Boys' deaths highlight 'left-behind children'

Mainland news outlets have been brushing up on their Danish fairy tales as they struggle to understand the deaths of five young boys who were huddled in a large refuse bin on chilly night in remote Guizhou province this month.

The boys - all brothers or cousins, aged nine to 13 - had apparently succumbed to carbon-monoxide poisoning after burning charcoal to keep warm. Their bodies were discovered by an elderly scavenger in the early hours of November 16, although it was several days before internet outrage forced local authorities to confirm the story.

The boys' plight may have reminded some of The Little Match Girl, Hans Christian Andersen's bittersweet tale about a poor match seller who's afraid to return home because she hasn't sold enough matches. Instead, the girl takes shelter in a corner and begins to light matches to keep warm.

As she does, her hopes and dreams flicker before her eyes, growing more powerful with each match, until, finally, she runs out of matches and falls into a deep, final sleep.

The boys, who lived in Bijie city's Qixingguan district, were children of busy farmers or migrant workers who had left for other cities. Four had dropped out of school.

In many ways, their case is typical of a generation of "left-behind children" - an estimated 58 million - who are byproducts of broken families, the country's uneven economic boom and demanding examination-centric school system.

Consequently, the deaths have triggered a wave of soul-searching in the mainland media over who bears the blame, what social factors may have played a role and what can be done to reduce the numbers of runaway children.