昨天，Taipei Economic and Cultural Organization表彰扛搶救臺灣教授Sylvia Hsu的四人。上個月Sylvia 在碼頭上拍照時，失足跌入寒冷的灣區水中。 TECO主任Bruce Fuh向四名英雄每人頒發了一張來自San Francisco TECO分佈和臺灣政府的Certificate of Appreciation。 Adam Hanzalik和Jacob Shianksy分別從華盛頓DC和South Carolina飛來參加今天的典禮。

Director General Fuh讚揚中國留學生Sibo Luo、Jacob和Aaron Shiansky兄弟以及Adam Hanzalik的英雄行為。 Aaron說：「我只是正好在那個時間出現在那個地方。」凸顯出這可能造成悲劇的情況展現這四個人有多麼勇敢和愛心。 Sibo Luo是USF中國留學生，是第一個發現Sylvia 跌落後不管寒冷和危險跳進水裏的人。在個時候，Aaron Shiansky正好帶著他第一次到加州的弟弟Jacob Shianksy在碼頭看日落。當兄弟看到在水中掙扎的二人後，曾是救生員的Aaron感覺到Sibo一人幫助Sylvia很吃力時，不顧受傷的腳踝也跳進水中提供幫助。

四人因冒著生命危險搶救一個陌生生的無私行為受到表彰和感謝。 「我非常高興拯救一個生命，Sibo說：「即使是一個我不認識的人…如果這種情況再次發生，我還會再做一次。」Aaron和Jacob自Sylvia回到臺灣後一直與她保持聯繫。 Jacob說：「她得以度過難關令我感到滿足，她現在很不錯。」可能永遠不會忘記他第一次來到加州經歷的Jacob也轉達了Sylvia的資訊，說：「她希望San Francisco市可以讓人那裏很危險。她多次表達她討厭看到同樣的事情發生在其他人身上。」

說到Aaron、Sibo和Adam的勇氣，Jacob說：「目睹他們的行為真是莫大的榮耀。」

記者：何思倫

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TECO San Francisco honors men who rescued Taiwanese professor

Today, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Organization honored the four men who saved Sylvia Hsu, a professor from Taiwan, last month after she tripped and fell into the frigid bay water while taking photos on the pier. TECO’s Director General Bruce Fuh presented each of the heroes with a Certificate of Appreciation and Recognition from the San Francisco TECO branch and the Taiwanese government. Adam Hanzalik had flown in from Washington D.C., and Jacob Shianksy came from South Carolina for the day’s ceremony.

Director General Fuh acknowledged the heroism of Chinese exchange student Sibo Luo, brothers Jacob and Aaron Shiansky, and Adam Hanzalik. “I was just in the right place at the right time, ” explained Aaron, emphasizing how this potentially tragic situation showed the compassion and bravery of these four individuals. Sibo Luo is a Chinese exchange student attending USF, and was the first to jump into the water without any regard to the cold or danger, when he realized Sylvia Hsu had fallen in. Meanwhile, Aaron Shiansky had brought his brother Jacob Shianksy to the pier to watch the sunset, as it was his first time in California. When the brothers saw the two in the water, Aaron, being a former life guard and despite a recovering ankle injury, also jumped in to help after assessing that Sibo was struggling to help Sylvia alone.

As Jacob called 911 and alerted authorities of the situation and their location, Adam Hanzalik was going for a jog through the area, when he noticed that something was wrong. He stopped by to ask what was going on and then risked his safety to jump into the frigid water as well to help the other two rescuers out. The San Francisco Coast Guard and Fire Department arrived promptly afterwards to administer CPR and bring Sylvia to the hospital.

All four men were recognized and thanked for their self-less acts of risking their own lives to save a stranger in need. “I’m so happy to save a life,” said Sibo, “even though it’s a person I don’t know…if this happened again, I would do it again”. Aaron and Jacob have both kept in touch with Sylvia since she’s returned to Taiwan, saying, “I’m very grateful that she’s been able to pull through, and she’s doing well today.” Jacob, who will probably never forget his first visit to California, also delivered a message from Sylvia, saying, “She’s hopeful that the city of San Francisco could [make it know that there are dangers there]. She’s expressed many times that she’d hate to see the same thing happen to someone else.”

In regards to Aaron’s, Sibo’s, and Adam’s courage,  Jacob said, “It’s a great honor to have been witness to what they did.”

Reporter: Jocelyn Ho