Policeman with a gift for language
By Chen Zhiyong (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-07-05 08:46

As usual, Liu Wenli is patrolling the Wanchun Pavilion in Jingshan Park in downtown Beijing. Liu, 37, is a familiar face to the frequent visitors of the park. He may look like a regular Chinese policeman but what makes him different is his surprising ability to speak foreign languages.

"Welcome to China. What can I do for you?" is the usual greeting he gives to each foreign guest he encounters. He will then follow his greeting by introducing them to the history of the pavilion as well as the scenic attractions surrounding the park.

"You learned it at school?" an elderly American woman once asked him. She was quite curious about the Chinese policeman who can speak English so naturally.

"Never. I learn it from TV shows and DVDs," Liu replied. "I like your accent very much." Then he started to imitate the particular tone of Americans in the movies, "What do you want?" "Forget about it."

That made the American lady and her granddaughter laugh loudly. She warmly invited Liu to pose with them for a picture.

During work, he is always on the lookout for opportunities to practise his oral language skills. Never shy to talk with foreigners, Liu believes he is able to provide a good service to foreign guests.

Encouraging learning

It was in the year of 1995 during the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing when Liu started to learn English.

One day when Liu was on his duty, a foreign lady walked up to him and asked how to get to a nearby hotel.

With only high school education, Liu tried to make himself understood with the help of gestures, but the lady was still confused. "Actually I could remember no English words except for yes and no," recalled Liu.

A young English teacher came to his rescue. Her eloquent English made a big impression on Liu.

"I can also do it," Liu said to himself.

He went to bookstores and bought various English-studying materials, including books, video and audio tapes. He followed English courses on TV. "I made up my mind to study English by myself," Liu said.

Not like common English learners, Liu tackled difficult English at the beginning. A radio always accompanied him at home, on the way to work and on the job. As long as he was free, he would listen to the English programmes of China Radio International.

Though having little idea about what was being said on the radio at first, Liu forced himself to listen to it again and again.

Also, every Friday night Liu appeared on time at the English corner of Renmin University in the western part of Beijing. He looked rather conspicuous among the students with his police uniform and age. However, when he started talking in English with the students, he was taken as one of them. He shared his enthusiasm for English with them and made many friends.

Not far from Liu's home at Qianmen in the downtown area, there is a restaurant that attracts many foreign guests. Introducing the Chinese menu to them has become one of Liu's hobbies in his spare time.

"In learning English one must avoid talking about the same thing all the time. I am trying to create more speaking chances and find more topics," Liu said.

Liu never expected that learning English could greatly change his life one day. The first reward he received for his hard work occurred after Liu ranked first in the oral part at an English examination organized within the Xicheng District Branch of the Beijing Bureau of Public Security in 2001.

Soon he was transferred to the Beihai Park Police Station and undertook a patrolling assignment at the Wanchun Pavilion in Jingshan Park.

As the highest point in the capital and commanding a view of the entire Forbidden City, the pavilion is a big attraction for many foreign tourists and is also the haunt of thieves.

Though not becoming an expert at catching thieves in the past three years, Liu has been doing his work conscientiously. While he has been on duty, very few thefts have been reported.

Since Liu started working at the pavilion, he found that simply speaking one second language, English, was not enough. Once, he encountered a rebuff from a Frenchman.

"Hi. Welcome to China. What can I do for you?" he greeted the 40-something man from a foreign tourist group.

Unexpectedly, the man expressed displeasure at being spoken to in English. "I am French. I do not understand what you are talking about," he replied in jerky Chinese.

This was the first time Liu was left in the cold when talking with a foreigner. Later, he learned from a TV programme that the French are proud of their language and some do not wish to speak English.

From that moment on, he was determined to learn French, but he found learning this new language much more difficult than he expected.

There were no TV and radio programmes available for him to watch and listen. Neither could he afford the high cost of French lessons. The only thing he could do was go to bookstores and look for textbooks and tapes.

Every night before he slept, he forced himself to memorize by rote vocabulary.

Four months quickly passed and Liu still could not follow the basic French dialogues.

One day, the frustrated Liu had an idea. Why not find a French person to teach me?

That day after work, he went as usual to a restaurant near his home, where foreigners often eat.

Finally, a target appeared. "I saw a middle-aged foreigner sitting alone at a table. My sixth sense told he might be French and I took a seat beside him," Liu said.

As Liu was making his order, he hummed Marseillaise trying to see if his hunch was correct. He was right and the Frenchman appeared very pleased. After he learned of Liu's purpose, he readily agreed to help him.

He was very patient and corrected his pronunciation again and again.

This experience encouraged him to continue to meet other foreigners to learn other languages and he has since mastered basic conversation in 13 languages including German, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Japanese, Korean and Russian.

"I learned those languages all from native speakers," Liu said proudly.

Chatting with foreign tourists has become a conditioned reflex. "Every time I meet a foreigner, I will not let him or her slip away," he joked.

Once, Liu came across a tourist from the Netherlands. After a short talk, Liu asked him: "How do you say in your language 'What can I do for you?'"

The warm-hearted Dutchman took out a notebook and wrote down the corresponding Dutch vocabularies below the English spellings.

Liu still has the valuable notebook the man gave to him as a gift.

Besides the notebook, Liu has an extensive collection of souvenirs from other foreign friends and acquaintances. There is an Australian koala mascot, Japanese stamps, Canadian badges and a variety of coins.

However, Liu considers a shoulder patch given to him by a Victoria policeman from England as the most valuable piece of his collection.

Liu still remembers the day when he met the man on his way home. The British police officer wanted to find a typical Chinese restaurant to have his dinner. When he was at a loss he met Liu.

Liu wrote down the name of the restaurant in Chinese and told the foreign policeman to show it to the taxi driver or other Chinese, who would take him there.

Surprisingly, the Victoria police officer took off his overall and tore off his shoulder patch and handed it to Liu.

"He told me it was the best gift he could think of to give me," Liu recalled. "For the first time, I felt a heart-to-heart connection with a foreigner."

The policeman's torn suit left him with an unforgettable memory. "I have never been so encouraged before," Liu said.

Olympics ties

Liu's enthusiasm for language learning came to the zenith after Beijing successfully won bid to host the 2008 Olympics.

"My father, who was an electric engineer, made a TV set many years ago. Every time my family sat around the TV set watching the Olympic Games, my father would mention how one day the Olympics would be held in China," recalled Liu.

But Liu had never dreamed that he could be so involved in the Games.

On June 9, the Beijing leg of the global relay of the Olympic flame from Tian'anmen Square started. A total of 148 torchbearers took part in the 55-kilometre course from Tian'anmen Square to the Summer Palace.

As one of the lucky torchbearers, Liu ran past his place of work, to the north of Beihai Park.

In March, Liu signed himself up for the torchbearers' selection activity. He was the 508th Beijing citizen who entered his name.

On March 18, Liu and another nine contestants entered the final examination, competing the five positions.

For his final speech presented to the jury, Liu did not prepare any written draft. What he did was only tell his experience.

"I am a self-taught foreign language learning policeman. Learning foreign languages can shorten the distance between Chinese and foreign visitors. Now I have got to know the everyday dialogues of 13 languages. It makes it possible for me to provide a better service to the foreign athletes and visitors during the 2008 Olympics," Liu said in his speech.

His plain words won cheers and applause from those present.

Liu hopes the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad will give him a chance to become one of its publicists in 2008. "I can be a qualified interpreter to serve the games," he said.

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