Xintiandi police chief honored as one of China's best public servants

Ti Gong

Li Yong, director of the Xintiandi Police Station in Huangpu District, was conferred the title of "The Best Public Servant in China" on Thursday.

He was among 32 people around the country who received the honor and the only one from Shanghai.

Having worked at the police station for 12 years, Li, 43, was promoted to his current post in April this year. Prior to that, Li, who is well versed in English, was assigned to work at Shanghai Pudong International Airport to coordinate COVID-19 quarantine measures for incoming travelers for a year.

During his career as a police officer, he has twice been assigned to United Nations peacekeeping duties overseas.

Li's beat, Xintiandi, is known to have a highly demanding profile. Covering a size of 70 soccer pitches, it's one of the smallest jurisdictions of any police station in Shanghai, but it's also one of the most popular tourist spots, one of the busiest business districts and one of the most densely populated areas in the city.

The popular Xintiandi shopping streets are visited by more than 20 million people every year. They're one of the favorite haunts of the city's expats.

The Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is located within Li's jurisdiction, has had more than 4.5 million visitors in the past four years.

Around 600 international companies have offices in Xintiandi, and the place has been dubbed "mini-UN", thanks to its 2,000-plus residents from more than 30 countries and regions.

During his mission at the police station, not one major public security incident was reported from the area, and residents and businesses seem very satisfied with his work, according to Shanghai police.

Li has been honored several times by the Ministry of Public Security as well as the public security bureaus at city and district levels and the Shanghai government for his excellent work.