January 10 marks China's first National Police Day when police officers are celebrated and remembered nationwide for maintaining public security.
People used to witnessing US police officers acting with violence, especially against African Americans, would be surprised to see how Chinese police officers have maintained their reputation so well.
Unlike US police officers whose actions have triggered Black Lives Matter protests worldwide and provoked reflection over weaponization and militarization of US police, their Chinese peers have built a positive image as a reliable, hardworking system ordinary people can turn to for help.
The following pictures may give you some clues about how police officers in these two countries act differently.
This infamous image, which widely circulated on social media, captures the one of the most high-profile violent incidents against African Americans in recent years, when a white police officer knelt George Floyd, an African American, to death in Minneapolis in May, 2020, and later sparked worldwide Black Lives Matter protests against US police brutality. From Michael Brown to Floyd, victims of police violence against African Americans have been embodiment of racial tension and social injustice in the US.
[Photo/Social media]
When Black Lives Matter demonstrations escalated across the US in July and August, so did tension between ordinary, unarmed Americans and armed US law enforcement officers. This picture shows federal law enforcement officers firing tear gas and other munitions to disperse protesters during a demonstration against police violence and racial inequality in Portland, Oregon, on July 30, 2020.
[Photo/Agencies]
This image shows Christian Angelo Hill, 19, a Black Lives Matter supporter, being helped by others after being sprayed with an unknown substance during a rally held by US President Donald Trump supporters, in Los Angeles, California, on Jan 6, 2021.
[Photo/Agencies]
The picture in China, on the other hand, is different.
Hong Kong police officers remain restrained even when facing violent attacks. This photo shows two police community relations officers bleeding after being attacked by a group of rioters as their colleagues try to guard them from further harm in Central on Jan 19, 2020.
[Photo/China Daily]
Police officers became one of the groups who received public reverence for their hard work when China was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic last year. This picture shows a patrol officer guarding in freezing weather a makeshift hospital in Wuhan, one of the hardest-hit cities in China, on Feb 15, 2020.
[Photo/Xinhua]
Unlike tension between ordinary people and US police officers, some Chinese police officers have developed friendship with residents in the neighborhood in their charge. This image shows Qiao Zhibing hugging a child on his last day of duty before retiring in Northwest China's Chengdu city on March 6, 2020.
[Photo/Xinhua]
Chinese police officers often show their soft and personal side in news reports. This photo shows Yu Xiaojuan, a border check officer, talking with her son via video phone call in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Jan 8, 2020. Yu could not spare time from her busy work schedule to take care of her son who was sent to live with her parents.
[Photo/Xinhua]
