspections and renovation, ask the price before any work starts and watch the whole time
28. 28BDon't be a “figurehead legal representative,” and don't lend your ID card to someone to register a company
29. 29BWhen leaving or entering the country, don't carry things for strangers, and don't accept parcels of unknown origin on anyone's behalf
30. 30AKeep your dog on a leash: if something happens while it is off-leash, you are liable without fault (you pay whether or not you were in the wrong), in full. Your dog also needs its rabies shots on schedule and must be registered
31. 31BIf the other person is so drunk they are not clearly conscious, is asleep, or may be under 14, do not have sex with them
32. 32AIf after sex or a nude video chat someone demands money by threatening to call the police, send out photos or tell your employer, don't pay a cent, don't delete a single record, go straight to the police
33. 33AIf someone reports you on fabricated facts, you can demand they be held accountable: detention from 5 days where it warrants a public security penalty, up to 3 years where it is a crime
34. 34AInsufficient evidence is supposed to mean acquittal, and coerced confessions should be excluded; after a conviction there are still petitions and retrial
35. 35AIf you were held in custody and the case was then dropped, not prosecuted or ended in acquittal, apply for state compensation, paid by the day
36. 36BIf you are the victim claiming compensation, go through 12315, a lawsuit or a lawyer; don't go alone to a meeting the other side sets, and don't tie “pay me” and “I won't go public” into one sentence
37. 37AIf you are targeted by online mob harassment: turn on protections and preserve evidence first, then choose among three routes: the platform, an injunction, the police
38. 38AThe route of “insure someone first, then harm them” is legally blocked from the start: you get not a cent, and you are punished for intentional homicide plus insurance fraud combined
39. 39AWhen you report to the police, get a case-acceptance receipt on the spot, and if no case is opened, get written notice: you can apply for reconsideration within 7 days, then for review within another 7 days, and the procuratorate can tell the police to open the case
40. 40ADon't give money or gift cards to people handling your case or enforcing the law: the briber is sentenced too, and bribing supervisory, law enforcement or judicial officers is punished more heavily
41. 41AFor phone calls and face-to-face talks that may turn hostile, just record them: in a conversation you take part in, you do not need the other person's consent first
42. 42CWhen something happens at a scene, shoot the wide view first, then how things are positioned, and last the damage and injuries; don't delete the original photos and videos
43. 43AIf you suffer domestic violence: first call the police so there is a record of the callout, then apply to a court for a personal safety protection order; you don't have to divorce first, and it is free
44. 44BIf a family member has run up gambling debts, don't rush to pay them off: gambling debts are not protected by law, and money borrowed to gamble does not count as joint marital debt either
45. 45BIf someone you know asks you to “just do a face scan, just be a witness” for a loan, or to read out a verification code, say no: this is called an AB loan, and you are the borrower, not the guarantor
46. 46BFit good locks on doors and windows, put a motion-sensor light outside the door, and actually lock up when you go out: these are what prevent burglary; an alarm installed on its own shows no visible benefit

9. Legal Red Lines Ordinary People Cross

1. 1AIn group chats, don't repost unverified news about disasters, epidemics or police incidents; don't photoshop images or use AI to fake scene photos
2. 2ADon't post or repost images, memes or comments that insult heroes and martyrs; don't joke about the national flag or national anthem
3. 3AClose content on overseas websites once you've seen it; don't screenshot it, repost it or move it into group chats, and don't chime in in the comments
4. 4AWatching porn videos yourself is your own business; don't post them to group chats, don't sell “resources,” don't start groups
5. 5AIf a “part-time job” wants you to use your own card to receive money, withdraw cash or make transfers, don't do it, however big the kickback
6. 6AIf someone recruits you to take out loans with “dressed-up paperwork” for a kickback based on the loan amount, don't do any of it
7. 7AIf you find a bank card, don't withdraw money with it; if you find a phone or wallet, contact the owner or hand it to the police, and don't pocket it
8. 8AClaim promotions under your own real identity; don't buy virtual numbers to register alt accounts in bulk, and don't exploit loopholes to claim repeatedly
9. 9ADon't throw anything out of balconies or windows; cigarette butts, garbage bags and liquor bottles all count
10. 10ADon't buy replica guns, steel BB guns or air guns online, and don't buy “toy guns” of unknown origin
11. 11AWhen you buy a drone, register it under your real name first; don't fly at airports, in military zones or in urban controlled airspace, and don't hack the altitude limit
12. 12ADon't secretly photograph or film others, and don't install cameras in rental rooms, homestays or hotel rooms
13. 13BMahjong and poker are fine; don't take a cut, don't act as the bank, don't organize games for money, and don't gamble online
14. 14ADon't eat wild game, and don't buy, sell or keep protected animals as pets
15. 15AWhen collecting a debt, don't hold people, don't lock them up, and don't follow them home and hang around refusing to let them leave
16. 16ADon't lend out your ID card, don't use anyone else's, and don't use other people's documents to register, open cards or buy tickets
17. 17AWhen the police stop you or take you away, cooperate: don't push, don't hit, don't grab the body camera, and hold back all the more if you've been drinking
18. 18ANo sexual relations with anyone under 14; “she agreed” is no excuse
19. 19ABefore you hit someone, do the math: detention, compensation, a sentence
20. 20AIf you can't raise a child after it is born, civil affairs registration is the only legal way out: giving the child away for money may be sentenced as trafficking, and leaving it behind is the crime of abandonment
21. 21ADon't fake accidents or exaggerate losses to cheat on insurance claims: this is the crime of insurance fraud, and the people who testify for you, repair your car or do your assessment are counted along with you
22. 22ADon't sell your own organs, and don't help anyone find donors: a kidney nets you more than 20,000 yuan, the same kidney is resold for 200,000, and the money is confiscated with a fine of 10 to 20 times the transaction amount
23. 23ADon't solicit prostitution: the default tier is detention of 10 to 15 days, not just paying a small fine
24. 24AFan-translating manga, reuploading films and TV series, and sharing cloud-drive resources and pirated e-books is infringement even if you charge nothing; running ads or charging membership fees can get you sentenced
25. 25BIf you publish or sell fan fiction or derivative works, first get permission from the original's rights holder, or replace the borrowed character names and relationships with your own
26. 26ADon't buy a telescopic baton, stun device, dagger or pepper spray to carry for self-defense; keeping it in your car also counts as carrying

