A man who went online to describe his feelings after consuming a deadly chemical in a suicide attempt on Wednesday has been rescued and is recovering at a hospital in Ya'an, an official of the local public security bureau said yesterday.
The 27-year-old Sichuan province man, who was not named, started broadcasting his physical sensations at 1:11 am on Tianya.cn, a major online forum, after he admitted consuming aconitine.
Hundreds of netizens who read the live posts persuaded the man to give up the attempt to die and rush to a hospital.
"Since 3 am on Wednesday, we received hundreds of calls from people, telling us to find the man and save him," Deng Yaling, chief of Ya'an police told China Daily. He added that it took his officers two hours to track down the man.
"When we reached the man's house at 5 am, his family had already taken him to the hospital," Deng said.
It is still unknown why he wanted to end his life, Deng added.
In his posts, the man said he wanted to end his life because he was "unable to overcome the past and the pain was too much to bear".
A netizen tracked down the IP address of the man's computer and posted that he was located in Ya'an, asking locals to call for help.
Another netizen posted: "If you die, you will die depressed. What's more, your families will be in pain all their lives."
Until yesterday, nearly 1 million netizens had viewed the post, with thousands leaving messages, hoping he was saved.
"It is surprising to see that so many people were calling to save a person they did not know at all," Deng said.
But the employees at Tianya.cn are not surprised at all. "It just shows that love is growing in the cyber world. Millions of netizens are always there and ready to help any one in need," a staff member from Tianya, who would not be named, told China Daily.
Nearly 33 million people across the country regularly visit the Tianya forum, according to the latest figure from the cyber community.
Questions:
1. How many netizens viewed the post of the man who wanted to commit suicide, and how many left messages?
2. How many people in China regularly visit the Tianya.cn forum?
3. What happened when police arrived at the home of the man who wanted to commit suicide?
Answers:
1. Nearly 1 million netizens viewed the post, and thousands left messages.
2. According to the cyber community, nearly 33 million people regularly visit the Tianya forum.
3. Police said his family had already taken him to the hospital.
(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)
About the broadcaster:
Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.