China Local News
‘True Heroes’ : Netizens Pay Tribute to Firefighters Killed in Hong Kong Blaze
As Hong Kong celebrities and TV stations have joined hands to pay respect to the city’s frontline firefighters who battled the deadly blaze that broke out last Tuesday, the topic ‘salute to our firefighters’ became trending on Sina Weibo.
An ‘unimaginable’ fire broke out in a Hong Kong industrial facility at the Ngau Tau Kok area a week ago, burning for almost five days, more than 108 hours, claiming the lives of two firefighters and injuring 11 others.
Senior fireman Samuel Hui Chi-kit (37) died after being taken to hospital on Thursday. Senior station officer Thomas Cheung (30) died while battling the fire on Tuesday, SCMP reports.
It was Hong Kong’s longest-running fire in over 20 years. The South China Morning Post reported that an electrical leakage from the air conditioner was a potential cause of the fire.
As the city was stunned and saddened by the loss of the two firemen, a group of actors led by celebrity Hong Kong Eric Tsang (曾志伟) and nine Hong Kong TV and radio stations launched the “Salute to Our Firefighters” campaign on Sunday. Those taking part were asked to upload a picture of themselves on social media holding up a paper with the message of “salute to our firefighters” and a lighted torch.
“Usually if friends do something for us, we say thank you to them. But when they are sacrificing themselves for us, thank you is not enough. We really want to do something for [our firefighters], but it is not appropriate to go to the frontline to encourage them, or deliver food and water,” Tsang said.
In honor of the firemen, the 1993 song Sincere Hero (真心英雄) by Jonathan Lee (李宗盛) will be rewritten as True Hero (真的英雄), sung by hundreds of singers. Pictures shared by netizens on social media will be included in the music video. The song will make its debut at 7pm this Tuesday.
Within several hours after the campaign was launched, the topic became a hit on Sina Weibo under the hashtag of “Salute to Our Firefighters” (#向前線消防員致敬#). The campaign’s Weibo page has been reviewed by more than 30 million people.
Chinese netizens shared their gratitude for firefighters who put themselves in harm’s way to save others. One Weibo user wrote: “No matter where in the world they are, firefighters deserve our respect.”
Another netizen applauded the firemen in a more creative way. In his post, the male Weibo user named ‘It Will All be Okay‘ sketched a short story portraying the dream of thousands of firemen “to stay alive until retirement.”
“I am a fireman.”
“Many people think that we are heroes.”
“Even though the fireman suit doesn’t give us superpowers.”
“But we are not heroes. Sometimes, we have to give up.”
“In the face of danger, I will fear, too.”
“When such a fear comes, my brain always tells me to stop.”
“Do you know the honor of being a fireman?”
“It is neither receiving awards nor recognition;”
“Rather, it is to retire while alive.”
– By Yanling Xu
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China and Covid19
Anger over Guangzhou Anti-Epidemic Staff Picking Locks, Entering Homes
While these Guangzhou homeowners were quarantined at a hotel, anti-epidemic staff broke their door locks and entered their homes.
WEIBO SHORT ｜ Weibo Shorts are concise articles on topics that are trending. This article was first published
Dozens of homeowners in Guangzhou, Guangdong, were angered to find out the locks of their apartment doors were broken during their mandatory hotel quarantine.
The residents had gone to a quarantine location after a positive Covid case in their building. Afterward, anti-epidemic staff had entered their homes for disinfection and to check if any residents were still inside.
The incident happened earlier this month in an apartment complex in the Liwan district of the city.
The incident first gained attention on July 10 when various videos showing the broken door locks were posted online. During the morning, the property management had conducted an ’emergency inspection’ of 84 households. The doors were later sealed.
The case went trending again on July 18 when the residential district apologized to all homeowners for the break-ins and promised to compensate them.
“What’s the use of apologizing?” some Weibo commenters wondered. “Where is the law? If this even happens in Guangzhou now and people in Guangdong put up with this, what else will they dare to do in the future?”
On Chinese social media, most comments on the Guangzhou incident were about the break-ins allegedly being unlawful.
Media reporter and Toutiao author Kai Lei (@凯雷), who has over two million followers on Weibo, said the incident showed that those breaking in “had no regard for the law.”
To read more about Covid-19 in China, check our articles here.
By Manya Koetse
With contributions by Miranda Barnes
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China Local News
Shanghai Ruijin Hospital Stabbing Incident
The police opened fire and subdued the suspect, who stabbed at least four people at Shanghai’s Ruijin Hospital on Saturday.
WEIBO SHORT ｜ Weibo Shorts are concise articles on topics that are currently trending. This article was first published
On Saturday July 9, a stabbing incident that occurred at Shanghai’s renowned Ruijin Hospital (上海瑞金医院) shocked Chinese netizens as videos showing the panic and chaos at the scene circulated in Wechat groups and on Weibo.
At around 11:30 AM the police department started receiving calls that there was someone stabbing people at the hospital, which is located in the city’s Huangpu district. At the scene of the incident, at the 7th floor of the outpatient clinic, they found a knife-wielding man holding a group of people hostage.
According to police reports, the police opened fire and subdued the suspect. Four people who were injured during the knife attack are now being treated, none of them are in a life-threatening situation.
People fled the scene at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai's Huangpu District this morning, where at least four people were injured after a stabbing incident. pic.twitter.com/AFn0ZlWIIr
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) July 9, 2022
The case is currently under investigation.
According to The Paper, Ruijin Hospital resumed its outpatient services at 14:08 this afternoon.
This is the second stabbing incident in Shanghai this week. On Monday, a man was arrested after going on a random stabbing spree in Shanghai’s Jing’an District.
While some Shanghai residents say the recent incidents made them feel less safe, others praise the fast police response to the incident.
One doctor from Shanghai posted on Weibo that hospitals should have proper security checks in place in order to prevent these kinds of incidents from happening again in the future.
By Manya Koetse
With contributions by Miranda Barnes
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Wilson
July 1, 2016 at 6:58 pm
Does anyone have the English lyrics to the re-wire song dedicated to the Hong Kong Firefighters (True Hero)?