Blue Sky Rescue Team continues searching for missing Taiwanese elderly man
On April 4, 60-year-old Mr. Dong from Taiwan went missing while hiking in Qingshuijian, Mentougou. Fourteen days have passed with no information, but the search continues.
Regarding when the search should end, various rescue teams say there is no clear standard—the matter often just “fades away.” But who is bearing the time, manpower, and material costs of this search? Who is making the rescue decisions? This case offers a glimpse into the current state of civilian rescue efforts.
1. Who decides when to pull out?
Halting the search requires a team of experts to “diagnose”
“Each route has been searched by at least three rescue teams,” said Yuanshan, leader of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, pointing to a dense web on his computer, “The entire mountain has been combed through several times.”
When to stop searching? Yuanshan has no answer.
Qiu Lili, legal representative of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, said that various comprehensive factors need to be analyzed. Generally, a search will last at least two weeks. Unless it’s freezing cold, and if the missing hiker has some wilderness survival awareness, surviving for two weeks is entirely possible.
For one location, if three different search teams have gone over it three times with no results, “in the past, our rescue team could announce a pullout,” Yuanshan said. Still, they plan to organize team members to go up the mountain again this weekend.
“But if the official overall commander disagrees with us pulling out, we have to cooperate,” Yuanshan said. The major decision to halt the rescue is up to the government as the overall commander.
“But based on past experience, the government is unlikely to make such a decision unless the family asks for the search to stop,” Yuanshan said.
Mr. Dong’s wife said, “The rescue teams are working very hard, but everyone has their limits. In the end, it might just be left unresolved, but I won’t give up on the search.”
Other civilian rescue teams admitted that no one can really make the decision on when to stop, nor is there any such standard. In the end, it just “fades away.”
Cui Heping, an international emergency rescue expert and director of the Public Management Expert Committee at the Peking University School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science’s Senior Training Center, believes that the search can basically be called off now.
Cui Heping pointed out that there is a survival pattern for people in the wild. If someone is in danger but can still breathe, without water or food, the maximum normal survival period is seven days. Of course, miracles can happen.
But Cui Heping also pointed out that deciding when to stop the search requires a team of experts to “diagnose.” Because families always hold onto a glimmer of hope. And if the government calls a halt, it may cause public misunderstanding and dissatisfaction among the families.
Cui Heping pointed out that every search must not simply decide whether to stop. Instead, an expert team should be formed promptly—they understand rescue patterns, know the cost of rescue efforts, how to communicate with families, and when to end the search.
2. Who commands the rescue forces?
The Red Cross should get involved early in the search
It is understood that for each mountain rescue, local governments, public security, and other departments take the lead in setting up a forward command center to serve as the overall commander. Various rescue forces report to and register with the command center. Government departments are responsible for major decisions, coordinating civilian rescue teams, emergency medical services, fire departments, armed police, and other forces, and also provide logistical support such as communications.
Yuanshan said that for the formulation of search routes and the allocation of rescue personnel, government departments generally hand it over to professional rescue teams.
Years of rescue experience have made the cooperation between the Blue Sky Rescue Team and the authorities seamless. “Blue Sky” has almost become the operational commander for every government-led rescue, and this Mentougou rescue is no exception.
Yuanshan said they report the daily search routes and personnel arrangements to government departments, and only begin work after getting approval. “After all, we are professionals, and our plans always get approved.”
About a week into the Mentougou rescue, several civilian rescue teams essentially broke away from the unified scheduling of the command center and instead searched the mountain according to their own routes. After finding nothing, they quietly withdrew.
Cui Heping said that the government’s greatest strength lies in its authority—it is the guarantor of decision-making. Rescue experts need a lot of resource support during the rescue process, but they can’t mobilize them. The government should ensure the experts’ maximum needs are met to achieve the best results under expert command.
“The government should delegate its non-specialized areas to society and the market,” Cui Heping believes. Life-saving involves a lot of specialized knowledge, and different life-saving activities require summarizing past experience and expertise. Those who know should be the ones commanding.
The government must avoid making non-professional decisions, avoid interfering with rescues, avoid wasting resources, avoid qualitative risks, and avoid well-intentioned violations of law. The government should leverage five types of power: safeguarding power, coordination power, rallying power, cohesive power, and credibility.
