I saw a BBC documentary about a similar situation. People are being exploited on both sides of the phone line.

Paywall

That was extremely detailed. Makes me sad that everyone else is still there. Only the one guy was saved, and they still had to pay bribes higher than his initial ransom.

This is absurd. I don’t understand how people can be so cruel. Though the “General + Dragon” succeeded in getting Mr. Lu out, it does feel like perhaps the ransom was just paid with a bit of negotiation. This is a very frustrating situation.

Great article, Mr. Lu is very strong.