10. Are Love and Marriage Worth It?

1. 1AMeet more people instead of fixating on one: whether two people click can't be predicted before they meet
2. 2AStop once the other person has clearly said no: pestering them further is a public-security offense, not “sincerity”
3. 3BJudge whether someone is interested by behavior, not by “signals”: who initiates, who makes plans, who follows up
4. 4AWhether a relationship is good depends mainly on how you yourself experience it, not on the other person's attributes on paper
5. 5BTo get closer, take turns answering a set of questions that go from light to deep; don't learn scripted lines
6. 6BA long-distance relationship is no worse than a same-city one; the real hurdle is the first three months after you move to be together
7. 7ALook at the registration data before listening to your elders: what the marriage rate and the divorce rate each actually measure
8. 8ACount the health benefits of marriage, but discount them as observational data
9. 9ACount the time account as “unpaid labor”, and agree on the division of work before registering the marriage
10. 10AFor the money account of marriage, look at the legal default rules first, then decide whether to make a written agreement
11. 11AWhen parents pay toward buying a home, put in writing at the time of the transfer whether it is a loan or a gift
12. 12AIf one spouse borrows a large sum and you neither signed nor ratified it afterward, it does not automatically become your debt
13. 13ARegistering a marriage needs only your ID card plus a signed declaration: no household registration booklet, no fee, certificate issued on the spot
14. 14BGet a premarital checkup once before marrying; a serious illness must be truthfully disclosed to the other person before registration
15. 15AWork out the exit costs: divorce by agreement has a 30-day cooling-off period, and divorce by lawsuit has statutory conditions
16. 16CKeep a separate account for “marrying for your elders”; don't mix it with your own
17. 17BTreat relationship quality as a health account: when you argue, address the issue, not the person; no insults, no sarcasm
18. 18ASame-sex partners, while you are both lucid, put in place a power of attorney, voluntary guardianship and wills: legally you are not close relatives, and without these you have no right to sign and no right to inherit
19. 19ADon't marry by hiding your sexual orientation, and don't treat a cooperative marriage as an easy way out: legally it is a real marriage, and the only way out is divorce
20. 20AIf your relationship is stuck in repeated fights and cold wars, go to couple therapy together: just waiting basically won't make it better on its own

11. Red Lines for Programmers and Tech Workers

1. 1CBefore you act, ask one question: would the vendor, platform or company report it to the police? Once you are being pursued, get a criminal lawyer right away
2. 2ADon't make or sell game cheats and assist tools, including AI assists that “only read the screen and never touch memory,” and don't sell modded versions that add features to software like WeChat
3. 3ADon't write or sell scripts for ticket grabbing, flash-sale sniping, fake orders or promotion farming, even if they only “automate button clicks”
4. 4ALet crawlers crawl only public pages that need no login; don't get around anti-scraping measures, don't touch personal information, and don't sell the data you scrape
5. 5ADon't take development jobs for gambling, fraud or porn apps, and don't set up payment channels or unblock accounts for “clients”
6. 6AWhen you leave a job, hand over all accounts and access; don't wipe databases, leave backdoors, or change passwords to lock the system, even if the company owes you money
7. 7AWhen you leave, don't take source code, client lists or technical documents with you, don't upload them to a personal cloud drive, and don't reuse them at your next employer
8. 8ADon't run your own programs on other people's computers, servers or cameras, and don't use company machines for mining
9. 9ADon't test other people's systems without written authorization; “good intentions” and “reporting it afterward” are not grounds for clearing you of a crime
10. 10AReport vulnerabilities as the rules require; before a fix, don't disclose details, don't release exploit tools, and don't hand vulnerabilities to anyone abroad
11. 11BDon't sell wall-climbing (翻墙) tools or VPN accounts, and don't set up such nodes for other people
12. 12AIf you signed a non-compete agreement and the company doesn't pay monthly compensation after you leave, send a written demand; after a full 3 months unpaid you can terminate it. If your position never had access to trade secrets, you can ask for the clause to be confirmed as not in effect
13. 13ACode written on company time, with company resources, belongs to the company; do your own open-source projects on your own time and equipment, and don't mix in company code
14. 14BIf you build a product on GPL or other open-source code, open your source as the license requires or switch licenses; don't treat it as “nobody enforces this”
15. 15BWhen you build an app, collect only the personal information the business needs, get a guardian's consent for users under 14, and write the privacy policy clearly
16. 16AComplete ICP filing before a website or app goes live, and keep logs for 6 months or more as the multi-level protection scheme requires
17. 17BBefore offering generative AI services to the public, complete the required security assessment and algorithm filing, and label generated content
18. 18ADon't make or release tools that automatically skip or block other apps' ads; even free and offline, they can be ruled unfair competition
19. 19CDon't set up an “AI relay site” reselling overseas large-model APIs at low prices: in Shanghai a site operator has already been placed in criminal detention

12. Starting a Business: Don't Lose the Family Savings

1. 1BStart a business only with money you can afford to lose; don't touch the family savings, don't borrow to open
2. 2ADon't sign a personal guarantee for a company loan, and even more, don't have your spouse co-sign
3. 3AChoose the right legal form before you open: individual businesses and partners pay to the end; only a limited company is “limited”
4. 4ADon't be a nominee shareholder, and don't hold shares on someone else's behalf
5. 5ABefore buying a franchise, check the Ministry of Commerce filing, get written disclosure, and write a “cooling-off period” into the contract
6. 6ABefore registering, settle the name, place of business, business scope and registered capital; with complete materials you can get the license on the spot
7. 7AIn trades that need a license, don't open until the license comes through
8. 8AIn food, first see which tier you fall into: making food and food service need a license, selling only prepackaged food needs a filing instead, selling fresh meat and vegetables needs no license
9. 9ASelling it in a bag makes it prepackaged food: the label may not leave out the production date, shelf life or ingredient list
10. 10AOrdinary food may not claim to cure disease: labels, instructions, ads and livestream pitches all count
11. 11AThe food trade has criminal lines: selling diseased meat or over-limit goods is enough for a crime; adding toxic or harmful substances counts regardless of amount, with sentences starting at five years
12. 12AOnce you have a business license you have a duty to file; even with no income, file a zero return on time (file a form that is all zeros anyway)
13. 13AIssue invoices only for real transactions; small-scale taxpayers should use the full tax exemption
14. 14AAnyone claiming to be the tax bureau and pressing you to pay or file is a scammer; handle taxes only through the electronic tax bureau and 12366
15. 15AWhen you take money, write “deposit” (定金), not “advance payment” (订金); state the liquidated damages as a figure; vet payment terms as you would a loan
16. 16AWhen you hire, sign a written contract within the first month and register for social insurance within 30 days
17. 17CPay wages according to the contract and the law; put raises, loans and bonuses in writing
18. 18BSell before you make: use presales and small orders to confirm people will buy, then invest in production
19. 19COnce the sample is made, run it through a mass-production checklist before talking about starting production
20. 20AFor every batch you buy, keep that batch's receipts and supplier information, and don't buy at prices clearly below market: if an employee buys in counterfeits, the boss is the one sentenced
21. 21ADesigns on goods, packaging, tags and promotional images: make them yourself or buy a license; changing a color or adding an icon doesn't count as “having changed it”
22. 22BFollow procedures in your job; before any kindness outside the procedures, think through who bears responsibility
23. 23AIf you lose money, exit by the proper procedure: use simplified deregistration if you can, go through bankruptcy if debts exceed assets, don't just leave it
24. 24BBefore paying someone to run your online store, taking store-opening training, or doing “no-inventory” selling, ask whether you'll have to pay more later and where the sales come from

