Profiles
Hong Kong volunteer dies while trying to save others
By Joy Lu (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-16 07:45
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HONG KONG - "My cold is getting better. I can finally do something for the children tomorrow."
That telephone message sent to a friend may have been the last one sent by Wong Fu-wing.
 Wong Fuwing was killed while trying to rescue children and teachers in the aftermath of the earthquake. |
Wong was a volunteer at the Ci Xing Xi Yuan Hui orphanage.
He escaped the building unhurt after the initial tremor struck, but went back inside to rescue three children and three teachers trapped inside. Wong and others had got three children and one teacher out when an aftershock shattered the remains of the unstable structure and buried Wong under the debris.
Wong's tragic end touched the hearts of people in his home city of Hong Kong, as well as people on the mainland.
Speaking on a radio show on Thursday, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Henry Tang voiced great admiration for Wong. "The way he sacrificed his life to save others is a good example of Hong Kong spirit," he said.
Wong's family arrived at the disaster-stricken village on Thursday. Staff members of the Hong Kong government office in Beijing were dispatched to offer assistance to family members.
Wong, a humble man who often said he could only contribute his labor because he had little money, began his charitable work about 10 years ago after picking up a book by Sui Guoyuan, a leukemia patient who devoted his time to advocating bone marrow donations.
In 2002, Sui recreated the trip, spending three months walking from Hong Kong to Beijing and raising about 200,000 yuan ($29,300), including about 100,000 yuan of his own savings.
Sui died the following year. In the midst of mourning his friend, Wong was dealt another blow when he learned he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and diabetes.
Sickness did not deter this warmhearted man. When the Sichuan earthquake struck in 2008, Wong rushed to the disaster-stricken area of Shifang over the objections of his family. He threw himself into the effort to transport relief supplies and clear away debris left by the earthquake.
Sun Xiaolan, a Xi'an doctor Wong met through Sui, told Wong's story on her blog: "He said he couldn't just sit in front of the television and shed tears. He had to do something - if Chinese people are considered a big family, it's just natural for one family member to help out another family members."
When the initial Sichuan rescue and recovery was complete, Wong continued taking on new tasks. His work at the orphanage was one of them. Arriving at Yushu on Tuesday, he was carrying HK$10,000 ($1,290) and he planned to use it to build a new bathroom for the orphanage.
Mo Ka, a friend Wong met during his volunteer work, said on his blog that Wong had visited him before departing for Yushu.
Wong said he envied Mo Ka's marriage and he held out little hope for finding a wife of his own.
"But that's good, too. I will have no concern when I go to other places to do something," he said.
A fellow volunteer at the orphanage, who identified himself as Yi Xiang, told Radio Television Hong Kong that a memorial service was held for Wong in Lanzhou, capital of the neighboring Gansu province, on Thursday.
"When we told volunteers in other social welfare organizations about what happened, the response was overwhelming," he said
"We're all greatly saddened, not just the orphanage's children and teachers he saved," he said.
China Daily
