At 22:59 BJT on September 6, 2008, at Beijing's National Stadium also known as the Bird's Nest with full capacity crowds, the 90,000-plus viewers were watching the Paralympic torch enter the stadium. Not until the final torchbearer Ping Yali handed over the Olympic flame to a man in the wheelchair had the audience realized that, he would, lifting himself by sitting in the chair into the air under the support of crown blocks, light the flame with his physical strength.
On May 12, 2008, Hou Bin participates in the Olympics torch relay in Xiamen City. [Photo courtesy of Hou Bin]
Throughout the whole process, he needed to lift up 39 meters, the equivalent of a 14-story building. For a disabled man, it was too long a climb, during which he, dripping with sweat, had for several times noticeably slowed down for breath, and his injured right hand was still suffering dull pain at the moment. After three minutes and 35 seconds, he finally managed to reach the main torch. After he took out the "Xiangyun" torch from the bracket and triggered the igniter, a fire dragon, all of a sudden, spiraled up to the cauldron, making the Olympic flame once again burn in the sky above the Bird's Nest. At that moment, the stadium burst into thunderous applause and a roar of jubilation. It was Hou Bin — a three-time Paralympic champion and the arch torchbearer of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games — that achieved this arduous but glorious task.
"The moment the torch was lit up, I knew all eyes were on it. I wasn't alone at all." Hou said, "My behavior exactly exemplifies the human's upward spirit, and I hope I could resound this spirit to every corner of the world."
Hou firmly believes that man can conquer nature. And this belief has encouraged him to boundlessly chase his dreams and go beyond himself, which has also won admiration and accolades from everyone.
The host of French television channel TF1 commented that Hou had presented China's "most beautiful gift" to the world. NHK TV from Japan praised, "To challenge the limits of life with defective functions is exactly where the spirit of the Paralympic Games lies." A commentator from Turkey's central television TRT3 said, "This moment has aroused greater understanding, respect and care for the disabled." Marca, Spain's leading sports newspaper, commented that Mr. Hou's "superhuman" ability to light the Olympic flame has embodied human ability to triumph over all difficulties.
In 1975, Hou was born into an ordinary worker's family in Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. When he was still a child, he had shown a particular interest in sports. Unfortunately, at the age of nine, he lost his left leg in an accident.