The death of the young Sars medic has triggered an outpouring of emotion from patients, colleagues and strangers
At first, it was fellow doctors and health workers who came to pay tribute. Yesterday, the shock over the death of a young woman from Sars grew into an outpouring of grief from people across Hong Kong.
Carrying floral tributes, mourners ranging from former patients to schoolchildren and housewives filed into a temporary shrine set up in the lobby of Tuen Mun Hospital to honour Tse Yuen-man.
Dr Tse, who died on Tuesday, is the first public hospital doctor in Hong Kong to be killed by the virus. A widow whose husband died of leukaemia a year ago, she was one of the first to volunteer to work with severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) patients.
Among the mourners who paid tribute yesterday was a weeping Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, who bowed to Dr Tse's photograph and wrote on a board at the shrine: 'To my dear student Yuen-man, I am proud of your dedication, professionalism and love of your patients. I am very saddened by your own sacrifice. I shall miss you dearly.'
When asked about his impressions of Dr Tse, Professor Li, the former vice-chancellor of Chinese University, could not hold back his tears. He said: 'I taught her [Dr Tse]. My feelings are very contradictory. On the one hand, I am proud that we have taught such a good doctor in Hong Kong. On the other hand, I feel such a loss that she has passed away ... She was a very good student.'