13. Emergencies: What to Do First

1. 1AIf someone collapses and isn't breathing, push hard on their chest right away, and have someone else call 120 (ambulance) and find an AED
2. 2BWhen an older person falls or someone collapses, first crouch down, call out to them and call 120; don't rush to help them up. With a stranger, walking away is also legal in China; if you do stop, don't move them with your hands
3. 3AIf someone's mouth suddenly droops, one arm goes weak or their speech slurs, call 120 right away; don't wait, and don't drive there yourself
4. 4BIf the world suddenly spins and you can't stand steady, you see double, one eye goes dark, or your finger can't find the tip of your own nose, also treat it as a stroke and call 120
5. 5BIf one eye suddenly goes dark, like a curtain being pulled down, go to the emergency department the same day and treat it as a stroke, even if it clears up by itself within minutes
6. 6BIf one eye feels swollen and painful and turns red, you see a rainbow ring around lights, and you also have a headache and nausea with the urge to vomit, go to an eye emergency department the same day
7. 7BIf pressing pain, heaviness or tightness in the chest lasts more than 15 minutes without easing, call 120; don't tough it out, and don't drive yourself
8. 8BFor sudden severe pain like being torn open that moves from the chest toward the back and down toward the waist, call 120 and say clearly “the pain is moving”
9. 9AFor a sudden “worst headache of my life” that reaches its worst within an hour, go to the emergency department right away for a head CT
10. 10BIf an older person becomes unsteady on their feet, slow, drowsy or weak on one side two or three weeks to a few months after hitting their head, get a head CT
11. 11BIf one leg suddenly swells up, feels tight and hurts when pressed, see a doctor as soon as possible; if sudden breathlessness or chest pain comes on top of that, call 120 right away
12. 12AFor heavy bleeding, first press hard on the wound with your hand; if pressure can't control bleeding from a limb, put on a tourniquet; call 120 at the same time
13. 13AIf a dog or cat bites you or scratches through the skin, first wash it with soapy water and running water, alternating, for 15 minutes, and get vaccinated the same day
14. 14AAfter a burn, immediately run cool water over it for 20 minutes; don't put toothpaste or soy sauce on it
15. 15BSudden rash all over the body, trouble breathing or feeling faint: treat it as anaphylactic shock, call 120 right away and say so clearly
16. 16BIf someone has a seizure and collapses, clear the space around them, roll them onto their side, time it by the clock, and put nothing at all in their mouth
17. 17AIf a person with diabetes suddenly starts shaking, breaks out in a cold sweat or can't speak clearly, first give 15 grams of sugar, and test again after 15 minutes
18. 18BIf someone gets an electric shock, first cut the power, then push the live source away with something dry such as a wooden stick; don't pull them off with your hands
19. 19BIf the carbon monoxide alarm goes off, or a whole roomful of people get a headache and nausea at the same time, get out first, then make the call
20. 20BIf someone swallows a cleaning product, pesticide or medicine by mistake, first, don't make them vomit; take the bottle and get medical care right away. If it splashes into the eyes or onto the skin, rinse with plenty of clean water for at least 15 minutes
21. 21BIf acids, alkalis or other chemicals splash on you, immediately take off the contaminated clothing and rinse with plenty of running clean water; for the eyes, pry the eyelids open while rinsing; rinse for the full time before you leave
22. 22BIf someone in the heat is dizzy, nauseous, not sweating or not fully conscious, move them into the shade right away, take off their clothes and splash water on them to cool them; if they are not fully conscious, give no water and call 120
23. 23BIf someone with heat illness is lucid, have them drink cool, lightly salted water or a sports drink in small, frequent sips; no gulping, no alcohol, no high-sugar drinks
24. 24BIn a fire, crawl low along the floor, feel the door before opening it and don't open it if it's hot, take the stairs not the elevator, and once out, don't go back
25. 25CIf you see someone drowning, first shout for help and call 110/120, reach out a pole, throw something that floats, and don't go into the water yourself
26. 26BIf someone is choking and can't speak, for anyone over 1 year old, stand behind them and give 5 back blows plus 5 abdominal thrusts; if they collapse, start CPR
27. 27CIf you get lost or your vehicle breaks down in the Gobi, a desert or an uninhabited area, stay where you are or by the vehicle: report your location first, then shelter from sun and cold, save water, and don't wander off
28. 28BShivering, slurred speech and stumbling mean hypothermia: change out of wet clothes, wrap the person up, warm the trunk first, give hot sweet drinks and no alcohol
29. 29BIf a snake bites you, sit down and keep still, take off rings and watches, and get to a hospital for antivenom as fast as you can; don't cut, don't suck, don't tie it off tight
30. 30BIn an earthquake, first look at what kind of building you are in: in a building that meets earthquake-resistant design standards, take cover where you are; in an old house that could collapse, with the door a few steps away, get out
31. 31BIf you meet a bear, a wild boar or a pack of feral dogs, don't run; turn sideways and slowly back away
32. 32BIf you are caught in a thunderstorm outdoors, get into a hard-topped vehicle or a building, and keep away from ridges, lone trees, water and metal
33. 33AWhen going up to high altitude, ascend slowly by sleeping altitude (how high you sleep that night); if symptoms get worse, go down; don't tough it out
34. 34BIf a tick has latched onto you, grip it close to the skin with fine-tipped tweezers and pull it out steadily; don't put oil on it, don't burn it
35. 35BBoil all water in the wild before drinking it; one minute at a rolling boil is enough, and there is no need to boil it longer at high altitude
36. 36CIf a stranger demands money from you in the middle of nowhere, hand it over, don't fight, remember what he looks like, and report it to the police once you get away
37. 37BIf you come across a group fight, back off and leave: don't step in to break it up, don't stand and watch, don't pick up anything off the ground to fight with; if you want to report it, move to a safe distance and call 110
38. 38BIf you may have been exposed to HIV, get HIV-blocking medication within 72 hours; the sooner the better
39. 39BIf you were injured or lost money helping someone, first go after the perpetrator and medical insurance (医保), then apply for recognition as someone who acted bravely for a just cause
40. 40BIf a knife, rebar or glass is stuck in someone's body, press around the object to stop the bleeding, and don't pull it out
41. 41BIf you suspect a broken bone, don't move that part any more: support it and keep it still, apply cold for 20 minutes or less, and don't try to straighten it yourself
42. 42BAfter a sexual assault, first get somewhere safe and call 110; before your injuries are examined, don't shower, don't wash your clothes, don't tidy the room, and go to a hospital within 72 hours
43. 43BIf a baby under 1 is choking and can't cry, lay them face down and give 5 back blows, turn them over and give 5 chest presses, alternate the two, and don't press on the belly
44. 44BIf a baby under 1 is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call 120 on speakerphone and do infant CPR: 30 compressions, then 2 breaths

