2009 top ten news
Top 10 heart-warming moments 2009
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-12-18 10:19
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3. Teenage hero trio
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 The portraits of three deceased students, Chen Jishi(L), Fang zhao(R) and He Dongxu at the funeral held at the Jingzhou Memorial House, Jingzhou Oct 27, 2009. [cctv.com] |
Chen Jishi, He Dongxu and Fang Zhao, all 19-year-old freshmen from central China's Yangtze University, were among nearly a dozen students who formed a human ladder, holding each other's arm in the river, in order to rescue two drowning boys on the afternoon of October 24.
The two boys were rescued. The trio never came back. They were swept away in torrents of water.
"The three heroes gave life to others and risked death themselves. They are the pride of their parents, elites of the nation and models of the time," said Zhang Zhongjia, the freshmen's college party chief.
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However, the trio's heroic ode was jarred by boatmen's brass extortion, demanding the already distraught students and teachers 12,000 yuan (US$1,700) for each body recovered. The cold-blooded effrontery sparked outrage in the media and also on the internet with many condemning the actions of the boat crew as "immoral" and "shameful".
This story instantly made it into one of our heart-warming moments in 2009 for being so sad and drawing so much anger.
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 Boatmen demand payment while a student body hangs on the gunwale. [chinanews.com.cn] |
Related readings:
Teenage heroes mourned in central China
Three younglives riseabove death
Boatmen demanded cash to recover bodies