In Cui Heping’s view, the Beijing Red Cross is the most suitable organization because in China, the Red Cross is not only a humanitarian rescue organization but also has strong government backing.
The Red Cross should have been involved from the very beginning of the search and rescue efforts, including organizing social rescue forces, expert teams, and providing comfort to the families.
3 Who Bears the Cost of Rescue?
Volunteers Voluntarily Foot the Bill and Refuse Sponsorships
So far, over 1,000 person-times have entered the mountains in search efforts. During this time, the costs in terms of time, manpower, and material resources have been enormous.
Teammates from Blue Sky Rescue who came from out of town drove to assist and paid for their own fuel. Team member Black Bat covered a lodging expense of 1,000 yuan for the team. Sometimes when food ran low or clothes and shoes were damaged, whoever noticed would voluntarily buy supplies.
Yuanshan said that not only do the volunteers themselves not calculate the costs, but the entire team doesn’t either.
Haotian Rescue Team, which was just established last October, already has 200 members. The two team leaders cover all costs for each rescue mission as well as daily training and equipment. Team members bring their own food and personal mountaineering gear.
Qiu Lili, the legal representative of Blue Sky Rescue, said, “We’ve never considered the cost issue—it’s impossible to calculate. How much is appropriate? Human life is priceless.”
“No matter how high the cost, we do not charge the rescued a single cent.” Blue Sky, Haotian, Hongjian, and other rescue teams, whether team leaders or members, mostly echo the same sentiment. When Mr. Dong’s wife offered to give the rescue team a hardship fee, it was refused.
Qiu Lili said: The reason Blue Sky Rescue can continue operating is fundamentally due to the rescuers themselves—every member is both a volunteer and a donor.
Haotian Rescue Team, established just six months ago, now has 200 members. The two team leaders cover all costs for each rescue as well as daily training and equipment. Team leader Nie Jianliang is somewhat worried—as it’s been less than half a year since their establishment and they’ve already been involved in over ten search and rescue missions, with the two leaders having invested 150,000–160,000 yuan.
Nie Jianliang is considering seeking support from society and the government. “If one day I can no longer afford it, the whole team will face a crisis, and the rescue capability will be weakened.”
Many rescue teams have declined corporate sponsorships. While sponsorship may bring in funds, operational management and awareness often lag behind. “Can this team still remain pure?” This is the biggest concern for Yuanshan. “For public welfare organizations, the most important things are principles and spirit.”
Currently, Blue Sky Rescue receives no more than 50,000 yuan in charitable donations per year. The government also purchases services, providing a portion of the costs for equipment and training.
4 How Far Can Civilian Rescue Go?
Suggest Collaboration Between Insurance Industry and Rescue Agencies
Zhou Jingmin of Green Field Rescue said that the mountains are full of thorny bushes—you can barely lift your head while walking, needing to bend down and constantly push through the branches. The soil, freshly soaked by rain, is slippery, and along the way, three team members slipped, with sheer cliffs just a step away.
Volunteers also have concerns, noting that there is no specialized rescue insurance in China. If an injury occurs during a rescue, there is no protection at all.
Volunteers hope the government might introduce some protective regulations for volunteers.
Additionally, issues that non-professionals may overlook are often noticed by experts—for example, whether the missing person had insurance, whether their credit card included international emergency rescue services, or if there was international fund rescue insurance. If such insurance exists, the cost of search and rescue could be borne by the insurance company, thereby resolving the rescue team’s expenses as well.
“I truly admire Blue Sky Rescue, but the volunteer spirit of rescuers cannot become the social security system,” Cui Heping pointed out. A complete social security system cannot rely on such spirit. Wilderness search and rescue should shift from past government-managed and socially supported models to a new model of insurance industry involvement.
Cui Heping emphasized that to achieve professionalization and industrialization in wilderness search and rescue, cooperation between the insurance industry and rescue agencies is essential. With the launch of emergency rescue insurance products, when you are in danger, social resources will come to your aid, and the insurance company will cover the costs. This concept needs to be recognized not only by the government but also by civil society and the general public.
In countries like the United States, developed Asian nations, and European countries, this relies on modern, new-model insurance industries. When insured individuals encounter danger while traveling worldwide and professional emergency rescue forces are deployed, the insurance company commissions rescue organizations to assist them, with all expenses covered by the insurer. The insurer may even allocate a small portion of the premiums to support the regular operations of rescue teams.