Across China: Hero traffic cop earns respect

A driver, angry about being stopped by an auxiliary police officer, ran into traffic at a busy intersection at rush hour. Seconds later, a section of road just meters away sank into the ground, but the driver survived.

Video taken by a traffic camera in downtown Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, went viral after it was released by CNN on Monday. By Thursday, it had been viewed 3 million times and forwarded 15,000 times.

The policeman, who used traffic cones to stop vehicles and direct traffic, has been honored by netizens as "China's Hero Traffic Cop."

A 20-square-meter section of the asphalt road sank by about two meters at 4:18 p.m. on April 21 during heavy traffic. No one was hurt, thanks to the timely alerts and action by the auxiliary police.

The Hangzhou Metro Group apologized to the public for the road collapse, which was affected by underground construction of the city's metro line 2. Traffic resumed as normal the next day after emergency repairs.

"One of the drivers was so angry when I stopped his car that he immediately argued with me. But when the road sank, he was appalled and repeated his thanks to me for saving his life," said Li Weiqi, the auxiliary police officer.

Li said he first noticed the road surface at the collapse site became darker than elsewhere, and soon noticed small cracks started to emerge. He immediately alerted his colleagues as well as traffic police via walkie-talkie while fetching traffic cones to block the section.

There were four auxiliary police officers working at the busy intersection to help police maintain traffic order.

Li earns only about 3,000 yuan (463 U.S. dollars) per month, and his work often goes unnoticed in the bustling city. However, looking at the huge black hole in road, people were grateful to have auxiliary police officers like him there.

Li has enjoyed the newfound respect. Thanks to media coverage, he often gets big smiles and thumbs-up gestures from passersby.

He considers his response to the accident a normal one, but he also worries about what would have happened if he had missed the signs of the impending accident.

Li came from northeast China's Liaoning Province with his wife to Hangzhou five years ago hoping to raise enough money to provide for his daughter's education. They left their daughter in Liaoning. Back at home, they farmed a field of less than one hectare.

"My daughter asked me over the phone 'Were you the police hero in the video?' I said, if you think he looks like me, that was me," said Li.

He said he is just a commoner, not a hero. Standing at the intersection for more than 10 hours a day, his job may not be fully appreciated by some, but he is happy to help make people feel a little safer on the road. Endi