Taiwanese actress Yan Li-Ting, who is married to former athlete Zhang Zhi-Feng and is mother to two children, recently took to social media to share a story she heard from a close friend — a story that left her feeling deeply sad and thoughtful.
According to the account shared by Yan, a friend of her close friend was traveling overseas with their family. During a meal at a restaurant, their 12-year-old daughter asked to go to the restroom. At first, the parents assumed it would be quick and naturally allowed her to go by herself. But after a long time passed and she didn’t return, alarm bells rang.
“No one could have predicted that what seemed like a simple trip to the bathroom would turn into something so frightening,” Yan wrote in her post, describing how the story kept replaying in her mind. She admitted she began imagining all the worst possibilities — where the girl had gone, who she might be with, what she might be experiencing, and how terrified and helpless she could be. She also wondered how devastated and guilty her parents must feel.
A Warning to Other Parents
In sharing this story, Yan wasn’t trying to spread fear, but to stress the importance of vigilance when traveling with children. She reminded adults that no matter how old a child seems, as long as they are still a child, they deserve close supervision.
Her suggestion to parents was practical:
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When going to a restroom, fathers should accompany sons and mothers should accompany daughters.
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If the parent can’t enter the restroom due to gender separation, they should wait right outside and listen instead of getting distracted by their phone.
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Above all, she emphasized that safety matters more than embarrassment. In situations like these, “losing face” should never be a concern.
Real-Life Cases and What She’s Heard
Yan also shared that this wasn’t the only story of its kind she had heard. She mentioned other incidents where children entered restrooms and then unexpectedly disappeared — in some cases described as happening so quickly and deceptively that even adults waiting outside didn’t realize what had happened.
She wrote that in extreme situations, children have been drugged or had their appearance altered, making them unrecognizable even if someone walked right past them.
For these reasons, Yan said she constantly reminds her own children to be cautious and aware of their surroundings, especially when interacting with strangers — “because dangerous intentions don’t come stamped on someone’s face.”
Her Message to All Parents
Closing her post, Yan reflected on how heavy the story made her feel and how it changed her understanding of safety. As a parent herself, she wrote that her longing for peace in the world now felt much more real and precious. She also ended with a heartfelt hope: that the girl in the story will be found safe and make her way home
This is direct translation from Mandarin to English of her original post:
Yan Li-Ting Willson & Tina — feeling sad
#StayAlert
Today my good sister shared a story with me.
It has stayed with me all afternoon until now.
My emotions are still a bit complicated.
😔😔😔
She said a friend of her friend’s family went overseas for a holiday.
While dining at a restaurant,
their 12-year-old daughter said she needed to go to the restroom.
The parents naturally let her go by herself.
After a while, they began to realize their daughter had been gone for quite some time.
No one could have expected that once she left…
she never came back.
😭😭😭
When the story reached this point, my mind began imagining all the terrible possibilities.
Scenes often seen in movies — human trafficking rings.
A 12-year-old girl, just at the age of beginning to blossom…
Where exactly did she go? Or where was she taken?
What might she be going through right now?
How scared and helpless must she feel at this moment?
I truly, truly don’t even want to imagine it…
How devastated and full of self-blame her parents must be.
😣😣😣
