Hong Kong Burns Association vice-chairman quits after criticism of exploiting Taiwan blast
Burns Association vice-chairman cites claims he was exploiting the dust blast tragedy
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 05 July, 2015, 5:53am
UPDATED : Sunday, 05 July, 2015, 5:53am
Elizabeth Cheung [email protected]
Burns Association vice-chairman Stanley Cheung announces he's quitting the post. Photo: Dickson Lee
A survivor of the deadly 1996 Pat Sin Leng hill fire will step down as vice-chairman of a charity for burns patients, saying accusations that he is exploiting the Taiwan dust blast tragedy makes him no longer suitable to lead the organisation.
Stanley Cheung Yun-hang also expressed a desire to spend more time with his family, including his two-year-old son.
Fighting back tears at a press conference yesterday, Cheung said he felt the image of the Burns Association had been tarnished by his tainted reputation.
"Some web users have even initiated a boycott of our fundraising efforts [for victims of the Taiwan blast]. I am concerned this will affect the victims' opportunities for scar treatment and other forms of recovery," Cheung said.
"I feel I no longer possess the ability to lead the organisation."
The decision was made on Friday night, Cheung said, when his eyes fell on his son and the feeling that he should spend more time with the child welled up in him.
"I feel remorseful for my son," Cheung said. "I have been climbing up too high and too quickly in the last few years."
He would continue to serve as a member of the association, he said, while reflecting on the idea of public service.
Cheung will notify the organisation's executive committee of his decision this week and and vacate his post within three months after wrapping up his work.
On February 10, 1996, Cheung, then 12, was caught in the Pat Sin Leng fire that killed five people. He suffered burns to 60 per cent of his body. In the next six years, he underwent more than 100 operations and many skin grafts.
After a fireball injured hundreds of people at a Taipei water park on June 27, Cheung led high-profile efforts to support the victims, six of whom were from Hong Kong. He accepted television interviews and flew to Taiwan on Tuesday to help the Hong Kong victims' families.
Then came the unexpected backlash - criticism filling up web forums as well as Cheung's personal Facebook page and that of the association, accusing him of taking advantage of the explosion to gain popularity.
Internet users also claimed he had taken reporters to interview family members of victims and created a nuisance.
Association vice-chairwoman Jane Hui Man-kwan said its members had decided to visit Taiwan only after they received requests for help from relatives.
All media interviews were conducted with the consent of the interviewees, Hui said, denying that the association had worked with the media.
As of yesterday morning, the association had raised more than HK$433,000 for victims.
Treasurer Maria Lai Tak-ching said they would first hand out HK$150,000, with a quarter going to a Taiwanese charity for burns patients and the rest being shared equally between the six Hongkongers. Each family can expect to receive HK$18,750 this week.
