Empathy, love soothe pains after Kunming terrorist attack

People attend an gathering to mourn for victims killed by knife-wielding attackers at Kunming Railway Station in Kunming of southwest China's Yunnan province, March 3, 2014.

After a stabbing rampage cast a shadow over China's Kunming city, residents and people throughout the country have lamented the loss of lives while delivering support to those haunted by the horror.

Twenty-nine innocent people were killed and 143 others injured at Kunming Railway Station following a terrorist attack perpetrated by a group of black-clad separatists from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Saturday night.

On Monday afternoon, Chinese leaders and political advisors paid silent tribute to the victims at the opening ceremony of the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

Around 4 pm at Baohua Temple in Kunming, capital city of southwest China's Yunnan province, scores of monks chanted prayers for the deceased.

"In addition to Buddhism, all religions respect lives. Therefore, the terrorist attack was not a religious issue, because it went against principals of good championed by all religions," said the temple's abbot, Master Chong Hua.

At the train station square, the site of the attack, citizens have voluntarily gathered to mourn the victims with wreaths, flowers and candles over the past two days.

During her lunch break on Monday, resident Tu Fan placed a large bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums under a massive bull sculpture at the square.

"Not only for myself, my colleagues from Xinjiang also wanted me to do this for them," said 26-year-old Tu.

Locals must not panic and should have faith in the triumph of good over evil, Tu said. "Fear is what the terrorists expect from us."

Two native retirees, surnamed Guan and Wang respectively, made a long bus trip to the square, but failed to find a florist. Finally, they collected roadside wild flowers to show their respect and sympathy to the dead.

The two men in their 60s said they did not come earlier for fear that they might impede the rescue work.

A large-scale memorial ceremony was held at the same venue on Sunday night as hundreds of residents and tourists spontaneously assembled to grieve the deceased.

Among the mourners was 27-year-old Wu Bo, who migrated to Kunming from his hometown in Sichuan Province for work last week. He took dozens of red candles to the square, calling on passersby to join the ritual.

"I arrived at Kunming only days ago, but it gave me a very good first impression. I don't want the city's beauty to be destroyed this way," said Wu, who helped police transport 21 wounded people to the hospital on Saturday night.

"It's sad to realize lives are so fragile. I just want to tell everyone 'be strong,'" said Kunming resident Yang Hu, struggling to hold back tears.

Despite lingering grief, citizens have been eager to lend a hand to the injured survivors and those busy handling the aftermath.

Since Sunday, some restaurants have started to offer free meals to police officers on guard to ensure safety and order at the railway station as well as medical workers at the scene.

"They must be exhausted after working overnight. It's our duty to help them fill up, given that many snack bars nearby have suspended business after the killing spree," said Huang Jinlei, a manager with the Fuzhaolou restaurant, located about 600 meters from the station.

Huang added that their services would continue until the police fulfill their security tasks.

Policeman Li Mingyang described a heartwarming scene on his account on Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter.

"Tired from the all-night patrol, I went to a breakfast stand crowded with people... When they saw me, they made way for me and asked me to buy first. They said 'you cops worked so hard!' At that moment, I felt my nose twitching..." Li wrote on Sunday morning.

The posting had been forwarded more than 90,000 times as of Monday night.

In the wake of the bloodshed, more than 2,000 locals donated 560,000 milliliters of blood on Sunday, resolving a blood shortage crisis as a result of the violence.

"I hope to bring a little bit of warmth to the 'Spring City' with my act. I love Kunming," said Hu Ting, a sophomore at Yunnan Normal University, waiting in a long queue at a blood donation station downtown.

In addition to physical treatment, psychological consultants are ready to help survivors relieve the trauma caused by the harrowing experience.

"Some of the injured we visited said the murderers' image popped into their minds when they closed their eyes. That suggests they have suffered huge mental damage," said Wang Haijing, vice president of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC).

It is the first time the RCSC has carried out mental health interventions after such an incident, said Wang. "But we can borrow experience from the practices of our US counterpart after the 9/11 tragedy."

The organization's Yunnan branch will launch a hotline on Tuesday dedicated to psychological assistance for those affected by Saturday's deadly attack.

While expressing moral support to violence-stricken Kunming, netizens across the country have vigorously called for rationality and warned against blind hatred.

"It's stupid and dangerous to impose hatred upon an ethnic group as a whole ... Please treat our Uygur compatriots who abide by the law kindly," read a widely circulated posting on WeChat, a popular instant messaging service.