Hall Monitor

When Chinese flag bearer and basketball phenom Yao Ming walked through the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, there was so much commotion where I was that I neglected to find out more about the little boy was that he was walking with.

It was Lin Hao, a nine-year-old who survived the deadly earthquake in Sichuan in May. It’s interesting how this tribute to the earthquake by opening ceremony director Zhang Yimou has been covered by the international press. 

Many Western news outlets reported that Lin was an earthquake survivor, but they failed to mention that the little boy, who was attending the Yuzixi Primary School in quake-epicenter-Wenchuan County, not only survived, but after getting out of his classroom, went back into the rubble to pull two classmates out to safety.

During his rescue, he was hit by falling rubble and suffered injuries on his head and arms. It’s also been reported that while his classmates (10 survivors out of 32 students) were waiting for help, he encouraged them to sing songs to keep their spirits up. When he was asked why he risked his life, he said: “I was the hall monitor, it was my job to look after my classmates.”