Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
AsiaWire / Xie Bingting
This video shows a young Chinese girl speaking through a window to her policeman father who returns home for the first time in a month but is cautiously standing outside.
The viral video now seen more than 10 million times shows officer Xie Bingting, 32, standing below his residential building while his daughter, four, greets him from an open window.
Mr Xie, who is with Feiyun Police Station in the city of Rui’an in East China’s Zhejiang Province, told Asia Wire it was “hard” not being able to see his family in person, but it was his and his colleague’s “duty” to carry on.
The video filmed by Mr Xie’s wife on 28th February shows his daughter standing on a small wooden stool while opening their sitting room window to speak to her dad.
Mr Xie took a rare opportunity during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and returned home for the first time in 31 days.
But the cautious cop, who delivered supplies such as surgical masks to his wife, did not wish to unwittingly transmit COVID-19 to his family, so he did not go upstairs.
Instead, he stood underneath the tower block and interacted with his daughter, who can be seen repeatedly calling him in the touching clip.
Mr Xie, who usually talks to his family via video calls, stayed for around five minutes before returning to his police station where he now spends most of his days while working on the front line of the viral outbreak.
As the video ends, his daughter becomes concerned that he is standing in the cold, and urges him to leave.
Mr Xie told Asia Wire: “As a community policeman, part of my job is to ensure local businesses have a smooth return to operations.
“We visit local businesses to better understanding the difficulties they are facing, including, for example, staff shortage.
“Everyone has their job to do during the outbreak. It’s very hard working day and night, but it’s our duty.
“I did manage to go home briefly yesterday (8th March). My only mission was to spend time with my daughter. She was very happy.
“I went downstairs to fetch a parcel and she thought I was leaving again. She kept asking whether I was coming home, then she waited for me by the window. It was really very heartwarming.
“My hope is that this outbreak ends soon, and every front-line worker is able to return to their family.”
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