Even as the One Young World summit was on in Bangkok, 21 people, including Chinese nationals, were killed in the terrorist attack on a luxury hotel in Mali's capital last week.

Delegates to the Bangkok summit joined state leaders and the international community's condemnation of the horrifying act. Some delegates had lingering memories of being stuck in a similar situation.

Liu Guangtong from the Chinese mainland worked in Mozambique years ago. "I felt very sorry about what happened in Mali. I was also in Africa. I felt a very close tie to the locals in Africa and the Chinese based there," said the 30-year-old.

Weapons were rife in Mozambique. Liu recalled people held guns at the local store, and he kind of got used to a certain level of insecurity. One day in 2010, someone held him at gunpoint, asking for money.

Liu, like his fellow expatriates in Africa, learned to take more precautions, avoiding going out alone. Some companies based in particularly perilous areas have hired local armed guards to escort their staff.

William Luk, 24, said he was present during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, cheering on a friend who was running. "We heard two loud bangs. We thought a truck had rolled over. Later the police told us to run," recalled Luk.

Two months after that incident, Luk graduated from Tufts University and decided to come back to Hong Kong, saying a major motivation had to do with safety.

"At least in my experience, I did not need to worry about my safety in Hong Kong," he said.

(HK Edition 11/26/2015 page11)