14. Account and Information Security

1. 1ATurn on two-step verification for your email, payment and social media accounts, preferring phone pop-up confirmation, with SMS codes only as the second choice
2. 2CGive your email its own password, not reused on any website
3. 3CSet a screen-lock passcode on your phone and a PIN on your SIM card
4. 4CIf you lose your phone, do this in order: report the SIM card lost, lock the phone remotely, change passwords, report to the police, freeze bank cards
5. 5AIf your card is used fraudulently, report it lost and freeze it first, then report to the police, then demand compensation from the bank: proving “you made the charge yourself” is the bank's job
6. 6CCheck your accounts' logged-in devices and authorized apps every so often, and clear out the ones you don't use
7. 7ADon't tap “Agree to all” just to use an app: for information that isn't necessary, refusing consent can't be grounds for denying you the service
8. 8AYou have the right to view, copy, correct and delete your own personal information, and you can sue if refused
9. 9AYou don't have to agree to face scanning: if there is another way, they can't make face scanning your only option, and if you don't consent they must give you an alternative
10. 10BDon't hand your code, keys and private data to “AI relay stations” of unknown origin, especially when you let AI execute commands automatically

15. Renting and Buying a Home

1. 1AWhen you rent, the deposit amount, when it is returned and the cases in which it can be deducted must be written into the contract
2. 2AIf your water and power are cut off, the locks are changed or people come to your door to threaten you out, call the police first and keep evidence: the regulation forbids using these methods to force you to move out
3. 3AAgents may not collect or pay rent and deposits on anyone's behalf; pay the money directly to the landlord
4. 4ABefore renting a long-term rental apartment, check its fund supervision account; don't pay a full year at once just because it's cheaper
5. 5AIf the home is sold during your lease, the lease stays in effect and you don't have to move
6. 6CBefore signing a lease, check the property ownership certificate and whether the home is mortgaged; make every payment by transfer and note what it is for
7. 7AWhen buying a resale home, if the agent collects the purchase money for you, it must go through the special deposit account for transaction funds that the agent opened at a bank
8. 8ADon't rent a partitioned room: the smallest unit you can rent out is a room as originally designed, and kitchens, bathrooms and balconies may not be lived in
9. 9AIf you have an urban household registration (hukou) and want to move to the countryside, only rent a farmhouse; don't buy homestead land or a house built on homestead land

16. Living With a Chronic Illness

1. 1ATake your medicine fully as prescribed; don't stop because you feel better
2. 2AFirst get certified for outpatient chronic and special diseases, then register for care outside your insured area; then hypertension, diabetes, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, dialysis and anti-rejection treatment can be settled directly away from home
3. 3CGo for follow-up checks at the intervals your doctor sets, and record each result in the same notebook
4. 4CDon't stop standard treatment to try folk remedies or health products
5. 5AWith a stable chronic illness, get up to 12 weeks of medicine at a time from a community hospital
6. 6ABefore signing up with a family doctor in your community, ask which services are covered by medical insurance and which you pay for yourself
7. 7AOnce diagnosed with diabetes, get your fundus (back of the eye) checked once, then at the intervals your doctor sets; have your feet checked once a year
8. 8AIf you've had kidney stones, drink 2.5–3 liters of water a day and cut salt to 6 grams or less
9. 9AOnce diagnosed with gout, take urate-lowering medicine long term, bring blood uric acid below 360 µmol/L and keep it there

17. When There Are Older People in the Family

1. 1AWhile the older person is still clear-headed, designate their future guardian in writing
2. 2AMake a will, and remember that a later will overrides an earlier one and a notarized will no longer takes priority
3. 3CKeep the older person's money in a separate account, and set a two-person confirmation rule for large expenses
4. 4CGive the older person a ready excuse they can say at any time: “I need to go home and talk it over with my family”
5. 5AStay away from any “investment in old-age care” that has the older person pay first: membership cards, buying beds, buying senior apartments, “travel-and-stay” old-age care and buying senior products are all the same illegal fundraising scheme
6. 6BApart from insurers' home reverse-mortgage pension insurance, stay away from every other “use your home to fund old age” scheme, and never mortgage the home to buy wealth-management products
7. 7AIf an older person in the family is bedridden long term or severely disabled, apply for long-term care insurance at the medical insurance (医保) department where they are insured; it is not only for older people
8. 8BIf someone in the family is bedridden long term, treat pressure sores as enemy number one: get an electric air mattress, turn them on a schedule, and check the bony areas once a day
9. 9BWhen an older person's cataracts already affect seeing where they are walking, go to an eye department for an assessment for surgery; if both eyes have cataracts, don't put off the second eye too long
10. 10BIf an older person in the family walks a dog, have them hold the leash in the palm and not wrap it around the hand, keep the leash short, and first train the dog not to lunge forward on the leash

18. Is Raising a Child Worth It?

1. 1AFirst count in what you can claim: the national childcare subsidy is 3600 yuan per child per year, paid until age 3
2. 2AMaternity leave is 98 days; the maternity allowance is paid by the maternity insurance fund based on the employer's average monthly wage for its employees in the previous year
3. 3AKnow this: you cannot have your pay cut or be dismissed because of pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding
4. 4CCount the time cost of raising a child by “whose time gets taken up,” not by “how hard it is”
5. 5CCount the money in three stages: age 0 to 3, compulsory education, and after compulsory education
6. 6CHaving a child for your elders, for your marriage, or for your old age: keep a separate account for each

