Chinese Policeman Pretends to Be Elderly Couple’s Dead Son for 5 Years to Help Mom Grieve
By Ryan General
A Chinese police officer touched the hearts of netizens after it was revealed that he has been providing emotional comfort to an elderly couple who had lost their son about 15 years ago.
Policeman Jiang Jingwei, from Shanghai, has taken on the role of a stranger couple’s son for more than 5 years in an effort to help comfort the mother.
Xia Zhanhai and his wife Liang Qiaoying, a loving couple from North China’s Shanxi Province, regularly receives messages and greetings from the thoughtful cop as if he was their actual son. Officer Jiang also pays them occasional visits when he gets a break from his busy schedule.
According to China Daily, the couple lost their son, Xia Xiaoyu, in 2003 after an accident in the factory they owned reportedly exposed the mother and her son to poison gas.
Liang survived the incident, but she suffered paralysis of lower limbs and severe memory loss. Unable to tell his beloved wife the truth, Xia Zhanhai merely said their son went to work in another city. However, as the years passed, Xia noticed how much Liang missed her son.
While watching television during the coverage of the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, Xia saw a policeman among the security force who looked just like his deceased son. Xia immediately sought out the officer, and with the help of a TV show, he was able to find and ask him a huge favor.
When they met, Xia persuaded Jiang to offer his wife some consolation by pretending to be their long dead son. The officer did not immediately agree to the proposition, telling the man that he would have to think about it first.
“I had to consider the feelings of my own parents. So I was reluctant to call another woman, ‘mum,'” Jiang was quoted as saying in an interview.
With the suggestion of Jiang’s own father, he eventually offered his help.
During the “reunion” on television, Jiang said he immediately felt the sorrow of a mother longing for her long-lost son when they finally met. He acknowledged Liang when she began calling him “Xiaoyu”, while nodding and behaving like her actual son.
The host of the TV program, which arranged the first meeting, explained to the mother that her son’s accent had changed after working far away for so long. His job in the city as a member of a security unit also meant that he could not come home very often.
Liang, who has been previously gloomy and weak, has reportedly gotten better since the meeting, Shine reported.
“The night after the show, she slept like a baby for more than eight hours,” Xia said. “Previously, she had so much trouble sleeping.”
While Jiang lives about 1,700 kilometers (about 1,056 miles) away from the couple, he constantly keeps in touch with his loving “parents” like any devoted son would. He sends warm clothing to Liang and Xia during winter, and mooncakes every Mid-Autumn Festival.
Featured Image via China Daily/Pear Video
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