Chen Wen-chih, the police chief of Beitou Precinct under the Taipei City Police Department, who is usually passionate about sports, took the opportunity to hike and inspect Zhongzheng Mountain — a popular hiking spot in his jurisdiction — yesterday. By coincidence, he encountered a pair of lost siblings who were struggling to get down the mountain. With dusk approaching and no cell phone signal in the mountains, they were unable to contact their parents, from whom they had become separated. Concerned for the children's safety, Chen personally escorted them down the mountain. Along the way, he chatted and talked with them to ease their anxiety. After safely reaching the bottom, he used his own phone to call their parents so they could reunite. This brought a safe and peaceful ending to what could have been a frightening mountain adventure for the siblings.
The siblings, surnamed Zhang and residents of Banqiao, had gone cycling with their family to Zhonghe Street in Beitou on the 4th before hiking on foot up Zhongzheng Mountain. While descending, the brother and sister had gone to the toilet together, and their parents assumed they had already come down. When they couldn’t reach each other and it grew darker, the two children became panicked as they couldn’t find the way down. They ran to ask for directions from Police Chief Chen Wen-chih, who was patrolling in plain clothes. At first, Chen did not reveal his identity. He offered to accompany the children down the mountain and help them reunite with their parents. However, unsure whether the police chief was good or bad, the children insisted on going the opposite direction. Chen then revealed his identity and lent them his phone to contact their family, but there was no signal in the mountains. In the end, the siblings went down the mountain with Chen, though still somewhat skeptical.
At first, the Zhang siblings remained quite cautious and wary, uncertain if the unfamiliar Chen Wen-chih was really a police chief. During the walk down, Chen noticed that the older brother was quite smart and encouraged him to study hard and aim to get into Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School. The boy then revealed that he was already a first-year student there — making him Chen’s junior from elementary school. The elder brother and the younger siblings quickly hit it off, chatting happily. Their earlier fears and concerns melted away, and they laughed and talked along the way. Once they reached an area with cell phone reception at the foot of the mountain, the siblings used the chief’s phone to call their parents and arranged a meeting point. Their parents arrived to pick them up, and the Zhang family expressed deep gratitude to Chen for his help, which allowed them to reunite safely and created lasting, happy memories.
(China Times)