MVN - Most Valuable Network

Beijing’s Opening Ceremony Finds a Hero

Amidst the pomp and passion, the spectacular pyrotechnics, and the almost reverential depiction of the life’s polarities, one simple, straightforward image will be kept in memory from Friday’s opening ceremonies in Beijing.  As Yao Ming, the 7′5″ Chinese basketball star, entered the stadium proudly carrying the home flag aloft, a small boy with even smaller legs hustled to keep pace with the lanky flagbearer, cheerfully waving his own mini version of the Chinese standard.

Nine-year-old earthquake survivor Lin Hao was selected to march alongside Yao Ming during the opening ceremony. Lin Hao is a primary school student from the quake-rocked zone of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. According to media reports submitted after the May 12 tremor devastated the region, Lin hauled himself from underneath the rubble of his collapsed school and then pryed his way back in to save two fellow students.

When asked why he went back in, he replied that he had been appointed a hall monitor by his teacher and it was his duty to see that everyone was safe.  Twenty members of his class of thirty lost their lives in the tragedy.  For his unselfish efforts in the face of death and devastation, Lin was later awarded the title of “Teenage Hero in Earthquake Rescue and Relief.”

Last night, as Beijing finally opened its doors to the world, the political agenda that had gripped the consciousness of fans and foes alike suddenly faded from the spotlight.  Where there had existed controversy and hatred, a tiny hall monitor who was just doing his job made his way in and charmed a billion people,  reminding even the most grizzled of us that there is reason to hope.  Heroes, it seems, come in all shapes and sizes and often when and where they are least expected.  Somewhere in every corner of the world, there is someone in pain, waiting desperately to be rescued by a nine-year old hall monitor named Lin Hao.

What a breathtaking way to say, “Let the games begin!”

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 9th, 2008 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.