19. On the Job, Leaving a Job, and Work Injuries

1. 1AOvertime pay comes in three tiers, 1.5x, 2x and 3x; if it isn't paid, complain to labor inspection, and if it is still unpaid after the deadline the employer must pay an extra 50% to 100%
2. 2AAnnual leave is 5, 10 or 15 days based on your cumulative years of work; leave not taken is paid at 300% of your daily wage
3. 3AProbation has statutory maximum lengths, probation pay may not be below 80%, and probation can be agreed only once
4. 4AIf you are laid off, first work out N: one month's wage for each full year, half a month for under six months
5. 5AIf the company dismisses you without 30 days' notice, it must also pay one more month's wage
6. 6AIf the company terminates you unlawfully, the compensation is twice the severance standard
7. 7BDon't sign “resigned voluntarily for personal reasons”: once you sign it, there is no N
8. 8CBefore you leave, save your pay slips, attendance records, employment contract, social insurance records and chat records
9. 9ABefore taking a job with dust, noise or chemicals, check whether the contract states the hazards; the three occupational health exams are arranged and paid for by the employer
10. 10ADamage from dust, noise and chemical toxins is irreversible: the employer must provide protective equipment, and you can refuse work without protective measures
11. 11AIf you're injured at work or hit on your commute, the first thing to do is a work-injury determination; if the employer doesn't file, file it yourself
12. 12ADon't believe “hold out until you reach your desk and it counts as a work injury”: if you suddenly feel unwell, call 120 (ambulance) first, don't rush to clock in
13. 13AIf your employer didn't pay work-injury insurance for you, you still get work-injury benefits, paid in full by the employer at the same standards
14. 14AOnce your injury has stabilized, get a work-capacity assessment; the disability grade converts directly into money
15. 15AKeep the three payments for a work-related death distinct: the funeral grant, the pension for supported dependents, and the one-time work-related death grant
16. 16BIf you are bullied, verbally abused or deliberately given a hard time at work over a long period, don't just grit your teeth: first keep records as evidence, then, depending on what it is, complain, call the police or go to arbitration
17. 17AWhen you leave, ask the employer for a separation certificate stating the contract term, separation date, post and years of service
18. 18AWhen you receive severance, check the individual income tax first: the part within 3 times the local average employee wage for the previous year is tax-exempt, and the excess is taxed separately, not added to that year's wages
19. 19AWhen you change cities for work, transfer your pension and medical insurance (医保) to the new place where you are insured, keep accumulating contribution years, and don't cash out your insurance

20. Caring for a Newborn

1. 1APut a baby to sleep on their back, on a firm flat surface, in the same room but not the same bed, with nothing soft in the bed
2. 2AGet the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth
3. 3AGet every vaccine in the national immunization program, free from start to finish; if one is missed, make up only the doses not yet completed
4. 4AFeed only breast milk for the first 6 months, not even water; from 6 months add complementary foods and keep breastfeeding
5. 5AMake formula with water at 70 ℃ or above, let it cool before feeding, and pour out what's left
6. 6ADon't give honey to a baby under 1
7. 7BBe sure the baby gets the vitamin K shot at birth
8. 8AIf a baby under 3 months has a temperature that reaches 38 ℃, go straight to the hospital; don't watch and wait at home
9. 9BNever shake a baby, no matter how tired or angry you are
10. 10CChoose diapers not by brand but by three things: whether they fit, whether you change them often enough, and whether they have been named in a spot-check notice
11. 11CFor big items, consider borrowing, then buying secondhand, then buying new, in that order; don't buy everything at once
12. 12AIf your child has severe eczema or an egg allergy, don't avoid peanuts: add them early under a doctor's guidance, but never give whole peanuts
13. 13BWatch for these signs of newborn jaundice: yellow within 24 hours of birth, getting more and more yellow, can't be woken and won't feed, pale stools; go to the hospital the same day
14. 14BIf you eat vegetarian while pregnant or breastfeeding, take vitamin B12 every day; the baby's complementary foods should include animal foods, and if you insist on fully vegan, see a doctor first

21. Going Abroad, Travel and Safety Overseas

1. 1ACheck the Ministry of Foreign Affairs safety alerts once before you leave, and don't go anywhere marked “do not travel for now”
2. 2ASave 12308 and the local embassy or consulate's consular protection number in your phone, and copy them onto paper for your wallet; don't wait until something happens to look for them
3. 3AKnow what consular protection can and cannot do: it can visit you, it cannot get you released, and you still pay the costs yourself
4. 4CBuy insurance that covers overseas medical care and medical evacuation, not just flight-delay insurance
5. 5ATreat every “high-paying job overseas” as a scam; if you are tricked into telecom fraud, you will also be barred from leaving the country after you come back
6. 6ACash withdrawals abroad may not exceed 100,000 yuan a year, counted across all the cards in your name combined
7. 7CPhotograph your passport, visa and ID card and keep a copy in the cloud; if they are lost, report to the police first, then get a replacement travel document
8. 8ABefore driving yourself abroad, first confirm whether the local authorities recognize a Chinese driver's license; most “international driver's licenses” sold online are worthless paper
9. 9AWhen using an agency for visas, study abroad or emigration, first ask whether it has filed with the immigration administration authorities
10. 10ADon't issue invitation letters for strangers, and don't let anyone use your name to handle exit-entry procedures
11. 11CBefore leaving the country, send your itinerary, accommodation and travel companions to one family member, and agree how often you will be in touch

22. How to Relax: Entertainment Venues and Stress Relief

1. 1ABefore you go into a KTV, a bar or an escape room, take a look at where the emergency exits are; if they are locked or blocked, go somewhere else
2. 2AAsk for the price list before you order: entertainment venues must display clear prices, so do not accept “play first, settle up later”
3. 3AIf someone at a venue passes around “stuff,” leave at once: giving people a place to use and supplying it are not “helping a friend”
4. 4ADon't eat candy or snacks from strangers, don't drink anything that has been out of your sight, and don't take vape cartridges others hand you
5. 5ADon't go to murder-mystery or escape-room venues located in residential buildings or on the second basement level or below
6. 6AWhen you feel low, go for a walk or a run: the antidepressant effect size (how big the effect is) is proportional to intensity
7. 7AWhen anxiety gets bad enough to affect your life, a mindfulness-based stress reduction course works no worse than a commonly used anti-anxiety drug
8. 8BTo calm down on the spot, do 5 minutes of “cyclic sighing”: breathe in in two parts and draw out the exhale
9. 9ATreat “seeing people regularly” as a health expense, and don't reach out only when you feel low
10. 10ACount nearby green space when choosing where to live, but don't expect “going to the park more” to lengthen your life

