At midnight on June 30, 1997, the eve of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Chinese flag raiser Zhu Tao was suddenly "deaf" when he hung the national flag on the flagpole, and his nosebleeds uncontrollably wanted to go out, and his eyes were pitch black!
Zhu Tao's hand grasping the rope couldn't help but tremble, he wanted to judge the situation by seeing the reactions of the people around him, but the soldier's quality told him that he couldn't move. He felt the nosebleed gradually penetrate the cotton ball stuffed in the nasal cavity, Zhu Tao could not move, so he quietly sucked the nosebleed back into his mouth and swallowed quietly in his stomach.
The 12 seconds of waiting for the national anthem to sound is longer than a century for Zhu Tao.
Zhu Tao voluntarily applied to be the flag raiser of Hong Kong's handover ceremony, and the whole country has been excited since the news that Margaret Thatcher agreed to return Hong Kong in 1997 came. The honor guard also carried out intense training to greet the return of the wanderer in Hong Kong with the fullest mental outlook and wash away the century-old national shame.
After layers of almost harsh selection, Zhu Tao, who is 1.92 meters tall, has a dignified appearance and excellent technology, stands out from many excellent honor guards.
At the detailed consultation meeting of Hong Kong's handover ceremony, An Wenbin, director of the Protocol Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, proposed that the Chinese flag must be raised on time at 00:00 on July 1, a reasonable request that was unreasonably rejected by the British representative. An Wenbin, who has always been personable, said angrily: "Hong Kong has been occupied by you for more than 100 years, and now it is about to return, and you have not cooperated." I just want you to give two more seconds, the baton up 1 second, 1 second down! ”
Therefore, the honor guard's requirements for the flag raiser Zhu Tao are that he must ensure that the flag is raised on time at midnight, and that the national flag is raised to the highest point at the same time as the end of the national anthem.
In order to complete this goal, Zhu Tao practiced flag-raising more than 5,000 times in 20 days, and his gloves were worn out twice. Teammates who get up at night can often see such a scene: in the night when five fingers are out of sight, a tall figure forcefully pulls the rope of raising the flag, and next to the tape recorder playing the national anthem...
Zhu Tao's rigorous and serious training has allowed him to accurately raise the national flag at the end of the national anthem in the dark of night, but the handover ceremony of just 30 minutes is not only a matter for Chinese personnel, but also requires the cooperation of British personnel. But the British honor guard did not know whether it was deliberate or not, always slowing down the training schedule.
China's honor guard was under heavier pressure, and Zhu Tao's body was in some condition. On the one hand, because the flag raiser undertakes the task of showing the style of Chinese soldiers, there can be no flaw in words and deeds, which makes Zhu Tao have a huge psychological pressure; on the other hand, Zhu Tao has traveled a long way, first training in Beijing, then to Shenzhen to do applicability training, and finally to Hong Kong to do final training.
Even a few hours before the flag-raising ceremony on June 30, Zhu Tao used a cotton ball to block his nose. But there were so many surprises that day. The British representative, Prince Charles, spoke for 23 seconds more, causing the live conductor to speed up the process behind, and the British national anthem was played faster than usual, so that the British flag was lowered when there were 12 seconds before 00:00 on July 1.
The scene was silent, and everyone seemed to be waiting for Zhu Tao to be ugly. And in this 12 seconds, Zhu Tao's body underwent a "drastic change": Zhu Tao has not heard the national anthem sounding, the scene is silent again, there is no way to judge the time, so that Zhu Tao mistakenly thinks that he is deaf, fell into panic; nosebleeds also surged out uncontrollably.....
The leader of the honor guard couldn't help but pinch a handful of sweat for Zhu Tao, only to see Zhu Tao's throat move slightly, silently sucking the nosebleed back into his mouth and swallowing it into his stomach.
After 12 seconds, the solemn Chinese national anthem sounded, and Zhu Tao's hanging heart finally let go, and the national flag was slowly raised with the melody of the national anthem. At the end of the anthem, the flag also reached the top.
Watching the five-star red flag fly high at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, the audience at the scene and in front of the TV set burst into tears of joy. People only saw Zhu Tao's movements when he raised the flag, and did not understand what he experienced in that thrilling 12 seconds.
After the ceremony, Zhu Tao was awarded the second class merit together with the executive team leader Li Bentao for his excellent performance. After that, Zhu Tao shined at the macao handover ceremony, letting people around the world see the spirit of Chinese soldiers!
