A 61-year-old British diplomat jumped into a river in China to save a 24-year-old woman who fell in
By: Inyoung Choi
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A 61-year-old British diplomat jumped into a river in China to save a 24-year-old woman who fell in
© @ukinchina/Twitter The British diplomat jumps in the river to rescue the woman. @ukinchina/Twitter
- A British diplomat dove into a river to rescue a woman from the water.
- 61-year-old Stephen Ellison, a British diplomat in China, rescued a 24-year-old student who was drowning in the river on Saturday morning, outlets including the BBC and the Guardian reported.
- Ellison received praise for his actions after video of the incident was shared online.
A British diplomat jumped into a river to rescue a woman from the water.
61-year-old Stephen Ellison, who is the British Consul General of Chongqing in southwest China, dove into the water to rescue a 24-year-old student who was drowning in the river Saturday morning, outlets including the BBC and the Guardian reported.
The video shared by the British Embassy Beijing shows Ellison diving into the water fully clothed, and reaching out for a life preserver with the woman.
—UK in China (@ukinchina) November 16, 2020
"[It] was pretty evident quite quickly that she was in trouble. She couldn't swim," Ellison told BBC News. "You know she went under the water and when she came up she was floating head down in the water, so there really wasn't a lot of time to do anything other than to get in."
Ellison received praise for his actions after video of the incident was shared online.
Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, retweeted the video from the British Embassy and said that "His name will be remembered not only in Chongqing area but around China. His act of heroism and kindness will be a much-told & far-spread story of China-UK friendship."
—Liu Xiaoming (@AmbLiuXiaoMing) November 16, 2020
Dominic Raab , UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State, said in a tweet that he was "very proud" of Ellison and that "his bravery and commitment demonstrates the very best of British diplomats around the world."
—Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) November 16, 2020
Laura Clarke, British High Commissioner to New Zealand, praised Ellison and said in a tweet it was "wonderful to see" rescue the woman.
—Laura Clarke (@LauraClarkeUK) November 16, 2020
French diplomat Eric Lebédel congratulated Ellison in a tweet.
—Eric Lebédel (@EricLebedel) November 16, 2020
Tags
Who is online
98 visitors
As I am living in Chongqing, this was of special interest to me - I applaud the courage and quick-thinking of British Diplomat Ellison.
Nice story. It's probably a great feeling to be able to save someone's life so dramatically.
I totally applaud the dude. Can't wait for someone to claim this is an example of the patriarchy subjecting women to cis masculinity.
??? Patriarchy? Who would do that? I'm sure it didn't make any difference to the hero whether it was a man or a woman.
Some people can't let a good thing be a good thing, but would like to accuse others of the same. Projection.
Well done, Mr. Ellison.
Kudos Mr. Ellison.
The China Daily had a more comprehensive report of this story, if it is of interest...
As well, it had this photo of Mr. Ellison pulling the unconscious girl to the life-saver ring
A screenshot of a video clip shows Stephen Ellison, the United Kingdom's consul general in Chongqing, diving into a river to save a drowning Chinese woman. [Photo/Sina Weibo]
Anyone who watched the movie 30 Seconds Over Tokyo would have seen the way the Chinese people revere the foreigners who help them in times of need. Mr. Ellison will now discover that there isn't a door in China that would not open to him or an individual who would not thank him. The UK now has a representative in Chongqing who is considered a kind of saint.