The head of the police station at the southernmost point of China has been selected as the “most beautiful grassroots policeman,” who jointly built the first mobile party branch on the sea in Sansha.
Police Officer He Sheng, who has been serving at the Yongxing Coast Police Station for ten years at the southernmost police station in China – the Eighth Detachment of Hainan Provincial Coastal Police of the Hainan Provincial Public Security Department, was selected as the “Most Beautiful Grassroots Police Officer” of 2024. On January 6th, The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) learned from the Hainan Provincial Public Security Department that during his tenure on the island, He Sheng has always regarded the people’s voices as his first signal, their needs as his first priority, and their satisfaction as his benchmark.
He Sheng, born in February 1984 in Loudi, Hunan province, joined the public security work in 2004. He actively applied for a position at the Yongxing Coast Police Station in Sansha City in December 2014 after working for ten years.
Located on Yongxing Island, the most southern part of China, the Yongxing Coast Police Station has a glorious history of 65 years since its establishment in November 1959. The station is responsible for serving the island residents, maintaining the stability of the island’s治安 and protecting marine rights and interests.
Yongxing Island is over 180 nautical miles away from Hainan Island with high average temperature approaching 30 degrees Celsius, strong UV radiation, and frequent exposure to super typhoons with wind speeds over level 10 every year. The island is prone to water scarcity and lack of vegetables, leading to various health issues such as rheumatism, kidney stones, and hair loss among police officers. The conditions are even more challenging for police stations stationed in remote islands.
However, He Sheng has been stationed at the police station for ten years. In the eyes of his colleagues, he is a trusted law enforcement expert who is calm, capable, diligent, and enthusiastic about learning. At the same time, he has gained the nickname of “living computer” in the jurisdiction due to his solid work with the masses and intimate knowledge of the area.
In response to the actual situation of Sansha fishermen’s residency and production covering the West Sandy Sea Area, He Sheng has actively explored a new model of police-civilian cooperation and co-founded the first floating party branch in Sansha with the Yongxing Community Party Branch. This initiative fully leverages the leading roles of police officers and civilian fishermen party members to form a broader pattern for jointly maintaining social order and stability in the island-reef sea area. Meanwhile, he has extended the police presence by establishing police stations in Jinqing, Zhaosu, Yinyu, and Lingyang as hubs for rotating duty by police officers throughout the year. This approach not only promotes maritime police operations forward but also extends public security control to solidify the foundation for safeguarding national sovereignty and marine rights and interests.
“With the construction and development of Sansha, there has been an exponential growth in people and logistics. The police station has continuously adapted to these changes by extending public security control and launched crackdown on illegal criminal activities while building a safe barrier in South China Sea islands and reefs.” He Sheng stated. Led by He Sheng, the Yongxing Coast Police Station firmly focuses on key tasks such as building a safe island reef while carrying out special actions such as “controlling crime, detecting more cases, preventing accidents, and preventing events,” “protecting coastlines,” and “protecting seedlings.” He innovatively established new police models such as “neighborhood watch” and “one island with multiple police” while setting up four police stations and establishing a 50-member南海 security team to further strengthen island reef coastline control force and optimize the overall function of the police station while highlighting its management service efficiency.
“The police station adheres to the people-oriented principle, carries forward Lei Feng spirit, and actively introduces measures to assist residents.” He Sheng explained that in recent years, the police station has vigorously launched community events such as “entering islands and reefs, construction sites, and ports” to achieve timely understanding and resolution of neighborhood conflicts and construction site disputes on island reefs. Over the past five years, they have resolved more than 60 conflicts involving neighbors and construction sites and implemented 11 practical measures to serve residents.
To aid in building a safe island reef construction project, He Sheng focused on strengthening grid management by introducing a system of responsibility for police officers to take care of ports and ships while closely integrating with city-level governance platforms at all levels to clarify the population base within their jurisdiction through meticulous investigations by police officers, grid managers, and police assistants. He also proposed three work measures for population management including strengthening on-site inspections for incoming traffic to block foreign personnel from entering through sea routes while emphasizing improving grid management efficiency by adhering to staff verification on site and a daily reporting system to ensure seamless control over sea areas and islands contributing effectively to safe construction in Sansha City. The Yongxing