23. Which Skills Are Worth Learning

1. 1AUnder 16, “going out to work” is not an option: an employer that hires you is fined 5000 yuan a month, and anyone willing to hire you is offering illegal, off-the-books work
2. 2APut “is schooling worth it” into the mortality ledger too: each extra year of education lowers adult risk of death by about 1.9%
3. 3ABefore deciding whether “degrees have lost their value,” first look at the nation's education structure: only 15467 in every 100,000 people have a university-level education (2020 census; about 19% by the 2025 sample-survey estimate)
4. 4AIf you “can't afford school,” first run the numbers by policy: secondary vocational tuition is mostly waived already, the grant is 2300 yuan, and student loans go up to 20,000 a year
5. 5ANot getting into a regular senior high school does not mean the road ends: secondary vocational schools have through-track enrollment and separate exams, and hiring for skilled posts can lower education requirements
6. 6BTurn “school or work” into one calculation: three years of earlier wages, set against decades of annual income gap afterward
7. 7AFirst memorize the baseline: one more year of education brings a global average private return (the part that lands on your own income) of about 9% a year
8. 8ABefore paying for a certificate exam, first check whether the certificate is in the national occupational qualification catalogue or on the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's list of registered assessment bodies
9. 9ATake training through government-subsidized channels first; don't jump straight into paying for a commercial course yourself
10. 10BWhen choosing a skill, look first at “does it need hands-on work, does it need on-site judgment”: these are the hardest for automation to replace
11. 11BBefore learning a skill, first confirm whether it has level assessment and whether the level can be turned into money
12. 12CDon't take “people online say the pay is high” as a sign of a labor shortage; check the local list of occupations in short supply and the subsidy catalogue
13. 13CFor the same money and time, prefer short programs that lead straight to a job
14. 14AAfter studying, first close the book and test yourself once; don't go back and reread
15. 15ASpread the same amount of time over several days; don't learn it all in one go
16. 16ADon't make highlighting, rereading and writing summaries your main way of studying
17. 17APractice several problem types mixed together; don't do twenty of one type in a row
18. 18ADon't choose study methods by “I'm a visual learner, he's an auditory learner”
19. 19AFor material you have to memorize, make up questions in the form you will use it later and test yourself; don't just memorize it word for word once and call it done
20. 20AFor a professional title, first work out which series and which level you are in, then find the application channel according to the type of employer you work for
21. 21AJunior and intermediate titles such as accounting come through a unified national exam: first check your education and years of work against the requirements, then register
22. 22ADon't use agents who get your title evaluated for you, don't buy ghostwritten papers, and don't falsify your materials: once confirmed, the title is revoked and recorded in an integrity file for 3 years
23. 23BGetting a professional title does not mean a pay rise: first find out whether your employer evaluates and appoints within post quotas, or whether being awarded a title does not necessarily mean being appointed to it

24. Seeing a Doctor: Spend Less, Avoid Detours

1. 1AFor common illnesses, see a doctor at the community health center first; if you are referred up level by level through primary care, your inpatient deductible keeps counting
2. 2AWithin the same pooling area (where you are enrolled in medical insurance), the lower the level of the facility, the higher the reimbursement rate, with a gap of about 10 percentage points
3. 3AIf you need a big hospital, go through a primary care referral or the hospital's referral center, not an appointment scalper
4. 4ABefore seeking medical care in another province, first ask locally; whether it is necessary is in principle assessed by an associate chief physician or above
5. 5AAfter each visit, keep your own copy of your medical records, test reports and imaging
6. 6AIf you have doubts about your diagnosis or treatment, ask on the spot for the medical records to be sealed, with both sides present, an inventory drawn up and one copy for each side
7. 7AFor urgent, serious injuries and illnesses, head straight for the emergency triage desk, not the queue at the registration window
8. 8AWith no money, no ID, or unable to say who you are, the emergency department still must treat you first
9. 9AWait until treatment has ended before getting a disability assessment; done too early, the grade will come out low
10. 10AIf treatment is over and a functional impairment really does remain, apply for a disability certificate at the county-level disabled persons' federation where your household registration (hukou) is
11. 11ATo thank a doctor who saved you, use a thank-you letter, a silk banner and a satisfaction rating, not a red envelope: the code bans money and gifts, not gratitude
12. 12ABefore getting a dental implant, first ask exactly which items the all-inclusive price covers, prefer facilities that have pledged to take part in price governance, and don't trust low-price ads

25. What to Do After Someone Dies

1. 1AIf someone dies at home or elsewhere, first tell whether it is a normal or an unnatural death: if it was an accident, the cause of death is unknown, or the person lived alone and was only found afterward, call the police at once and leave the body and the scene untouched
2. 2AThe death certificate is the key to everything that follows: whoever treated the person issues it; for a normal death at home, go to the community health service institution; it is issued within one day
3. 3ATransporting, storing and cremating the body can only go through a funeral home; hospital morgues do not provide funeral services, and storage is generally no more than 3 days
4. 4AIf you dispute the cause of death, request an autopsy within 48 hours and have the medical records sealed at the same time
5. 5ACanceling the household registration of the deceased has a statutory deadline: in cities before burial, in rural areas within one month
6. 6AFuneral services are divided into basic and non-basic items; basic items have a list, and their fees are set according to law
7. 7AIf you run into forced bundled sales, charges added on top of the listed price, or one item split into several charges, write it down and complain
8. 8AIntermediaries such as funeral agents, purchasing agents for funeral goods, and planners and hosts must file with the county-level civil affairs department
9. 9AMoney scattered in different places has to be claimed one by one: the housing provident fund balance, social insurance benefits, work-injury benefits
10. 10AClose relatives can ask to access, copy, correct and delete the deceased's accounts and personal information

26. Building a Website or Platform: Licenses, Filings and Servers

1. 1ADon't have the platform collect the money itself and then pass it on to sellers; let the money settle directly through a licensed payment institution
2. 2AMost websites that charge users need a license; one that sells its own goods and doesn't let others set up shop does not; brokering transactions takes a different kind of license; a free site only needs a filing
3. 3ALive streaming needs an Internet Culture Business License; the license for audiovisual programs is basically out of reach for private companies
4. 4AA server inside China needs a filing, and the access provider must itself hold a value-added telecommunications license
5. 5AIf you let users sell on your platform, the platform must verify and register them, report information, and keep records for three years
6. 6AYou must manage what users post: a review mechanism, a reporting channel, and when you find something illegal, stop its transmission immediately and report it
7. 7AIf you provide information publishing or instant messaging services, you must require users to provide their real identity information
8. 8ADon't open live-streaming accounts for anyone under 16; handle tipping in tiers by age
9. 9AAct promptly on infringement notices; if nothing follows within 15 days after forwarding the declaration, restore what was removed
10. 10ADon't casually move user information outside China; exporting it has legal conditions and headcount thresholds
11. 11CWhen choosing a server, first ask whether you can tolerate downtime, then whether you have someone to run it, and only last compare prices

27. Pregnancy and Birth: From Finding Out to Leaving the Hospital With the Paperwork

1. 1AOnce you are preparing to get pregnant, start taking 0.4 mg of folic acid every day, and keep taking it until the first 3 months of pregnancy are over
2. 2ABefore week 13 of pregnancy, go to a community health center to set up a Maternal and Child Health Handbook, and use up your free prenatal checkups
3. 3AAt your first prenatal checkup, get the three tests for HIV/AIDS, syphilis and hepatitis B done; if something is found, there is free blocking of transmission to the baby
4. 4ANot a single cigarette or sip of alcohol for the whole pregnancy, and family members should not smoke indoors either
5. 5AIf you have high-risk factors for pre-eclampsia, start taking one low-dose aspirin a day after week 12 of pregnancy
6. 6AAt or after week 24 of pregnancy, get screened once for gestational diabetes; don't skip it because drinking the sugar water is a hassle
7. 7AMemorize this “go to the hospital right away” list: it applies during pregnancy and for one year after birth
8. 8BIf your water breaks, lie flat where you are, raise your hips and call 120 (ambulance); don't walk around and don't take a shower
9. 9AIf you want a labor epidural, just say so: it does not increase the risk of a cesarean
10. 10AWithout a medical indication, don't ask for a cesarean, and don't have surgery to pick the birth date
11. 11ABefore you get pregnant, confirm your maternity insurance enrollment status; a spouse who is not employed can also be reimbursed for childbirth medical costs
12. 12AGet the Medical Birth Certificate done before you leave the hospital; decide on the name in advance and don't get any characters wrong
13. 13ADon't refuse either the newborn heel-prick blood screening or the hearing screening
14. 14AAs soon as you have the Medical Birth Certificate, enroll the baby in resident medical insurance; don't wait until the hukou is registered
15. 15AWithin one month of the baby's birth, go to the police station to file the birth registration
16. 16ADon't skip the 42-day postpartum checkup: it is also a screening for postpartum depression
17. 17BYou don't have to give away your cat when you are pregnant: have someone else scoop the litter every day, cook meat thoroughly, and wear gloves when you touch soil

28. Don't Wreck Your Body for Your Looks

1. 1ADon't control your weight with extreme dieting, fasting or induced vomiting; if you want to lose weight, do it from the exercise side
2. 2ABefore injections, thread lifts or surgery, check two things: whether the facility's license includes “medical cosmetology,” and whether the person doing it is an attending physician
3. 3BFor facial fillers, avoid the bridge of the nose, the area between the eyebrows and the forehead, and above all don't go for unlicensed injections to save money
4. 4ADon't buy weight-loss pills, weight-loss coffee, slimming candy or enzyme plums (plums claimed to have been soaked in enzymes) that promise “fast slimming”
5. 5ADon't use anabolic steroids (“muscle-building shots,” “oral pills”) to build muscle
6. 6BIf you are going to take weight-loss medication, get a prescription at a hospital; don't buy from online shops that ship without a prescription
7. 7AUse sex hormone drugs only when a doctor prescribes them and you have regular follow-up checks; don't buy them online and don't raise the dose yourself
8. 8BIf “feeling ugly” has reached the point of checking the mirror over and over and repeatedly wanting to change something, get a body image assessment before talking about surgery
9. 9CTo straighten your teeth, have a doctor qualified in orthodontics examine you in person and go to follow-ups on time; don't buy aligners online and wear them at home on your own

29. After a Major Blow

1. 1AIn the first few days after a family member dies, don't stay alone; if you have heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, keep taking your medicine as usual; if your chest feels pressed and painful, call 120
2. 2AIn the week you are told of a serious diagnosis, don't go to get the results alone, and put off decisions other than treatment
3. 3AAfter losing your job, first fix your daily routine, your medical insurance and a rhythm for job hunting; don't stay home all day
4. 4AIf a family member died by suicide, accident or homicide, don't count on toughing it out; actively seek professional help
5. 5AIn the first half year after losing your spouse, hand your meals, sleep, chronic-illness medication and follow-up checks to one fixed person to watch over
6. 6BIf you have no family and no friends, replace “the person watching over you” with three things: a neighbor who can get into your home, the community's visiting list, and the emergency contacts in your phone
7. 7BAfter a parent dies, tell the child the truth, let them take part in the farewell, and don't send them elsewhere for “a change of scene”
8. 8AIf after half a year your grief is still stuck in the same place and you can't get on with life, register at a psychiatry or clinical psychology department
9. 9ADon't start by spending money on grief counseling; first see whether your grief is really stuck (the symptoms in Item 8)
10. 10AAfter separation or divorce, don't let your medical insurance lapse, and don't lean on alcohol to get through
11. 11BIf you need someone to talk to, call 12356; minors and young people call 12355; if you need a doctor, register at a psychological clinic
12. 12CIn the first three months after a major upheaval, put off every irreversible big decision
13. 13ADon't use death as a way to pay off debts: life insurance doesn't pay within two years, it isn't recognized as a work injury, and debts still come out of the estate first

30. Children Once They Start School

1. 1AIf your child says they have sudden, severe pain that keeps getting worse, go to the hospital at once; don't make them hold out until school lets out
2. 2ADon't put off needed treatment to “wait until the exams are over”; some windows follow bone age, not the exam schedule
3. 3AIf your child is bullied, report it to the school that same day and ask for written handling; if it involves hitting, taking money or spreading rumors, call the police directly
4. 4AHave your child spend a full 2 hours outdoors every day; this is currently the only way to prevent myopia that is backed by randomized trials
5. 5BNo screens from 0 to 3, as little as possible from 3 to 6, and for primary and secondary school students no more than 1 hour a day of non-study use
6. 6ATreat myopia as lasting damage: the stronger the prescription, the more retinal detachment, macular disease and glaucoma later on
7. 7BRead the report from the yearly student health checkup yourself, and take any abnormal findings to a hospital that same year
8. 8BHave children aged 12 to 18 screened once for depression; don't take the school's psychological assessment as a diagnosis
9. 9BDon't buy products and services that claim to “cure myopia” or “lower the prescription”
10. 10BSleep, homework, physical activity and rankings all have written rules; if the school falls short, you can raise it
11. 11BIf your child can't cope anymore, they can take a leave of absence from school; the school must keep their enrollment status for them, for up to 1 year
12. 12BIf poor vision is found, get cycloplegic refraction at a hospital, then go back for checks at the intervals the doctor gives
13. 13AGet pit and fissure sealants once the permanent molars come in
14. 14BIf your child loves video games, first see whether sleep, homework and getting out for activity are being squeezed out; don't fixate only on how long they played
15. 15BIf your child says they like people of the same sex, don't scold them, don't throw them out of the house, don't send them for “conversion”: the family's attitude is linked to whether they will take their own life
16. 16AWhen disciplining your child, don't hit, and don't yell or call them stupid: children who are often hit and yelled at have more behavioral and emotional problems
17. 17AIf your child is hard to manage and you keep losing control and hitting or yelling, take a course of parenting classes that teach concrete methods
18. 18CDon't send your child to a closed-management “internet-addiction school” or “boot camp”: the law prohibits treating internet addiction by means that harm body and mind, and children have already died from being locked up

31. The Paths Open After Eighteen

1. 1AFirst check the thresholds: the age and education requirements of twelve paths are all fixed in writing
2. 2AIn the year you turn eighteen, register for military service by October 31; active service for a conscript is two years
3. 3AIf you refuse military service after being called up, for two years you may not leave the country or go on to further study or return to school, and you cannot become a civil servant or join a state-owned enterprise
4. 4AThe two most concrete benefits for college students who join the military: tuition compensation of up to 20000 yuan a year, and student status kept for two years plus a dedicated plan for graduate entrance exams
5. 5AAfter discharge, the government assigns you a job in only six situations; if you take self-arranged employment, you must report within 30 days
6. 6AThree accounts after discharge: a one-time retirement payment, years of military service counted as years of work, and 20000 yuan a year knocked off your taxes if you work for yourself
7. 7AThe civil service exam is not the only way into the state system: complete two years in a grassroots service program and you can apply for the targeted recruitment plan of 10% each year
8. 8ASpecial-post teachers who complete the three-year service term, pass the assessment and are willing to stay should be given an established post promptly
9. 9AFirefighters and civilian military personnel are two more openings with public recruitment, and their thresholds are lower than the civil service exam's
10. 10AEducational credentials are not a one-shot deal: self-study exams have no limit on age or prior education, and adult college entrance exams and open universities can also make up the gap
11. 11ANot joining an employer means flexible employment: you insure yourself for pension and medical coverage where you work, and household registration restrictions have been lifted
12. 12AIf you deliver food, drive for a ride-hailing service or haul same-city freight, the platform pays occupational injury protection fees for you per order, and you pay nothing yourself
13. 13ATwo paths that can lock in an established post on the day you fill in your gaokao college applications: publicly funded teacher-education students and targeted medical students, at the cost of a 6-year service commitment
14. 14AIf you want to work abroad, first check whether the company has a foreign labor service cooperation business qualification: it may not charge you a security deposit
15. 15AIf you work remotely from home for a foreign company, the money counts as domestic income under tax law: file your individual income tax yourself, and receive the foreign currency under “employee compensation”
16. 16AIf you go it alone instead of joining an employer, look first at business start-up guaranteed loans for your start-up money: up to 300,000 for an individual, with half the interest paid by the government

32. Studying Abroad: Status, Work, Insurance and Degree Recognition Back Home

1. 1ABefore paying tuition, check whether the school is on the CSCSE's list of institutions eligible for authentication
2. 2AWatch the lawsuit over the new US F-1 rule: “at most four years, leave within 30 days of finishing” was set to take effect on September 15, 2026, was stayed by a court the day before, and for now it is still “until you finish”
3. 3AWork hours are a hard red line written into the rules of all four countries, the US, Canada, the UK and Australia; going one hour over violates your visa conditions
4. 4AYour status rests on “full-time enrollment”: no work at all during a leave of absence, after withdrawing, or in a gap while transferring schools
5. 5AUS: after moving, you must report your new address within 10 days
6. 6ABefore you leave and while studying, take a look at the Ministry of Education's study-abroad alerts
7. 7AAustralia: OSHC must cover your whole stay with no break; if you can't show insurance on arrival, you may be refused entry
8. 8AUK: on top of the visa fee there is a healthcare surcharge charged by the year, 776 pounds a year for students, paid in full at application
9. 9ALeave time for authentication before you come back: CSCSE authentication takes 10 to 20 working days
10. 10AThe schools whose authentication gets “enhanced review” are added to every year; buying a diploma no longer works

33. Living With a Disability

1. 1BAfter a spinal cord injury, if there is a sudden severe headache and sweating, first help the person sit upright and loosen their clothing, and at the same time call 120 (ambulance)
2. 2AThe first ten years after becoming disabled are a high-risk period for suicide; don't treat it as something “just look on the bright side” can fix
3. 3APsychiatric hospitalization is voluntary in principle; only in two situations can it happen without the person's own consent
4. 4AThe person who looks after a family member with a disability long-term needs someone keeping an eye on their own health
5. 5BIf you use a wheelchair long-term, switch to a pressure-relief cushion and check your sitting bones and tailbone once a day
6. 6ADon't buy treatments or devices that claim to “cure paralysis, blindness or deafness”
7. 7AOnce your disability certificate is issued, go to the county disabled persons' federation and ask about everything you can apply for, all in one go
8. 8AIf your child is under 7 and has a disability or autism, apply to the county disabled persons' federation for rehabilitation assistance
9. 9BFor ramps, handrails and bathroom modifications at home, you can apply for a subsidy from the government at or above the county level
10. 10AWhen job hunting, tell employers up front that you hold a disability certificate; hiring you lets the company offset a sum of money
11. 11APeople with disabilities can get a reduction in individual income tax; call the provincial tax bureau to ask how much
12. 12AGuide dogs may be taken into public places and onto public transport, and blind people ride city public transport for free
13. 13APeople with disabilities taking the gaokao (national college entrance exam) can apply for reasonable accommodations; with a Braille paper, the exam time is extended by half
14. 14AWhen a child with a disability applies to enroll, the school may not refuse; for a child who cannot get to school, the education bureau arranges for teachers to come to the home
15. 15AEven if you have lost your right leg or both legs, you can still get a driver's license; the vehicle class is called C5
16. 16ADo rehabilitation at a proper facility with a rehabilitation medicine department, and follow the therapist on intensity; harder is not better
17. 17AWhen your hearing declines, get hearing aids; the reason to get them is to hear, not to prevent dementia
18. 18ATo say an adult “can't manage their own affairs,” you must apply to a court for a determination; family members' say-so doesn't count
19. 19AAn adult's guardian is set by a statutory order; if the person under guardianship harms someone, the guardian pays compensation
20. 20AIf you are refused a job, denied regular status or paid less because of a disability, you can sue, but first work out the cost of the process

34. Household Medicines: Don't Let Them Hurt You

1. 1BBefore taking two cold medicines or painkillers together, read the ingredient lists; only one of them may contain acetaminophen (对乙酰氨基酚)
2. 2BDon't use aspirin (阿司匹林), nimesulide (尼美舒利) or metamizole (安乃近) for a child's fever, and don't give minors cold medicines that contain metamizole either
3. 3AIf you are over 60, have had stomach bleeding, or take anticoagulants or steroids, ask a doctor before taking painkillers like ibuprofen (布洛芬)
4. 4BWhen a child under 2 has a cold, don't give combination cold medicines or cough medicines on your own
5. 5BAfter 20 weeks of pregnancy, don't take painkillers like ibuprofen (布洛芬) on your own
6. 6BIf you buy omeprazole (奥美拉唑) yourself for acid reflux and heartburn, take it for at most 7 days; with difficulty swallowing, vomiting blood or black stools, go straight to the hospital
7. 7ADon't ask the doctor for antibiotics for a common cold
8. 8AWith diarrhea, first replace fluids with oral rehydration salts; don't give antidiarrheal drugs to children under 5
9. 9BDon't take painkillers on more than 15 days a month, or combination painkillers on more than 10 days, or your headaches may be caused by the medicine itself
10. 10BRegularly clear out expired and unneeded leftover medicines and put them, packaging and all, in the hazardous waste bin; don't keep them at home
11. 11BWhile taking antibacterials like cephalosporins (头孢) or metronidazole (甲硝唑) and for 7 days after stopping, don't drink alcohol, and don't touch alcohol-containing medicines like Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid (藿香正气水) or cough syrup either