A Man of Virtue

"I am Liu An. 'An'stands for security." Liu An used to introduce himself in this way. He was a police officer for community services with the Puhuangyu Police Station in Beijing. Unfortunately， the residents in this area will no longer hear his voice， soft and somewhat bashful.

His last social media post on WeChat Moments was made on March 5， 2021 when he was organizing an event to commemorate Lei Feng， a Chinese role model， and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the voluntary service team he initiated. He wrote， "Here's a tribute to our 20 years of persistence and inheritance. Let's carry forward the Lei Feng spirit and embrace its renewed vitality！" This reveals his original aspiration as a policeman with 34 years of service.

On the morning of March 7， 2021， Liu went for a roll call at the police station after a night shift. He reported his work to a supervisor， received new assignments， and returned to the community police office. However， nobody knew that it would be his farewell to his post where he had served for over three decades. At 10：50 a.m.， the supervisor on duty received an urgent call saying that Liu had passed out in his office and an ambulance had been called for his rescue. Immediately his colleagues hastened to the site. Sadly， a heart attack took his life despite ardent rescue efforts. Liu passed away at 10：58 a.m.， aged 55.

"A Guarantee of Security"

Liu's father was a veteran of the former Fourth Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army （PLA） and one of the first pilots of the Chinese Air Force. Due to his father， Liu had developed a favor for uniforms since his childhood. In October 1983， he was conscripted into the army as a PLA soldier and demobilized three years later. Back then， the Fengtai Public Security Sub-bureau released a recruitment plan. The experience in the military camp fostered in Liu a dream to uphold justice and serve the people， so he applied for the post and was enrolled with an excellent performance. He was assigned to the Puhuangyu Police Station after the training program.

As a freshman， Liu was asked to familiarize himself with the local circumstances. Two months later， he started to work in community services for the Puhuangyu Community. Wang Yunlong， a senior policeman， instructed him with extensive care during daily practice. In the beginning， Liu was reluctant to be a mere neighborhood policeman. All he had longed for was to apprehend criminals and settle cases. But one day， Liu changed his mind when he was overwhelmed with the hospitality of the local residents during an inspection with Wang.

So affable were the locals toward him as an apprentice to the veteran Wang that they expressed their confidence in him， "we will count on you to maintain order and stability in our community after your instructor retires." Later， he found that the community workers and residents were all very supportive， which gave him encouragement and motivation. Aware of the public expectation， Liu resolved to bring more tangible benefits to the community.

There is a saying goes in the Puhuangyu Community， "Liu An is a guarantee of security." In 1996， when Liu began to take charge of the Puhuangyu Second Community， there were two non-gated sections prone to diverse risks.

Thanks to site investigations， it dawned upon Liu that closed management could be the only way to control access and reduce security risks. It was high summer when he set about solving this problem. In order to raise funds and settle agreements with equipment suppliers， he had to coordinate with different parties concerned and visit them many times in searingly hot days. He always found himself soaked in sweat. Once Liu was out on patrol when his jeep broke down halfway. They pushed the vehicle to the roadside and walked to the destination to get things done first. After several rounds of strenuous effort， they finally succeeded in performing closed management in those neighborhoods. Liu helped recruit gatekeepers. With these potential risks removed， the Puhuangyu Second Community turned into a model of security.

Liu believed that several skills were necessary to manage the community well. He developed an effective approach characterized by diligent use of the mouth， eyes， ears， hands and feet. He insisted on inspecting his jurisdiction every day to get to know his neighborhood as well as possible. It seemed that he had a mental map of the community： the locations， names of each household and their phone numbers were clearly marked. He could recall all of them instantly. In addition， under his proposal， the Public Security Classroom and a police-themed exhibition were established in the community， and a "School Shield" program was launched on campuses and in kindergartens. With these measures in place， more residents are better aware of the work of the police and take active part in the protection， development and governance of their community.

"The Voice of Security"

Publicizing preemptive measures and raising safety awareness is so essential to his daily policing that Liu， though a little bashful himself， kept babbling about the importance of security to the locals. But this one-on-one approach could only reach a few people; even if he organized a meeting， there would be little attendance. So he resolved to work out a better way.