Altruism on a Plateau

Lan Wang and Zhang Lei

As usual， Yang pulled over his truck to the public service area set aside by the Luogeliangzi police office and held out his bottle for some boiled water from a thermos held by the office director， Liu Peng. It has become a habit for drivers passing the Luogeliangzi section of National Highway 317 to take a break at the police office—which is under Xiaxiong Police Station of the Public Security Bureau of Ganzi County， Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture—to replenish their water flasks or put on oxygen masks to relieve their altitude sickness.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Chairman Mao's first commemoration of Lei Feng? ， a model citizen highly prized in China. The Lei Feng spirit features altruism and? remains inspiring. The Luogeliangzi police office， as committed as ever to its mission of creating and maintaining a sound environment for local development and the wellbeing of farmers and herders， has not only inherited but also given a greater scope to the Lei Feng spirit with its innovative but down-to-earth practices.

Adorning the wall of the police office at an altitude of 3，980 meters is an oath in the form of a slogan： "Our allegiance will not be compromised even by oxygen deprivation."Short as he is， Liu， often in a Lei Feng Styled cap， dedicates each of his day to the service of people， rain or shine. As a result， he and his colleagues have eventually built the police office into a haven for both the passersby and the locals. Liu is hence affectionately referred to as "Lei Feng-style Director".

This year the Ministry of Public Security and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions jointly commended 191 units and 596 individuals in the national public security system for their outstanding performances. Liu Peng is among them; the only representative of the his prefecture.

The best tribute to the Lei Feng Spirit is to pass it on. The Luogeliangzi police office was founded in 2009 and is the only one of its kind along the Ganzi Section of National Highway 317. Because of rampant security problems on this section of highway， the provincial authorities listed it as a key road requiring special regulation and remedy almost every year. The situation was even worse in Xiaxiong Township： conflicts， disputes and even murders， made it another key regulatory target for both the prefecture and county public security organs. At its inception， the police office was seriously handicapped by its shoddy facilities. When there were power cuts， however， the office continued to function but candlelight; when the water was cut off， the staff fetched water from afar or melted ice in winter. Against all odds， the then office director Liu Xiaosong （the current vice governor of Dege County and director of its public security bureau） worked together with eight of his colleagues to crack these problems one by one.

They successfully addressed the speeding and overloading problems along the poorly maintained country roads in Xiaxiong County. Local villagers heading to the city to make money often crowded onto shabby vehicles in dangerous numbers. Tuktuks with a capacity of four were often packed with six or seven on board and accidents threatened to happen at any moment when they roamed precariously along narrow roads. The county's public security bureau had tried to address the issue， but to little avail. Aware of the difficulty involved， Liu Xiaosong and his colleagues chose to take on the assignment anyway by setting up checkpoints， making irregular rounds at critical areas， and putting up warning boards to publicize traffic safety among the locals. If there were people still turning a deaf ear to the overloading regulation， Liu wouldn't lose his temper. Instead he would kindly take those in need to their destination with his police vehicle before imposing the corresponding penalty on those involved. His approach combined flexibility and rigidity， and helped win over more and more locals and， in turn， effectively eased the overloading problems. With a tight budget， Liu and his comrades would use money from their own pockets to buy daily necessities to the under-privileged in the jurisdiction.

Liu Peng， the third director of the police office， has dedicated himself to traffic safety for seven years. His fellow officers are lucky enough to find in him a role model so close to them. Under the leadership of Liu， who has won the title of Model Champion of the Lei Feng Spirit conferred by the prefecture authorities， the officers are committed to safeguarding National Highway 317 on the snow-capped plateau. Recently， the office established a Learning from Lei Feng voluntary group to better help the local people， turning the campaign of learning from Lei Feng into a more effective and sustained initiative at the foot of Zhuoda Mountain.

In Xiaxiong village， Liu Peng and his colleagues paid a visit to Meiduolacuo， a 62-year-old woman living alone， bringing her rice， cooking oil and other supplies. They patiently inquired about her daily life， in the hope of addressing her concerns.

"It's so nice of you to come to visit me every year with all these goods. Thank you for caring about me， helping me with housework and solving my real-life problems，" said the lady gratefully while holding Liu's hands.

In Diqing No.1 village， the Learning from Lei Feng voluntary group brought news about a horse-theft case. Two days after the horses were stolen by a criminal gang on February 8 this year， Liu and his team received a phone call about it. They immediately carried out an around-the-clock investigation and drove 1，500 kilometers across Sichuan， Tibet， Qinghai， and Gansu to track the horses down. On February 17， they recovered the stolen animals with a value of nearly 70，000 yuan; and on March 2， they apprehended the gang leader. The due diligence of the office not only reassured the locals of their safety and security， but also bolstered deterrence to any potential crimes. Thanks to the officers' commitment， social order in the jurisdiction is improving.

With its officers championing the Lei Feng Spirit in the new era， the Luogeliangzi police office has delivered substantial benefits to local farmers and herders through the down-to-earth and selfless performances of its staff.

"We should not settle for learning from and paying tribute to Lei Feng only on the day of commemoration. Instead， we should internalize the Lei Feng Spirit and use it? in our daily service to the people. To us， every day is Learning from Lei Feng Day！" says Liu Peng.

（Translated by Chen Xiaoying，School of Foreign Languages， Beijing Forestry University）