As word got around, there was an enthusiastic popular response, with street vendors holding charity sales and fishing boats braving storms to catch fish for donations. People of all walks of life loosened their purse strings, and the fundraising effort spread countrywide, gradually evolving into a Chinese middle school revival movement that lasted several years.
消息傳出後，華社市井小民群起響應，小販為募款集體義賣、數十條漁船不畏風雨為獨中義捕，引發各界紛紛解囊，籌款運動向全國蔓延，進而演變為延續數年的「獨中復興運動」。