Podcast

A kiss not just a kiss

Updated: 2011-06-24 10:40

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Like a real life version of Snow White, Liu Wenxiu's kiss literally saved the life of a 16-year-old boy.

Liu just passing by a pedestrian bridge in downtown Shenzhen on June 11 when she spotted hundreds of onlookers watching a young man with a knife in his hand, threatening to jump.

The boy was outside the guardrail and only one step from falling. Local police had tried without success to persuade him to give up.

Liu managed to get close to the boy by telling the police that she was his girlfriend and also the reason for his attempt to commit suicide.

"The fact is I'd never seen him before, but that's the only idea I could come up with at the time," she recalled.

According to local television, the boy's mother had passed away, his stepmother didn't treat him well and she left with all his father's money. The father and son had to take part-time jobs and start their lives over again.

Liu started to sob when she heard the story.

The negotiation on the bridge ended like a romantic comedy when Liu hugged the boy and kissed him unexpectedly. Police took advantage of the situation to take away the boy's knife and pull him inside the handrail of the bridge.

"When I kissed him and when he put his hand (with the knife) on my waist, both of us were crying so hard," she said. "But I was happy as I knew I had saved him."

Liu said she didn't think too much before she offered her kiss, only that she knew it would comfort him.

"I simply thought he has to be stabilized, so he won't do anything stupid. The police were near us and I didn't worry about being pulled down by the boy," she said.

Liu left after the rescue. Local police called her soon after because the boy refused to reveal his story without her presence.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.