Kuang Senqia went to work on the graveyard shift at his convenience store the day before Christmas, just like any other day. Except at 4am a masked man clad in black strode in, placed a gun and a small box on the counter and, holding a remote control, said: “This is a bomb. If I press this remote, the bomb will explode. Quickly, give me all the money!”
Kuang, who was alone at the 7-Eleven on Wan Chai Pier Queen’s Road, thought for a moment and then responded calmly: “We have very little cash in the register, and there is a closed-circuit TV recording everything. Think about it. Don’t do such a foolish thing. Just leave quickly.”
The man listened and was momentarily stilled. Just then a customer came in, and Kuang said to the man: “Someone’s coming. Hurry! Leave now.” The robber gathered up the gun and the bomb and fled. The entire episode lasted just a few minutes.
Kuang was immediately sought out by local Hong Kong media, who love a good man-bites-dog story. The 41-year-old Kuang said “I did not think about myself, but about the robber.” He said he was guided by a wish to be kind to the man who was attempting to steal from him.
After the story was picked up by the tabloid Apple Daily, readers wondered how he could have found the courage to respond the way he did. Some reports speculated that he was a Buddhist, though in later interviews Kuang explained that he practices a spiritual discipline called Falun Gong, and believes that good begets good and evil begets evil.
He said that while he has been working at the store for 11 years and never encountered a robber before, there have been other times when he has persuaded thieves to stop doing bad things.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to such bad things. We must be responsible to society. Our Teacher teaches us to be a good person according to the principles of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance,” he said, referring to the core tenets of Falun Gong. “I wish more people would become good people. I simply wanted the robber to be a good person and not do a stupid thing.”
Kuang began practicing Falun Gong in 1996, after his cousin from mainland China told him about it. He said in an interview that it has benefited him tremendously. After a nationwide persecution against the practice began in 1999, led by then-Party chief Jiang Zemin, his wife in Shantou, Guangdong Province, was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison. Kuang stayed in Hong Kong while trying to rescue his wife. Now his wife and two children are safe in Malaysia.
Kuang’s courage impressed residents in the area. One man outside the store when asked about the case gave a thumbs-up: “Very clear-headed; very calm in the face of danger.”
A tourist from Hainan Province said, “I think he is very brave. If I were him, I would have run away first. His conduct is very righteous. We hope there are more people like him in our society.”
Kuang says he does his best to conduct himself in everyday life strictly according to Falun Gong’s moral principles. His New Year wish is for more people to uphold justice and stop doing evil. He recently got a promotion.
Read the original Chinese article.
chinareports@epochtimes.com
