When I was young, the policeman who made the deepest impression on me was Ma Tianmin, the hero in a 1959 movie. Always ready to help others, he missed appointments with his fiance so often she almost broke up with him.
In those days, bicycles were still a rare means of transport few could afford.
According to National Bureau of Statistics, every 1,000 Chinese bought only 1.1 bikes in 1957 and 1962. In 1980, every 100 Chinese owned only 9.7 bikes. That was one reason I was drawn to Ma: He always got around on a bicycle.
Although I don't recall seeing uniformed policemen riding bicycles in real life, my husband remembers running as fast as he could with his friends in a hutong, while being chased by a policeman on a bicycle. He says he cannot remember why. "Perhaps we did something mischievous but I don't think it was that threatening," he says.
I don't think my 19-year-old daughter has ever seen a police officer pedaling a bike. Growing up in modern, prosperous China, she's accustomed to seeing officers performing their duties in cars or at least on motorcycles. Movies and TV dramas are filled with scenes of policemen chasing bad guys in cars.
I realized that police bicycles were back in fashion when I was in Seattle two years ago. I saw police officers patrolling on bicycles near the hotel where President Hu Jintao was spending the night.
Still, I was a bit surprised when I read in the news that some 230 police officers in the industrial city of Shenyang, Liaoning province, were making their rounds on cycles.
Ma Tianmin's bicycle was like any other in the late 1950s; his uniform was his only identification. In contrast, the new police bicycles in Shenyang are painted with police logos and are highly recognizable.
These contemporary bicycles are also a lot fancier than Ma's; they are equipped with sirens, lights, tool boxes, walkie-talkies, and a lot of other gadgets.
Shenyang is not the only city in China that is introducing, or reintroducing, police bicycles.
Since last year, policemen on bicycles have appeared in Chongqing and Chengdu in the southwest, Dongguan in the south, Fuzhou in the east, and Tonghua in Jilin province in the northeast.
Although I have yet to see a police officer on a bicycle chasing kids down a hutong in Beijing, it is reported that the municipal police here have bicycles, some of them battery-powered.
Surpisingly, some people question the efficiency of police officers on bicycles.
I believe their worries are unfounded. Bicycles are mostly used by police officers patrolling residential areas. The bicycles certainly give these officers an edge when pursuing someone down an alley or narrow street, which are impassable to cars.
I hope we see more policemen on bicycles. They are cheaper and easier to maintain than other police vehicles. They will not only save money; but will enable officers to get some exercise much needed exercise in some cases.
Above all, I believe police officers riding bicycles appear less threatening than those in patrol cars.
This is good public relations, and enables the police to have better contact with the people they serve. After all, even in Beijing, two out of three households don't own cars.
The cheerful and helpful Ma Tianmin should serve as a model for today's police. While society has become richer, the policeman's duty to serve the people has not changed.
E-mail: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn
