Pay my mom's medical bills and you can have her hand in marriage: So read a posting on Tianya.com, a popular website, triggering heated debated.

"I will marry my mother to anyone who can help pay for her operation," wrote Du Mei, a resident of Shenyang's Yuhong District.

The only requirement: The potential candidate should be about 70 years old and able to pay the operation fee of 50,000 yuan (US$6,494).

Du's mother, Zhao Feng, was diagnosed with cancer of the rectum last month. The family has been driven to despair as it cannot afford the operation.

The family survives on Du's husband's salary of 700 yuan (US$91) a month.

"My father died of cancer two years ago and his illness used up all our savings. I really do not know what to do," Du said.

"My mother now relies on pain-killers. I always worry that some day she will no longer be with us," Du said, breaking down in tears.

Du has convinced her mother about her idea of "trading mom for an operation fee".

Zhao said: "I do not want to get my family into trouble again."

Du's proposition drew an immediate reaction as soon as it was posted.

"It's simply ridiculous. Selling mother? Why doesn't she sell herself?" asked an angry netizen, called 8 degree.

Another netizen, Xiao Shu, blamed Du of evading her responsibilities in taking care of her mother.

But many also sympathize with her. "She would never do this if she had other choices," said Lin Hu, a worker at a local consulting company.

Du is taking the reaction calmly. "I know I should be blamed. But I just want to save my mother. She is only 58 and does not deserve to die," Du said.

Such tragic stories are not rare on the Internet. Experts blame the lack of a better social security network as the cause.

(China Daily May 18, 2007)