"Dorian, we all know you. We love you. Stay Strong!"
On Jan. 14th local time, the Chinese Embassy to the United States witnessed a shout out to Dorian, a boy who is fighting against cancer. Cui Tiankai, the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, together with about 20 children from the Sun Shine School of the Chinese Embassy, sent supportive messages with a shout of encouragement and a board with a painted Great Wall.
Dorian Murray is an 8 year-old boy from Connecticut in the United States. He has been suffering from rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of soft tissue cancer since he was 4, and chose to stop the treatment in January after being told the cancer has spread. On January 11th, his father posted on Facebook that Dorian wanted to "be famous in China", since it had the Great Wall. The appeal of the family drew thousands of people's attention across the globe and "#D-Strong" has trended with various social media platforms. On Weibo, Chinese equivalent of Twitter, more than 34,000 users shared their support for Dorian.
The Chinese Embassy to the US also took part in this worldwide activity. Ambassador Cui and children at the Embassy's school showed their supportive messages while holding a poster with a dragon (a Chinese legendary creature that represents power and strength) and the Great Wall. The poster was painted by the children yesterday after they learned about Dorian's story.
These children were touched and encouraged by Dorian's story, and wanted to show their support for him in this way.
"I think he is strong, brave and positive. I hope a miracle might happen, and I would love to climb the Great Wall with Dorian." said 8 year-old Pan Yufei, who sent his support and wishes with two pictures of the Great Wall.
"This Embassy resembles the Great Wall, so I hope our message can bring him good luck, strength and blessing." said 9 year-old Lv Yige. She mentioned the Great Wall was originally built to resist invasion, and hopes it could help Dorian battle the invasion of the disease.
Ambassador Cui Tiankai also sent Dorian a greeting card and a picture book of the Great Wall, and said he was moved by Dorian's positive and strong attitude, hoping the boy could get better and make it to the Great Wall.