[放眼天下]Tse Ting-chun is a genuine hero
The funeral service for Masa Tse Ting-chun, the Hong Thai tour guide who sacrificed himself in the hostage tragedy in Manila, was held yesterday at the Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom. Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was also in attendance. Thousands of mourners who had not known Tse personally were also there to pay their last respects. What a moving sight it was!
Tse Ting-chun's picture hanging in the mourning hall showed the smiling face of an upright person in the sun. Looking at it, one could not help feeling even more regrettable at his passing at such a young age. On the other hand, a positive message about Hong Kong society was sent out by the death of Tse Ting-chun and the spontaneous mourning for him by thousands of people from the general public, which must be cherished and given close attention by various sectors.
That day (on August 23), Rolando Mendoza, the Filipino gunman, suddenly boarded a Hong Thai tour bus carrying 21 Hong Kong tourists. With an M16 rifle pointed at them, everyone was completely at a loss over what to do. But Tse Ting-chun, as the guide of the tour group, reacted with extraordinary calm and quick wits. He immediately sneaked to the back to hide in the last row of seats and sent a short text message on his mobile phone back to Hong Thai, to alert Hong Kong instantly. This enabled the SAR Government to start a rescue operation immediately. Facing a gunman whose motives were then unknown, any movement by a hostage could result in his getting killed. But Tse Ting-chun, caring little for his own safety but putting the interests of his group members as the top priority, risked his life to send out the message instantly in hopes that they could be rescued as early as possible.
During the 11-hour standoff that followed, as recalled later by surviving members of the tour group and the bus driver, as well as seen from TV footages, Tse Ting-chun negotiated with the gunman several times, at first asking him to release some aged people and children of the group, then asking the Filipino police to provide lunch. He also kept consoling the tour group and advising them to remain calm. Later on, the gunman became emotionally unstable and wanted to use a hostage as a "living target" to block the way in the event of a police assault. Without hesitation, Tse Ting-chun volunteered to be the "living target" and was handcuffed to a bus door. Finally, when Mendoza got really mad, Tse Ting-chun naturally became the first victim, riddled to death by rifle bullets.
Needless to say, what Tse Ting-chun did - from sending out the SOS message, negotiating with the gunman to volunteering himself as a "living target" – was by no means out of bravado but showed his professional morality. A tour guide, when taking a group on a tour, has a responsibility for the safety of the group. Especially when in danger, a tour guide must act like a captain of a ship that has to be abandoned, who will not leave his ship until he sees that all passengers and crew members have left the ship safely.
It was obvious that in the then tense and dangerous circumstances, Tse Ting-chun was prepared to sacrifice himself to save the lives of those in his tour group. What enabled him to do so was, primarily, his lofty sense of morality, being selfless, fearless and ever ready and willing to help others, which was more important than the general professional code of ethics for a tour guide. Only with such qualities could he possibly have made such selfless decisions. He could have done otherwise, without risking his life to send out the message, or he could just have sat there idle and letting the gunman randomly pick up another hostage as a "living target", and he, as only a tour guide, would not necessarily have been accused (of any dereliction of duty). In fact, on that day, the local tour guide, a Filipino woman, was able to persuade the gunman to release her on the grounds that she had a family and children to take care of. But Tse Ting-chun chose to run the risk of death himself and leave the hope of survival to others, and in the end sacrificed his youthful and valuable life.
It is well known that tour escorts and tour guides are in general underpaid and their social status is not high. In the past, they even used to be looked down upon as the ones who simply "led the way" in a tour. They have to rely on clients' tips and commissions from tourist shops to cover any shortages in income. So, in general, they could hardly be bound by a professional code of ethics, let alone risk their own lives in doing their jobs. To make a not so appropriate analogy, female tour guide Li Hau-chun, known as Ah Zhen, who had her professional certificate revoked earlier for berating Mainland tourists, set a negative example. However, Tse Ting-chun through his deeds and final sacrifice, has let us see that not all tour guides are out to swindle customers of their money, and that escorting tourists is by no means a "good-for-nothing" vocation. In every sector and industry, there are young people like Tse Ting-chun who, though not well educated, devote themselves to doing a good job. In their spare time, they also proactively pursue further studies and training, in an effort to make steady progress in life. And in a crucial moment, they will spare no pain and even risk their own lives to save others. Such young men and women are genuine heroes who are also the wealth and hope of Hong Kong society. May Masa Tse Ting-chun rest in peace.
06 September, 2010
